The Kerala government has urged the Election Commission of India (EC) to extend the deadline for submission of census forms under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll by at least two weeks, noting that under the current situation, around 25 million people could be excluded.
In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before the release of the draft SIR lists, Chief Secretary A. Jayathilak listed the flaws in the SIR exercise. He expressed the state government’s concern that a significant number of voters may not find a place in the draft lists to be released on Tuesday.
According to the state government, enumeration forms were not issued to all 2.78 million voters present on the electoral rolls after a special summary revision in 2025. However, election officials did not disclose details of the forms that were not distributed or given to political parties, it said. The government urged the EC to make available information related to undistributed forms and details of “uncharted” voters in the booth and constituencies.
Besides, according to the government, many voters who exercised their right to vote in the 2021 parliamentary polls were left out. This list includes Thiruvalla MLA Mathew T. Thomas and his family, former MLA Rajaji Mathew Thomas and former state police chief Raman Srivastava and his family.
The Kerala government has also brought to the EC’s attention the surprisingly high number of enumerated forms that are listed as “uncollectible”. The government cited the example of Polling Station No. 138 in Thiruvananthapuram constituency where 704 voters are on the ‘Absent, Shifted, Dead’ (ASD) list. This situation is unnatural as the total number of voters in the station is likely to be less than 1,200. There is also a chance that there will be more such polling stations, the government said and urged the EC to look into the issue seriously.
The government further noted that the EC concluded the update of the forms on December 19, despite the existence of the aforementioned irregularities. Besides, political parties in the state and the Supreme Court have asked the EC to examine the possibility of extending the schedule, the government said.
An error-free electoral roll is a basic requirement for holding free and fair elections, the Kerala government said. The deadline for submitting forms should be extended by at least two weeks to address complaints and include all eligible voters on the rolls, the government said.
Published – 22 Dec 2025 21:41 IST
