Kerala to legally challenge SIR of electoral rolls, CM’s move gets all-party backing

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on Wednesday that the state government would legally challenge the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The decision was made during an all-party meeting held online by the CM.

The move received full backing from all political parties except the BJP, according to an official statement.

With local body elections on the horizon, the Chief Minister stated that both the government and political parties would seek legal guidance on how to challenge the SIR process. He criticised the revision, noting that using the 2002 electoral roll as the base, while an updated list from the last Lok Sabha elections is already in place, was “unscientific” and driven by “malicious intent.”

Political parties raised concerns that revising the voter list based on the 2002 rolls would lead to significant complications and accused the authorities of carrying out the SIR with ulterior motives.

Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan expressed full support for the Chief Minister’s concerns and said the opposition was prepared to join the legal battle if the issue went to court. CPM State Secretary M V Govindan described the move as "unconstitutional and anti-democratic."

The meeting came a day after Booth Level Officers (BLOs) began visiting households to distribute and collect enumeration forms as part of the SIR process initiated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the state.

Those who attended the all party meeting included P C Vishnunadh (INC), Sathyan Mokeri (CPI), P K Kunhalikutty (IUML), Stephen George (Kerala Congress M), P J Joseph (Kerala Congress), Mathew T Thomas (Janata Dal Secular), Thomas K Thomas (NCP), Uzhavalykkal Venugopal (Congress S), K G Premjith (Kerala Congress B), Adv Shaji G S Panicker (RSP Leninist), K R Girijan (Kerala Congress Jacob), K Surendran (BJP), N K Premachandran (RSP), Ahmad Devarkovil (INL), and Antony Raju (Democratic Kerala Congress). PTI