ECI extends SIR deadline in state by 3 weeks

HYDERABAD: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the deadline for the final publication of electoral rolls in Telangana to November 9 from October 19, giving voters more time to file claims and objections during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The revised schedule follows Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s request to extend the claims and objections period by four weeks amid concerns over the possible deletion of genuine voters during the verification process.

Under the revised schedule, the deadline for filing claims and objections has been extended from September 16 to October 7. The notice and disposal phase, earlier scheduled to end on October 15, has been extended to November 5. The final electoral rolls will now be published on November 9.

The CM had urged Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to extend the deadline, citing concerns over the large number of voters flagged during the SIR. He said that against an electoral roll of 3.38 crore voters, 73.39 lakh entries, or 21.7%, had been placed under the absent, shifted, dead and duplicate (ASDD) categories.

Revanth had described the composition of the ASDD list as a “grave concern”, pointing out that 45.10 lakh of the 73.39 lakh flagged entries — nearly 62% — had been classified as ‘permanently shifted’.

The ECI has extended the SIR schedule for the third time since the exercise began in Telangana on June 25. The latest extension follows requests from the state government and the Chief Electoral Officer, besides the CM’s intervention.

Telangana CEO C Sudharsan Reddy directed election officials to ensure that every notice issued under the ongoing SIR is personally delivered to the concerned elector by the Booth Level Officer (BLO). During a video conference with officials on Monday, Sudharsan asked BLOs to seek assistance from Booth Level Agents (BLAs), particularly in urban areas, to locate electors. He also directed officials to share lists of unmapped and anomaly cases with political parties and urged BLAs to participate in the claims and objections process. The CEO reviewed the progress of SIR-2026 with DEOs and EROs across the state.