The Cochin Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church has launched a campaign to ensure that no eligible member of the community is disenfranchised.
The diocese, comprising 40,750 families spread across four assembly constituencies in two districts, has launched efforts to identify those who remain off the electoral roll even after the recently concluded Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
The Church apparently took a cue from the assistance services organized by community groups, particularly the Muslim Mahalla Committees, during the SIR process.
As part of the event, households in family units of the diocese will be visited by volunteers, mostly members of the Church’s youth forums, who have been trained in voter registration procedures. They identify those who have been left off the latest lists as well as those who need to be re-enrolled. At least 3,000 such people have already been identified during the drive, church leaders involved in the campaign said.
The drive was launched last Sunday (March) with door-to-door visits at St. Joseph Parish in Cheriyakadav involving 875 families.
“We contemplated the need for such a campaign following reports that a large number of voters might be left out of the fresh rolls after SIR. The basic tenet of the campaign is that all eligible people should participate in the electoral exercise in a democracy,” said Xavier Julappan, former president of Kerala Catholic Youth Movement, Kochi Diocese.
Mr. Julappan said the drive aims to identify people without voter ID, those who have not received census forms and those who have not returned forms during the SIR process, people who were not registered before SIR and teenagers who have just reached voting age.
In addition to the door-to-door campaign, the diocese will also set up assistance services to help people register on the electoral rolls. “People from all communities will be served at the help desks,” he said.
Fr. Benny Thoppiparambil, one of the coordinators of the event, said the church does not consider the campaign an electioneering exercise. “There seems to be a degree of illiteracy among the community when it comes to such matters. The action also aims to address that gap. It will be an ongoing process,” he said, adding that leaders from other dioceses have begun exploring the possibility of expanding the effort to their regions.
Mr. Julappan said that the relief services organized by the Mahallu Committees during the SIR phase proved to be a model for them. Pareekutty AM of the Edappally Mahallu Muslim Jama-ath Committee said that the help desk set up by him, one of the first during the SIR, has proved to be highly effective. He added that the committee did not find the need to launch a campaign for SIR.
Ziyad Chembarakki, state secretary of the Samastha Kerala Madrasa Management Association, said community leaders advised people during the rally to check the fresh voters’ lists and ensure that no eligible person is disenfranchised.
Published – 04 March 2026 21:35 IST
