Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has backed the Election Commission of India (ECI) amid reports of differences among its members over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the Union government.
Following the controversy, the ECI members – comprising Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi – on September 26 had announced that voters who have received SIR notices for being “unmapped” or having logical discrepancies will generally not have to appear before election officials.
Responding to this, Naidu said the “unanimous clarification” issued by the ECI has reaffirmed the “integrity and credibility of our constitutional institutions” and “puts to rest all the misconceptions surrounding it.”
“The decisions concerning the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls are taken collectively and in strict adherence to established institutional protocols,” Naidu said.
“Attempts to undermine global confidence in India’s democratic framework or electoral processes for short-term political gains are deeply unfortunate,” he added.
He said that electoral outcomes reflect the people’s mandate. In a robust democracy, leadership also means accepting both victories and defeats with grace and humility, he said. “Respect for our constitutional institutions is paramount. It is the collective responsibility of leaders across party lines to uphold public confidence in India’s democratic process,” Naidu said.
However, it is worth noting that Naidu had previously criticised the BJP-led government while accusing Prime Minister Modi of systematically destroying” institutions, including the Election Commission.
The AP CM’s latest comments come against the backdrop of reports of differences within the three-member poll panel over the SIR exercise. The Indian Express had reported on September 23 that Sandhu and Joshi raised objections on multiple occasions over decisions and orders concerning electoral roll revisions during the past 10 months. The report said the two commissioners had recorded 14 objections.
The ECI, however, clarified the same day that written observations and differences during internal deliberations do not amount to disagreement over the Commission’s final decisions. It said all official decisions, including those concerning SIR, had been taken with the approval of all three commissioners.
On September 26, the full Commission met at the ECI headquarters in New Delhi and issued a detailed press note reiterating that key decisions concerning SIR had been taken unanimously. The Commission announced several measures to ease the process for voters and changes to its internal functioning.
The Commission has also directed District Election Officers (DEOs) to establish help desks and organise special camps, depending on local requirements, for people living in night shelters, labourers, poor people and homeless persons.
Read: SIR voters need not attend hearings in most cases, says poll panel