Halt efforts to take up Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh, parties urge Chief Electoral Officer

Several political parties and civil society organisations have jointly appealed to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Andhra Pradesh Vivek Yadav to suspend the ongoing preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, calling the process “illegal and notified nowhere by the Election Commission of India (ECI).”

In a representation on Thursday, leaders of the CPI, CPI(M), YSR Congress Party, Congress, CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI(ML) New Democracy, MCPI(U), RSP, SUCI(C), and Jai Bhim Bharath alleged that the exercise was sought to be implemented though the ECI did not include the State in its notification, and the matter remained in the Supreme Court.

The representation was signed by J. Ajay Kumar (CPI), Malladi Vishnu (YSRCP), V. Srinivasa Rao (CPI-M), Sk. Mastan Vali (Congress), D. Harinadh (CPI-ML Liberation), Chittipati Venkateswarlu (CPI-ML New Democracy), Khadar Basha (MCPI-U), Janaki Ramulu (RSP), M. Ramakrishna (CPI-ML New Democracy), Sudheer (SUCI-C), and Parsa Suresh Kumar (Jai Bhim Bharath).

They alleged that the administrative machinery, from the district officials to booth-level staff, had already begun groundwork for SIR, and called such action “illegal and unconstitutional.”

A similar exercise in Bihar had resulted in a large number of poor, migrant labourers, minority communities, and citizens opposing the ruling parties lost their voting right, they alleged. Fraudulent additions were detected in Haryana and Karnataka, and yet “no meaningful action” was taken by the ECI, they alleged.

‘Mockery of democracy’

The opposition party leaders criticised the ECI’s stance that voter enrolment should be based on citizenship documents, stating that this contradicted the Representation of the People Act, which mandates the ECI to ensure every adult was registered as a voter.

Though the Supreme Court had intervened and directed corrective measures, the case remained under trial. “Despite this, SIR notifications have reportedly been issued for nine States and three Union Territories,” they said, and argued that imposing a requirement on adults, especially those absent from 2002 rolls, to produce documents to prove eligibility now would disenfranchise thousands.

“Denying the crucial right to vote in a parliamentary democracy makes a mockery of the democratic process,” they said, and demanded that all preparation work for SIR in Andhra Pradesh be halted immediately. They also urged the CEO to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the issue.