Kerala polls: Only voter applications filed by March 15 eligible for April 9 voting

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: With the deadline for filing nomination papers ending on Monday, Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar has clarified that only voter registration applications submitted at least 10 days prior are being processed for inclusion in the electoral roll ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

Although applications for inclusion in the voter list can be submitted till the last date of nominations, the process of verification and addition to the rolls typically takes up to 10 days, he said in a statement on Sunday.

"As such, only applications received till March 15 will be processed in time, making those applicants eligible to vote in the forthcoming elections," Kelkar said in a statement.

He further added that fresh applications received after March 15, as well as any new requests, will be taken up only after the completion of the election process and declaration of the results of the April 9 polls. 

The 2026 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 9, the Election Commission of India announced on March 15, with the counting of votes scheduled to take place on May 4.

The tenure of the current assembly is scheduled to end on May 23.

The Model Code of Conduct comes into place, setting in process elections to the 140-member State Assembly, which is also known as the Kerala Niyamasabha.