25 lakh names on Kerala's ASD list: Parties seek clarification and verification in SIR

Thiruvananthapuram: Political parties in Kerala have demanded that the Election Commission make public the ASD (Absent, Shifted and Deceased) voters list, which reportedly contains the names of around 25 lakh people, including those who have died or whose names appear multiple times in the voters’ list.

The parties’ primary demand is clarity on the grounds for exclusion of these names during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. Once the ASD list is released, political parties will independently verify the details at the grassroots level. Several parties also raised questions over the figures cited by the Election Commission, expressing doubts about their accuracy.

In addition to the ASD category, there are nearly 2,00,000 names under the “others” category, those who either declined to collect the enumeration form or failed to return it after collection.

Chief Electoral Officer Dr Rathan U Kelkar said that if any among the 25 lakh people are found to be eligible after the publication of the draft electoral rolls, they can be re-included through Form 7, as per Election Commission guidelines.

Kelkar said the list of people who could not be traced will be published on the official website on Tuesday, adding that booth-level, polling station-wise lists have already been prepared and given to Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

Leaders who spoke on the issue included M V Jayarajan (CPM), Sathyan Mokeri (CPI), J R Padmakumar (BJP), M K Rahman (Congress), Muhammad Shah (Muslim League), Mathew George (Kerala Congress), Anand Kumar (Kerala Congress–M) and P G Prasannakumar (RSP).

SIR timeline and key dates

The Election Commission said the enumeration period for the Special Intensive Revision of the voters’ list will conclude on December 18. Voters whose details do not match during the comparison of the 2002 and 2025 electoral rolls will be issued notices, followed by hearings.

Objections and claims related to the draft electoral roll can be filed between December 23 and January 22. Hearings will continue until February 14, and the final voters’ list for Kerala will be published on February 21.

The commission added that new voters can enrol and eligible voters can seek corrections until shortly before the conduct of elections, in line with Election Commission rules.

SIR as of Monday morning (in percentage)