THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Election Commission of India's decision to carry out Special Intensive Revision of electoral roll in Kerala poses a serious challenge to the democratic process, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday.
In a statement, the CM warned that the move could undermine public trust in the electoral system.
The Chief Minister noted that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)-Kerala had already informed the ECI that SIR would be impractical as Kerala is preparing for local body elections.
Reminding that the Kerala Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution against SIR, the Chief Minister called for more unified resistance against it.
Pinarayi pointed out that the ECI was planning to carry out the revision of voter lists from 2002 to 2004 instead of the existing rolls. This, he said amounts to violation of the Representation of the People Act of 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules of 1960.
"These laws clearly state that any update must be carried out using the current voter list as its basis," he said.
Pinarayi's statement came a day after the ECI announced that the SIR would be carried out between November 2025 and February 2026 in 12 states and union territories, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and West Bengal, all of which are due to hold Assembly elections in 2026.
Meanwhile, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer has begun the SIR process. A meeting of District Collectors has been convened on Tuesday followed by a meeting of political party representatives on Wednesday.