Hyderabad

Emphasising the need for periodic “purification of electoral rolls”, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said that only Indian citizens should figure in the voters’ list, asserting that clean electoral rolls are vital for a healthy democracy.

Addressing Booth Level Officers (BLOs) of Telangana here, Kumar said India, as the world’s largest democracy, drew close attention from the global community, which keenly observed how its elections were conducted.

Describing BLOs as the backbone of India’s electoral system, he said the success of electoral roll purification depended on their diligence and integrity. “From time to time, electoral rolls have to be purified. Prepare such an electoral roll which has the names of only those who are eligible. This is extremely important for democracy,” he said.

Referring to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls carried out in Bihar, the CEC said the exercise had been conducted flawlessly and had set an example for the rest of the country. Under Phase III of SIR, Telangana would now demonstrate how such an exercise should be undertaken, he added.

Kumar said the final electoral roll in Bihar contained 7.5 crore electors. The deleted names included about 22 lakh deceased voters, 36 lakh who had permanently shifted, and nearly seven lakh fake voters. “The process recorded zero complaints, zero re-polling and zero recounting,” he said, congratulating Bihar’s BLOs for their performance.

The voter list purification exercise has been completed in Bihar and is currently underway in 12 states, he said.

“Only Indian citizens should be part of the voters’ list. Should an outsider be in the voter list? Be it of any religion, they must be Indian,” Kumar asserted.

He also underlined that elections in India are conducted strictly in accordance with the law of the land and that all stakeholders are bound to comply with election laws.

The CEC noted that his recent assumption of the chairship of the Council of Member States of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for 2026, at Stockholm, reflected global recognition of the Election Commission of India as one of the world’s most credible and innovative election management bodies.

India has over 900 million electors, he said.

During his interaction with BLOs, Kumar observed that urban voter apathy remained a major reason for lower polling percentages in cities, while rural voters consistently set an example by turning out enthusiastically and standing in long queues.

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Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharshan Reddy was also present and addressed the gathering.