Kochi: The Kerala state government has approached the High Court, seeking an immediate halt to the ongoing intensive voter list revision (SIR) process. The government argued that conducting the local body elections and the SIR simultaneously would lead to a severe shortage of personnel and potentially cripple administrative functions across the state.
The government highlighted that it had previously communicated its concerns regarding this issue to the Chief Election Commissioner through the Chief Secretary. However, despite these representations, no concrete action was taken to address the impending crisis. The government further asserted in its plea to the High Court that the intensive voter list revision does not carry the immediate priority that would necessitate its concurrent execution with the crucial local body elections.
This development comes amidst efforts by political parties to engage with the voter list revision. The Congress party, in particular, has decided to actively cooperate with the intensive voter list revision process. As part of its strategy, the party has assigned a KPCC General Secretary to oversee each constituency. The plan is to mobilize the party’s booth-level agents to facilitate voter registration and ensure the consolidation of votes favorable to the party. In areas where booth agents are currently absent, the party aims to appoint new agents within the next 10 days.
The Congress leadership has issued directives to conduct the voter registration drive in parallel with the local body election campaigns. A recent meeting of KPCC office-bearers concluded that any reluctance or non-participation in the voter list revision process could prove detrimental to the party’s electoral prospects.
Meanwhile, the Chief Electoral Officer’s office remains optimistic about completing the information collection through enumeration forms by November 25. The Central Election Commission has set December 4 as the final deadline for the completion of the initial phase of the intensive voter list revision. The High Court’s decision on the state government’s petition will have significant implications for the conduct of both the voter list revision and the upcoming local body elections in Kerala.