LDF government, CPI(M), and Congress to separately move SC to defer SIR till after local body polls in Kerala

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]The Congress and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government will separately approach the Supreme Court to defend their joint contention that the Election Commission of India (EC) fast-tracking the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Kerala is impractical and burdensome for voters and officials, given the limited time ahead of the two-phase local body elections on December 9 and 11.

Independent cases will also express their common demand that the SIR process be postponed until after the polls.

Participating in the third round of all-party talks on the SIR issue on Saturday, November 15, 2025, CPI(M) External Affairs Minister MV Govindan said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) agreed in principle that expediting the SIR during the election season is not possible and could lead to disenfranchisement of voters and create deep anxiety among the general voters.

Mr. Govindan, however, said the BJP had underlined that it would not join the multi-party effort to take legal action in the Supreme Court against the EC decision.

Mr. Govindan stated that the Kerala High Court allowed the defense of the EC lawyer and confirmed that the Supreme Court is the constitutional authority to resolve SIR-related complaints.

“The HC order has opened the door for the LDF government to take the matter to the Supreme Court,” he said.

Mr. Govindan said that at the all-party meeting, a bipartisan agreement was reached on political cooperation at the ward level to ensure that the SIR does not disenfranchise any voter.

He said parties had raised concerns that the SIR process bypassed a large section of the electorate, risking disenfranchisement of large numbers of voters.

“The EC has put it on record that it has distributed SIR forms to 80% of the voters. This is a tall claim that does not reflect the facts. Hundreds of voters are yet to receive the form to re-register in the revised voter list, creating public apprehension,” he added.

Mr. Govindan said the legal battle in the Supreme Court would go hand in hand with politically bipartisan efforts to ensure that the expedited SIR process leaves no voter behind. “One measure cannot be at the expense of another. The democratic risks are too high to pursue a one-track strategy regarding SIR,” he added.