YSRCP flags SIR irregularities in Andhra, seeks poll body chief's intervention

Amaravati,UPDATED: Jun 21, 2026 11:40 IST

The YSR Congress Party has written to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer, alleging irregularities and practical difficulties in the ongoing SIR of the electoral roll and seeking immediate corrective steps. In his letter to CEO Vivek Yadav, YSRCP MLC and state general secretary L Appireddy said the issues needed urgent attention to protect a free, fair and transparent revision process.

Appireddy listed a range of concerns, including Booth Level Officers being pulled away for regular departmental work, poor public awareness, lack of uniformity in the distribution and collection of Enumeration Forms, alleged political interference, non-supply of the latest electoral roll to parties and their agents, and connectivity problems in agency and tribal areas.

"I respectfully submit this representation bringing to your kind notice certain serious issues, irregularities and practical difficulties being faced in the implementation of the ongoing SIR in Andhra Pradesh, which require immediate corrective measures in the interest of free, fair and transparent electoral roll revision," he said. He said BLOs assigned to SIR work were also carrying their usual departmental duties and were frequently being called by their superiors for routine work, affecting the process and causing delays. He asked that all departments be instructed to allow BLOs to devote adequate time exclusively to SIR work during the revision period.

He also said that although BLOs were distributing Enumeration Forms in their areas, in many places these were "not being properly collected, verified and filed", causing confusion over the status of applications. Appireddy said public awareness of the exercise was inadequate and many electors were unaware of its purpose, procedure and timelines. He urged the Election Commission to take up extensive awareness drives through mike announcements, local publicity and other communication methods, and said recognised political parties could also be allowed to assist in voter awareness programmes related to SIR.

Raising concerns over the handling of forms, he said that in several places BLOs were issuing two Enumeration Forms to electors. One of them was purportedly being treated as an acknowledgement, but both forms were reportedly being collected back from voters. "In some polling areas, only one Enumeration Form is being issued to voters, resulting in a lack of uniformity in implementation of the SIR programme throughout the state," he said.

Appireddy further alleged that in several places Enumeration Forms were being collected in bulk from BLOs by BLAs belonging to the ruling party and then distributed among voters. "Such practices, if true, undermine the neutrality and transparency of the electoral revision process and require immediate inquiry," he said. He also claimed that review meetings with BLOs were being conducted by political leaders in some areas, and said any alleged political interference or influence on BLOs could affect public confidence in the electoral process and therefore required strict scrutiny.

He said that although BLOs had been empowered to collect voter photographs through the designated mobile application, in many places photographs were not being collected through the prescribed mechanism, leading to incomplete data collection. He also alleged that the final electoral roll published during the year 2026 had not been supplied to political parties and their BLAs, making verification and participation in the revision process difficult. While electoral rolls had been supplied to parties up to January 1, 2025, he said many additions, deletions and corrections had been made after that. "The updated votes are published in April, 2026, based on which Enumeration Forms are being issued, has not yet been made available to our BLAs and party representatives. Non-supply of the latest electoral roll seriously affects transparency and verification of electoral records," he said.

Appireddy also said weak mobile connectivity and lack of internet access were creating problems for BLOs and BLAs in uploading voter data, carrying out real-time verification and completing other work in several agency and tribal areas. He appealed to the CEO to address the issues with suitable action and ensure that the SIR in Andhra Pradesh was conducted in a transparent, fair and impartial manner.

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