The ruling NDA’s ally and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Lok Sabha leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu tells Preetha Nair that the Election Commission should start the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh as early as possible so that every voter can be counted on. Excerpts:TDP has approached EC with certain recommendations…The opposition is trying to build a narrative on the ground against the ongoing SIR in Bihar on several counts. Our party is against it. That’s the reason the TDP approached the EC and presented suggestions about Andhra Pradesh. We are not talking about Bihar, Andaman, or Tamil Nadu. Our focus is clearly on Andhra Pradesh. We told them that we had elections a year back, and the next election is due only in 2029. We have four years in hand. Since the EC has made it clear that SIR will be conducted across the country, we asked them to start the process in Andhra as early as possible.But Bihar got very little time to do the exercise.We haven’t mentioned Bihar in our letter to the EC.What are the other concerns?Our concern is about the main stakeholders in this exercise, that is the voter. It’s neither about the politicians, MLAs who are contesting, the officers who have to oversee this whole process, nor the EC conducting this activity. It’s about the comfort that we can provide to the voter. We want them to be as comfortable as possible. In Andhra, we have everything available and enough time for four years. We want them to start it soon so that every voter can be counted on, every voter’s identity can be created, and we make sure that every voter is identified transparently.
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