Kerala's Electoral Battle: Why Opposition Fights Voter Roll Revision Amid Polls

Speaking to IANS about the Kerala government’s petition regarding the SIR, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said, “The government will file a petition, but I cannot comment on what stand the Supreme Court will take. This is both a legal and political battle, which all parties must engage in. The problem is that the Election Commission is functioning with obstinacy and running a process in which no one has confidence.”

He added, “Common people do not believe in this process. It is repeatedly claimed that the SIR had no impact on the Bihar elections. The voters who were deleted were largely from the Opposition. I have not heard anything more absurd. In my locality, most voters support the Congress. If you remove all such voters, then who will win? It is being said that the SIR did not have any impact — how can that be, when you have taken away people’s voting rights?”

RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari also weighed in, saying, “We are waiting for the hearing on the petition filed against SIR today, to see how the proceedings unfold and what decision is delivered.”

On Wednesday, a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai had agreed to list the plea after the counsel informed the court that the SIR process is currently underway even though Kerala is scheduled to hold local body elections in the second week of December.

The Kerala government has itself approached the Supreme Court seeking postponement of the SIR exercise, following the Kerala High Court’s refusal last week to entertain its writ petition seeking deferment of the process.

Citing severe manpower constraints, the state government has argued that conducting the SIR simultaneously with the LSGI elections would trigger an “administrative impasse”.

In its petition under Article 32, Kerala has highlighted that over 1,76,000 government and quasi-government personnel and 68,000 security staff are required for the local body polls. The SIR, the petition said, demands an additional 25,668 officials, many of whom are drawn from the same limited pool of trained election staff.

“There is a constitutional mandate to complete the LSGI elections before December 21, 2025. Simultaneously undertaking the SIR will strain the administration and adversely affect the smooth conduct of the elections,” read the state government’s plea, referring to the statutory deadlines under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 and the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994.

It contended that while local body polls must mandatorily be completed by December 21, there is no emergent necessity to complete the SIR at this stage, especially since Assembly elections are due only by May 2026.

“Undermining the quality of verification by needlessly rushing it through, when constitutional elections are underway, goes counter to the democratic right of franchise,” the petition stated.

Before the Kerala High Court, the Election Commission of India had contended that SIR is part of a nationwide exercise and more than half the process is already complete, adding that halting it mid-way would disrupt preparations for the next electoral cycle.

A single-judge Bench of Justice V.G. Arun had observed that since similar petitions challenging the SIR of voters’ list in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal are already pending before the Supreme Court, “judicial discipline and comity” required the Kerala High Court to refrain from adjudicating the matter.

- IANS