Kerala vs SIR: CM Vijayan to legally challenge roll revision; joins Tamil Nadu

NEW DELHI: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said the state government will legally challenge the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The decision was taken at an all-party meeting chaired by the chief minister. All parties except the BJP supported the move, according to an official statement. Vijayan said the government, along with political parties, would seek legal advice on how to oppose the SIR, especially with local body elections approaching.During the meeting, Vijayan criticised the Election Commission’s move to conduct the SIR using the 2002 rolls as its base, calling it “unscientific” and driven by “malicious intent”.

Several political leaders echoed these concerns.Also read: SIR showdown: DMK moves Supreme Court against roll revision in Tamil Nadu The meeting comes a day after Booth Level Officers began visiting homes across Kerala to distribute and collect enumeration forms as part of the nationwide SIR process. The Election Commission launched Phase II of this exercise in 12 states and Union Territories, including Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, MP, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

Meanwhile, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu has already approached the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the SIR, alleging that it is an arbitrary exercise that could remove lakhs of genuine voters from the lists. The party said the move was unnecessary since voter rolls were already updated during the 2024–25 summary revision.Also read: From Brazilian model to Saddam Hussain — What Rahul Gandhi alleged in 'H-files' presser: 10 key pointsThe first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was carried out earlier this year in Bihar, where it sparked strong political opposition. Opposition parties, including the RJD, Congress, and Left called it a “fraud”. They alleged that thousands of names belonging to Dalits, backward classes, and poor voters were deliberately left out of the final rolls, accusing the Election Commission of working in collusion with the ruling party to manipulate the voter list. The Election Commission, however, maintains that the SIR is aimed at improving accuracy and transparency, and has reported zero complaints from Bihar.