Political parties express concern over timing of SIR; CEO promises helpline for overseas citizens

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Major political parties, except BJP, expressed concerns over the timing of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Kerala, at a meeting of political party representatives, convened by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rathan U Kelkar on Saturday. The parties pointed out that it coincides with preparations for the upcoming local body elections and may affect both processes. Party representatives highlighted that booth-level officers (BLOs) lack adequate training and coordination with booth-level agents (BLAs), resulting in confusion among voters during the enumeration process. They also alleged that BLOs were unable to clarify the doubts raised by the public and that the training given so far was insufficient. Many parties also drew attention to the confusion surrounding registration and the inclusion of overseas voters. Former minister M Vijaya Kumar of the CPM said the timing of the SIR is impractical since the local body elections must be conducted within the year. CPI leader Satyan Mokeri said political parties are already preoccupied with election preparations, and BLOs will find it difficult to handle both election-related and revision duties effectively. BJP representative J R Padmakumar also acknowledged that BLOs face a shortage of training and suggested that each district should have at least one officer trained specifically to guide and support them. The representatives further demanded that enumeration forms be made available in Tamil and Kannada languages to assist voters in border regions adjoining Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Kelkar said that he will consider such issues. Responding to the concerns about BLOs, Kelkar said refresher training would be organised if required and that around 36 lakh enumeration forms had already been distributed, along with the launch of online enumeration. On the concerns of overseas citizens, Kelkar said they would also consider releasing awareness videos to guide voters on how to correctly fill out the forms. We will organise awareness programmes for them with the support of Norka. In addition, a dedicated helpline will be set up to assist overseas voters, he said. Regarding the schedule for the SIR, Kelkar said the revision is being carried out strictly as per the mandate of the Chief Election Commission. The draft electoral roll will be published on December 9, and the final list on February 7, 2026. We are sticking to this schedule, he added.