Telangana BJP chief backs voter-roll revision and rejects claims of EC rift

Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao has defended the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and accused the Congress and its allies of spreading misinformation about the process. Speaking at a press conference in Hyderabad on Tuesday, Rao said Opposition parties were trying to create a false impression that the Election Commission’s members were divided.

Referring to a joint statement by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, he said there were no differences within the panel. Rao also challenged criticism of Form-6, which is used for fresh voter enrolment. He said the form had been validated by the Supreme Court but was being portrayed inaccurately for political reasons.

The BJP leader said the revision was intended to remove bogus entries while protecting the rights of genuine and eligible voters. He questioned why Congress had not raised similar objections to electronic voting machines or other election procedures when it won in Kerala and Himachal Pradesh. Rao also alleged that Election Commission officials had received lucrative post-retirement positions and honours under earlier Congress-led governments.

By contrast, he said appointments under the current system involved the Leader of the Opposition and judicial oversight, which he argued strengthened neutrality. He described congressional criticism of the electoral system as unfortunate and said it conflicted with earlier positive comments by some senior Congress leaders. Rao also demanded an unconditional apology from Telangana Chief Minister A.

Revanth Reddy over remarks accusing him of trying to divide Hindus for political gain. He said the comments were politically motivated, particularly in the context of a proposed Khairatabad by-election after the disqualification of Danam Nagender.