Kerala fast-tracks SIR exercise; voters instructed to submit forms by Nov 25

Thiruvananthapuram: Although Kerala’s Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls is scheduled to conclude on December 4, officials are rushing to complete it by November 25, raising questions and concerns.

In several areas, even the distribution of enumeration forms to voters has not been completed. Despite this, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are currently focused on digitising the submitted forms. Directions issued by certain District Collectors—asking voters to return filled-in forms before Monday and stating that BLOs will no longer visit homes to collect them—have created confusion among the public. Voters have now been instructed to submit their completed forms at designated collection centres.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear petitions filed by the state government and political parties against the SIR exercise on November 26. The LDF government and parties, including the CPM and the Congress, have approached the apex court seeking to defer the process until the completion of local body polls. They have also expressed concerns over the Central Election Commission’s push to expedite the SIR exercise amid these developments.

The Chief Election Officer of Kerala, representing the Central Election Commission in the state, maintains that while the official deadline remains December 4, an early completion would provide more time to address any gaps.

However, delays in verifying filled-in forms, uploading details, and technical glitches in the CEC portal have slowed the pace of the SIR exercise across the state.