Thiruvananthapuram: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll has led to the exclusion of over two lakh voters from the list in Kerala. Many people who had voted in previous elections — including the 2021 Assembly polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections — are now finding their names missing.

The only option left for them is to add their names to the electoral roll as fresh voters. Those who have objections to their exclusion must submit an application through Form 6 to add their names back to the list. NRIs should apply using Form 6A.

All these applicants will receive a new voter ID card and EPIC number. However, there are concerns that the new voter ID process may permanently erase voters’ past voting records. As they are listed as new voters, government records may no longer show their history of exercising their franchise.

Citing this, some political parties have raised complaints, alleging that lapses by the Election Commission are troubling voters.

The draft list published on December 23 excluded 24,08,503 voters found to be deceased, untraceable, or shifted.

Among those excluded, the ‘Shifted’ category constitutes the highest number: 8,16,221. The ‘Dead’ total 6,49,885. The ‘Untraceable’ are 6,45,548. The ‘Duplicates' — those whose names figured more than once — are 1,36,029. The ‘Others’, including those who refused to receive the enumeration forms, number 1,60,830.