Telangana Congress State-wide protests against ECI’s SIR handling on September 28

The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president, B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, announced that the Congress would hold protests at every district headquarters in the state on Monday, September 28, 2026. These demonstrations were in response to what Goud described as the Election Commission of India's (ECI) improper handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

The TPCC chief called for the ECI to provide a public explanation regarding two Election Commissioners' objections to the SIR. These concerns were reportedly raised by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over the past ten months, covering issues like the registration of new voters, deletions of names, and the maintenance of voter databases.

Goud emphasized that the objections encompassed the registration process, deletion of names, and the software used for electoral rolls, affecting hundreds of thousands of people in Telangana. The TPCC president demanded a detailed explanation from the ECI on the legal basis for changes proposed in Form 6, which citizens use for voter registration.

He also sought clarification on the role and responsibilities of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in making changes to voter data. Goud insisted that the ECI publish state-wise and constituency-wise details of names deleted from draft electoral rolls, the reasons for these deletions, the number of objections received, and the number of names restored.

The Congress leader claimed that the reported objections from two Election Commissioners had bolstered the party's concerns about the functioning of the ECI.