‘Purified electoral rolls’ are essential for healthy democracy: Gyanesh Kumar

Emphasising the need for periodic “purification” of electoral rolls, chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday asserted that India’s voters’ lists must contain the names of Indian citizens alone, describing the exercise as vital to the health of the world’s largest democracy.

Addressing booth level officers (BLOs) of Telangana, Kumar underlined their pivotal role in safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process. Calling BLOs the backbone of India’s election machinery, he said the success of electoral roll purification rests squarely on their diligence, integrity and commitment to democratic values.

India’s elections, he noted, are closely watched across the globe as a measure of how the world’s largest democracy functions. “From time to time, electoral rolls have to be purified,” he said, adding that a clean and accurate voters’ list is essential for ensuring free and fair elections.

Citing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted in Bihar as a model exercise, the CEC said the state had set a benchmark for the rest of the country. Under Phase III of the SIR, he added, Telangana would now demonstrate to the nation how such an exercise should be carried out.

Kumar described the Bihar revision as flawless, noting that the list of deleted electors included 22 lakh deceased voters, 36 lakh who had permanently shifted, and seven lakh fake voters. The final roll contained 7.5 crore electors and, remarkably, the process recorded zero complaints, zero re-polling and zero recounting. He congratulated Bihar’s BLOs for what he called an exemplary performance.

“Prepare an electoral roll that contains only the names of those who are eligible,” Kumar urged Telangana’s BLOs. “This responsibility is extremely important for democracy. Purified electoral rolls are the foundation of a healthy democratic system.”

The voter list purification exercise has already been completed in Bihar and is currently underway in 12 states, he said, reiterating that only Indian citizens — irrespective of religion — should figure in the voters’ list.

“Should an outsider be in the voters’ list? Be it of any religion, they must be Indian,” he said, stressing that elections in India are conducted strictly in accordance with the law, and all stakeholders are bound to comply with electoral rules.

Highlighting India’s growing stature in global electoral management, Kumar said 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 reflected international recognition of the Election Commission of India as one of the world’s most credible and innovative election bodies.

With over 900 million electors, he said, India’s democratic exercise is unparalleled in scale. During his interaction with BLOs, the CEC also pointed to urban voter apathy as a key reason for lower turnout in cities, contrasting it with the enthusiasm of rural voters who consistently queue up in large numbers to cast their ballots.

Telangana chief electoral officer C. Sudharshan Reddy also addressed the gathering.

With PTI inputs