By Chief Minister Pinarayi

Copyright thehindu

Expressing misgivings over the proposed special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, the Kerala Legislative Assembly has asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to desist from actions that could “potentially harm the people’s rights.”

The rolls should be updated in a fair and transparent manner, the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) told the ECI in a resolution that was unanimously passed in the State Legislative Assembly on Monday (September 29, 2025).

The Kerala Assembly expressed strong reservations over the timing of the SIR, the decision to use the 2002 rolls as the base document, and the eligibility conditions set out for voters. These conditions – the resolution presented by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said – could adversely impact the voting rights of minority communities, women, poor families, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and overseas electors.

The move to have the SIR when Kerala is at the threshold of the 2025 local body elections and the State Legislative Assembly polls in 2026 is ill-intentioned, it said.

It further observed that the ECI’s plan to use the electoral rolls prepared in 2002, when an SIR was last conducted in the State, as the base document for the upcoming exercise was “unscientific.”

Cites Bihar instance

There is widespread concern that the ECI’s decision to subject the electoral rolls to an SIR is a roundabout way of implementing the National Register of Citizens, the resolution said. The SIR exercise in Bihar, which the resolution described as “politics of expulsion,” corroborates such concerns, it said.

Moreover, the “haste” shown in implementing SIR in States such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal where elections are imminent, and despite the fact that its Constitutional validity is under consideration of the Supreme Court, cannot be seen as “innocent,” the resolution said.

The fear that such haste is aimed at sabotaging the mandate of the people has placed the ECI under a cloud of suspicion, it noted.

“In what manner would the SIR be used by sections seeking to resuscitate the Citizenship Amendment Act, which attempts to make citizenship religion-based, is a challenge faced by democracy,” the resolution said.

The condition that individuals born after 1987 should produce proof of citizenship of either of their parents disregards the concept of adult suffrage. Individuals born after 2003 are required to produce citizenship proof of both parents. Excluding people from the list on the grounds that they could not produce records amounts to denial of the adult suffrage guaranteed by the Constitution, the resolution said.

The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) – the ECI representative in the State — had started laying the groundwork for the Kerala SIR shortly after its commencement in Bihar.

While the announcement of the schedule was expected shortly, political parties in the ruling LDF and the Opposition UDF had demanded that the SIR be put off until after the local body polls. Their objections were formally conveyed at a State-level meeting convened by CEO Rathan U. Kelkar in Thiruvananthapuram on September 20. Political parties had urged the ECI to use the latest rolls for the SIR and also add the ration card to the list of identification documents.

On September 21, Mr. Kelkar recommended to the ECI that the Kerala SIR be put off until after the local body elections. His rationale was that the officials overseeing SIR would also have to function as returning officers for the local body polls. The ECI’s response is awaited.