Revanth Reddy Urges EC to Allow 3-4 Weeks for Voters to Respond to SIR Notices
Helpdesks may be opened, particularly in urban districts, to help electors respond to the notice. In urban areas, it will be useful if the helpdesks are opened at booth level: CM
Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy here on Saturday said that a week to respond to ECI, with a second notice to follow, may not be sufficient at all, particularly for vulnerable categories like daily-wage earners, migrant workers or elderly persons, least of all where the document called for must be sought from another district or another State.
“I would request that not less than three to four weeks be allowed to each elector to reply and produce papers, so that the elector can establish his or her eligibility as per of SIR exercise,” he said in a letter to ECI Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
According to Revanth Reddy, helpdesks may be opened, particularly in urban districts, to help electors respond to the notice. In urban areas, it will be useful if the helpdesks are opened at booth level.
The electors put on notice, must be actively assisted by helpdesks regarding the documents that are admissible and also in obtaining these documents from the concerned authorities.
The State government is happy to assure of all possible assistance to the Commission, including opening of helpdesks, mobilising administration for convening Gram Sabhas and Ward Committee meetings, dissemination of information and awareness to affected electors and any other logistical support as may be sought by the Commission, he said.
The SIR in Telangana has now reached the stage where the numbers themselves invite the Commission's attention. Measured against the roll of 3.38 crore electors as it stood on June 10, 2026, some 73.39 lakh entries (21.7 per cent) have been placed under the absent, shifted, dead and duplicate heads.
Out of the 2.65 crore enumeration forms digitised so far, 60.50 lakh stand flagged for anomalies and 32.36 lakh for want of a link to the earlier roll. The two sets are distinct and do not overlap; they add up to 92.86 lakh and each of those electors is to be put on notice. Stated plainly, something close to one third electorate of the State must now either prove its entitlement afresh or lose its place on the final roll.
The composition of the Absent, Shifted, Dead, and Duplicate (ASDD) list is a matter of grave concern. Of the 73.39 lakh flagged entries, 45.19 lakh (nearly 62%) are classified as "permanently shifted."
