CEO asks political parties to appoint BLAs at the earliest

Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudarshan Reddy has asked the recognised political parties to appoint booth level agents ahead of the commencement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Strong booth level coordination will be central to the SIR and the political parties are therefore requested to appoint BLAs. The CEO held a meeting with the representatives of recognised political parties on Thursday. He said BLAs should preferably be drawn from the local area of the polling station and they should work in close coordination with Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

Each polling booth must have at least one appointed BLA to help ensure accuracy, transparency and timely resolution of issues during the revision of electoral rolls. The CEO informed the parties that SIR was currently underway in 12 States and that the schedule for the remaining States, including Telangana, was expected to be announced during April–May 2026. Given the limited time available for the revision once notified, preparatory work had already commenced in the State.

As part of this, a table-top mapping had been carried out to link electors listed in the 2025 electoral rolls with those covered during the 2002 SIR. This was being followed by field-level mapping with booth level officers undertaking house-to-house visits to identify and verify residences, particularly in urban areas.

During the SIR, BLOs were expected to make three to four visits to each polling area. Enumeration forms would be distributed during the first visit and the subsequent visits would cover households that were not available earlier. The CEO clarified that electors who were not mapped during the preparatory phase would be able to furnish their details during the SIR.

Explaining the role of political parties in the process, he urged them to complete the appointment of BLAs for all polling stations at the earliest. This was to ensure effective booth-level participation which would strengthen coordination, minimise grievances and help ensure that no eligible voter was excluded from the electoral rolls.