SIR exercise in Telangana soon, says CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Chief Election Commissioner of India Gyanesh Kumar said that elections in India are conducted entirely according to the country's laws, and everyone must strictly abide by the election laws.

Hyderabad: Chief Election Commissioner of India, Gyanesh Kumar, said on Sunday that Telangana would soon become a role model for the entire country in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.

Addressing booth-level officers (BLOs) here, he said that Telangana would be covered under the next phase of SIR.

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He stated that the SIR process recently completed successfully in Bihar should be taken as a benchmark in this regard.

Terming BLOs the backbone of the Indian electoral system, he said the success of voter list purification depends on their commitment and hard work. He remarked that the entire world is watching with interest how India conducts its elections.

The CEC claimed that the massive SIR process conducted there (Bihar) was completed without any flaws. He mentioned that approximately 7.5 crore voters exercised their franchise in the recent Assembly elections, and it was remarkable that not a single complaint was registered during the entire process, and there was no need for repolling or recounting. He congratulated the Bihar BLOs for this success.

Stating that Telangana’s area is larger than that of Canada, the CEC said that after the completion of the comprehensive voter list purification, the state’s election administration would enter a new era.

In an interaction with the BLOs, he stated that the main reason for the low voter turnout in urban areas is the apathy of urban voters. He commented that voters in rural areas, however, are enthusiastically standing in queues and exercising their right to vote, thereby showing the way for the country.

The Chief Election Commissioner clarified that elections in India are conducted entirely according to the country’s laws, and everyone must strictly abide by the election laws.

He also stated that India joined the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) as a member in 1995, and after three decades, it became the chairman of the body.

He said that this is proof that the Election Commission of India has gained recognition as the most reliable and innovative election management body in the world.

Referring to the vastness of Indian democracy, he revealed that the country has over 90 crore voters across 28 states and 8 union territories.

State Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudarshan Reddy, in his introductory speech, explained the key statistics related to Telangana state. He mentioned details such as the total number of voters in the state, districts, Assembly constituencies, and Parliament constituencies.

Additional Chief Electoral Officer Vasam Venkateswara Reddy, GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan, Senior Deputy CEC Pawan Kumar Sharma, Rangareddy District Collector Narayana Reddy, and others participated in this meeting.