SIR process begins in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram | The Election Commission on Tuesday began the SIR of voters' list in Kerala, even as most political parties-- barring the BJP --have raised concerns over its timing.

Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have started visiting households to distribute and collect enumeration forms.

The EC has announced implementing Special Intensive Revision in 12 states and union territories, including the poll-bound Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry.

Senior election officials are personally visiting the homes of celebrity and VIP voters to ensure the process is completed without delay.

"Our idea is to distribute and collect the filled-up forms on the same day to minimise visits and save time," Thiruvananthapuram District Collector Anu Kumari said.

BLOs will make up to three visits if residents are unavailable initially.

"We will also seek help from residents' associations or contact voters in advance over the phone," she added.

The Collector clarified that voters whose names appear in the 2025 list, linked to the 2002 list, need to only submit the filled-in form without additional documents.

Those not listed in either year must provide one of the 12 documents approved by the Election Commission.

Voters temporarily residing outside their constituency can download and submit the form online, or have a relative hand it over to the BLO, she said.

Responding to opposition parties' apprehensions that the SIR could disrupt local body poll preparations, the Collector admitted that officials' workload would increase but said those handling election duties had been exempted from SIR responsibilities.

The final revised voters' list will be published on February 7, 2026.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called for an all-party meeting online on Wednesday to seek consensus on the implementation of the SIR.

Election officials cautioned that a political boycott could hinder the revision process, as the cooperation of booth-level agents is vital to ensure accuracy.