On 29 September, the Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the ECI to withdraw from the “ill-timed and ill-intentioned” exercise, warning that it could disenfranchise large sections of voters.
Published Nov 04, 2025 | 6:07 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 04, 2025 | 6:07 PM
With the Left and Congress viewing SIR as a threat to free and fair elections, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called for an all-party meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on 5 November.
Synopsis: The ECI’s decision to implement SIR of the voters’ list in Kerala, even as the state readies for its local body elections, has triggered an unprecedented political uproar — with the ruling CPI(M), the Congress, and the chief minister himself accusing the Commission of acting under political influence.
As Kerala prepares to convene an all-party meeting on Wednesday, 5 November, to discuss the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, political attention is firmly fixed on whether the CPI(M)-led Left government will move the Supreme Court against what many are calling an “anti-democratic” exercise.
The meeting comes amid mounting pressure from Congress, which has urged the state government—not individual parties—to take the legal initiative.
On 2 November, Tamil Nadu convened a similar all-party meeting, and the next day, the ruling DMK approached the apex court, accusing the Election Commission of “constitutional overreach” and warning that the SIR could disenfranchise thousands of voters ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
Amid mounting unease across the political spectrum, the state government, on 29 October, decided to convene an all-party meeting to deliberate on the SIR— a move Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan warned could undermine the democratic process.
Announcing the decision after a Cabinet meeting, Vijayan said the SIR, pushed through despite objections from political parties and even the State Chief Electoral Officer, has triggered “great concern” in Kerala.
He reminded that the Assembly had earlier passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to withdraw the revision drive and adopt a transparent, accountable system for updating voter lists.
The meeting, to be held at the Government Guest House in Thycaud, Thiruvananthapuram, is expected to chart the state’s collective response to what Vijayan described as the Election Commission’s “alarming and unilateral” decision.
The ECI’s decision to implement SIR of the voters’ list in Kerala, even as the state readies for its local body elections, has triggered an unprecedented political uproar — with the ruling CPI(M), the Congress, and the chief minister himself accusing the Commission of acting under political influence.
Vijayan earlier launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission, calling the move “a challenge to the democratic process” and “a threat to the universal right to vote guaranteed under the Constitution.”
In a strongly worded statement, on 28 October, Vijayan alleged that the Commission was attempting a “radical revision” of the electoral rolls by using the voter list of 2002–2004 as the base — instead of updating the existing list as mandated by the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Voters Registration Act, 1960.
“According to the law, the electoral rolls should be updated based on the existing list. The move to use a two-decade-old list defies the legal process,” he said, adding that the timing of the revision — coinciding with the local body polls — raises “serious doubts” about its motive.
Vijayan also pointed to the recent SIR exercise in Bihar, where over 65 lakh names were allegedly deleted from the rolls, calling it “a warning sign.”
“The same people who preached the importance of voting on Voters’ Day have erased lakhs of names in Bihar. This is a violation of Article 326 of the Constitution,” he said.
The chief minister warned that the SIR process could be a “roundabout route” to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“Criticisms that the Centre is trying to manipulate the voter list to suit its political interests have not been denied. Extending the same process to other states while its legality is still under Supreme Court scrutiny cannot be seen as innocent,” he added.
Kerala, Vijayan reminded, remains the only state whose Legislative Assembly has passed a resolution opposing the SIR, and he called for a united response to “defend democratic values.”
Echoing the chief minister’s stance, CPI(M) leader MV Jayarajan, on 29 October, said the party will explore the possibility of legally challenging the SIR rollout.
“Implementing SIR now raises serious questions about the motive behind such a decision. The party will consult legal experts on the matter,” he said after registering a strong protest during a meeting convened by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rathan U Kelkar of political parties.
Jayarajan alleged a “conspiracy to sabotage” the upcoming local body elections through the revision process, claiming it could lead to mass voter exclusions.
The CPI(M) State Secretariat, in a separate statement, described the move as an “illegal and undemocratic attempt to subvert democracy by using the Election Commission as a pawn.”
The party alleged that the Bihar model of electoral roll revision — now being extended nationwide — could lead to over 50 lakh voters being excluded in Kerala, particularly from minority and marginalised communities.
“This is a deliberate attempt at democratic destruction. The Centre is systematically undermining constitutional institutions to achieve political gains,” the statement read.
The Congress, too, came out strongly against the SIR process, terming it a politically motivated attempt to distort Kerala’s electoral landscape.
Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan called the decision “unacceptable” and “politically motivated,” alleging that it would disrupt the smooth conduct of local body elections and aid attempts to delete long-time voters.
“The Election Commission should not act as an instrument of the Union government or vested interests. Its complicity in moves that undermine people’s will will only weaken democracy,” he said, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the SIR decision.
KPCC president Sunny Joseph went a step further, calling the move “evil-intentioned and hasty.”
“This must be seen as a declaration of war against the state. The decision was taken unilaterally, without consultation, and implementing SIR during local election activities is unwise,” he said.
Joseph also alleged that using the 2002 voters’ list as the base amounted to a “denial of the right to vote” and warned that it could pave the way for the NRC “through the back door.”
In contrast, the BJP welcomed the Election Commission’s move.
Party representative S Suresh, during the meeting of political parties on 29 October, said the SIR process would help clean up the voters’ list and prevent duplication and fraud.
“Those who oppose this process are clearly trying to hide something. SIR will ensure a clean and transparent voters’ list,” he said, while urging that the exercise should not delay the conduct of the local body elections.
Chief Electoral Officer -Kerala Rathan U Kelkar assured that all concerns raised by political parties would be addressed.
“The implementation will be transparent and carried out with the cooperation of political parties,” he said, adding that a preliminary assessment found a 68 per cent match between the 2002 and 2025 voters’ lists.
Kelkar explained that each voter would have a unique, QR-coded enumeration form including details from previous revisions, and that details of exclusions — such as change of address, death, or duplication — would be publicly available.
“Every eligible voter will be included. Every concern will be duly addressed before finalising the rolls,” he added.
With the Left and Congress viewing the move as a threat to free and fair elections, and the BJP hailing it as a step toward electoral transparency, the SIR rollout has become the latest political flashpoint in Kerala’s already charged pre-poll atmosphere.
As legal challenges loom and accusations of hidden motives intensify, the ECI has already rolled out the SIR enumeration in the state.
Earlier, Kerala had set the tone for a broader political pushback against the ECI’s controversial SIR of electoral rolls.
On 29 September, the Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the ECI to withdraw from the “ill-timed and ill-intentioned” exercise, warning that it could disenfranchise large sections of voters.
Moved by Chief Minister Vijayan under Rule 118, the resolution—backed by both the ruling LDF and the Opposition UDF—argued that the SIR’s demand for parental citizenship documents for those born after 1987 and 2003 violated the principle of universal suffrage under Article 326.
The House termed the move a “backdoor attempt” to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC), echoing similar concerns raised in Bihar, where the process has already been challenged in the Supreme Court.
The Assembly warned that linking voter verification to citizenship proofs could marginalise the poor, Dalits, Adivasis, women, and NRIs, and even pave the way for reviving the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
With Tamil Nadu and West Bengal also expressing alarm over the SIR, Kerala’s unanimous stand has become the first institutional opposition to what many see as a politically loaded move that risks eroding public trust in the electoral process.
The state has urged the ECI to adopt a transparent and inclusive approach using updated rolls rather than outdated records from 2002.
In neighbouring Tamil Nadu, the political spectrum there closed ranks against the conduct of the SIR of electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 Assembly election.
At a multi-party meeting chaired by Chief Minister MK Stalin on 2 November, parties adopted a resolution calling the exercise “anti-democratic” and warning that it could disenfranchise large sections of voters, particularly minorities and Opposition supporters.
The resolution urged the ECI to withdraw the SIR, citing its lack of legal basis, poor timing coinciding with the northeast monsoon, and the Supreme Court’s pending verdict on a similar case in Bihar.
Subsequently, the ruling DMK approached the Supreme Court on 3 November, filing a petition under Article 32 that terms the ECI’s orders of June 24 and October 27, 2025, as “constitutional overreach.”
The party argued that the SIR, which mandates fresh citizenship verification, effectively turns the ECI into a “de facto NRC” and violates fundamental rights by burdening citizens to re-establish their legitimacy as voters.
Alleging arbitrariness, procedural lapses, and risk of mass disenfranchisement, the DMK urged the apex court to quash the SIR as unconstitutional and beyond the Commission’s statutory powers.
As Kerala heads into the 5 November all-party meeting, all eyes are on whether the state will take the lead in taking the legal route against the SIR.
With political tempers rising and similar challenges pending before the Supreme Court, the outcome of Kerala’s deliberations could well shape the evolving debate on SIR.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
