Political parties slam EC decision to go ahead with Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Kerala

The Election Commission of India’s (EC) decision to include Kerala in the current phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, ignoring reservations expressed by the State Legislative Assembly, drew flak from major political parties including the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress on Wednesday.

National and State-level political parties, except the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), slammed the EC for ‘overlooking’ the fact that Kerala was on the threshold of the 2025 local body elections. Senior political leaders, who aired their objections at a meeting with Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) Rathan Kelkar ahead of the SIR roll-out, observed that its overlap with the local body polls would mess up the latter exercise.

At Wednesday’s meeting, political parties urged Mr. Kelkar to once again take up the demand with the EC. They also alleged ulterior motives in including Kerala in this round of SIR while States such as Assam have been excluded.

CPI(M) stance

At the meeting, senior CPI(M) leader M.V. Jayarajan registered his party’s strong protest, terming the decision to hold the SIR alongside the local body elections ‘impractical.’ “The State Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution expressing its concern over the SIR.  The exercise should at least have been put off until after the local body polls. Further, we had also requested that the ration card be included as a valid identification document. The EC has not paid any heed to these demands,” Mr. Jayarajan said.

Mr. Jayarajan later told mediapersons that the CPI(M) would seek legal advice on the EC decision. There is  strong suspicion that the SIR is a tool for the back-door imposition of the National Register of Citizens, he said.  

KPCC agrees

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and MLA Sunny Joseph reiterated the Congress party’s demand that the SIR be put off until after the local body elections. He described the EC decision as a “declaration of war” against the people. “A case is pending in the Supreme Court. The verdict is not yet out. The State Assembly also had passed a resolution against SIR. Simultaneously holding the SIR and the local body polls cause unnecessary overlap,” Mr. Joseph said.

Communist Party of India (CPI), Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress, Kerala Congress (M) and the Revolutionary Socialist Party also slammed the decision to go ahead with the SIR.

BJP backs decision

The BJP supported the EC decision, but said adequate safeguards should be in place to ensure that the local body polls are not disrupted. BJP general secretary S. Suresh told the meeting that a “purified” electoral list should be in place before the 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala.

C.P. Cheriya Muhammed, State secretary of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Sathyan Mokeri of the CPI, P.G. Presanna Kumar of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Joy Abraham of the Kerala Congress, and Stephen George of Kerala Congress (M) were present. Apart from Mr. Kelkar, Additional CEO Sharmila C. and senior election officials were also present.

Ill-timed, says CPI

CPI State secretary Binoy Viswam urged the EC to withdraw from its move to conduct SIR, describing it as “ill-timed.” He also called for a united stand against the SIR which, he said, seeks to discriminate among States and ensure political gains for the ruling party at the Centre.