Thiruvananthapuram: Political parties in Kerala appear not to oppose the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter list outright, but will adopt a cautious approach. With the Supreme Court declining to halt the revision, the process will go ahead.

The CPM, CPI and Congress maintain they will resist if there is any attempt to strike names off the rolls following the Bihar SIR model, but note that conditions in Kerala are different. Political parties in the state are of the view that most names on the list are backed by valid documents, and fraud is considered relatively low due to high literacy and e-literacy rates.

The Congress has long alleged that the rolls include bogus votes, mainly against the CPM. Congress MP Adoor Prakash earlier uncovered a significant number of fake entries in the Attingal Lok Sabha constituency. Both Congress and CPI accuse the BJP of adding votes illegally in Thrissur.

Given these factors, the parties cannot reject the voter roll revision. They aim instead to prevent the potential politically motivated removal of genuine voters. The UDF believes that their party workers should accompany officials during the enumeration. The LDF says it will help voters organise documents to ensure no one is excluded.

Expatriates brought into voter roll revision

As part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Election Commission officials are also seeking to bring more non-residents into the electoral process. Voters already on the rolls may upload documents and complete enumeration online, which booth-level officers (BLOs) will verify through home visits. The Chief Electoral Officer will meet with NORKA on September 19 to discuss expatriate participation.

BLOs will verify expatriate details by visiting their homes. If residents are unavailable or doubts arise, verification will be done through WhatsApp video calls or via local representatives, said Chief Electoral Officer Dr Rathan U Kelkar. The same process will apply to new registrations, he added.

The Election Commission has also directed that expatriate applicants must provide a house number to ensure proper identification of residence. If none is listed, a zero will be indicated in the column instead.

The Chief Electoral Officer added that he will review Adoor Prakash’s complaint about double voting in the Attingal constituency.