The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called for a thorough cross-verification of the list of deceased individuals whose names were removed from the electoral rolls, demanding it be matched against the official death registers maintained by local bodies. This demand was a central point of contention during an all-party meeting convened by the central election commission in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.
Massive Cleanup of Voter Lists
During the meeting, Chief Electoral Officer Rathan Kelkar presented startling statistics from the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The data revealed that a total of 24.08 lakh names have been deleted from the existing voters' list in Kerala. The breakdown of this massive purge was provided as follows:
- 6.49 lakh individuals were identified as deceased.
- 6.45 lakh voters were deemed untraceable at their registered addresses.
- 8.16 lakh people have permanently shifted from their current location.
- 1.36 lakh entries were found to be duplicate or double votes.
- 1.60 lakh individuals did not return their SIR verification forms.
Political parties across the spectrum, with the notable exception of the BJP, expressed strong dissatisfaction with these figures, particularly concerning the count of deceased voters and those who allegedly did not submit forms.
Parties Voice Concerns and Demand Extensions
Leaders from multiple parties criticized the Election Commission's data and procedural timeline. CPM leader M V Jayarajan strongly contested the reports filed by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), labeling claims that voters were untraceable or forms were not accepted as "false." He insisted that the list of the dead must be rigorously compared with the death data held by local civic bodies to ensure accuracy.
Congress representative M K Rahman highlighted a specific anomaly, pointing out that 710 people were excluded from a single booth in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency on grounds of being untraceable, a figure he found suspiciously high. Former MLA and CPI leader Rajaji Mathew Thomas shared a personal grievance, stating that both he and his wife were omitted from the list despite having submitted the required form, forcing them to "chase after officials" to secure their voting rights. The Election Commission later clarified that his specific claim was incorrect.
A common demand from the parties was for an extension of the time allowed for the SIR process to enable a more thorough public verification and correction of omissions.
Election Commission's Assurance and Next Steps
In response to the criticisms, CEO Rathan Kelkar offered assurances and outlined the path forward. He stated that the detailed list of the 24.08 lakh removed names would be published on Tuesday, allowing for public and political party scrutiny. He emphasized that there is "always time" for corrections and that errors can be rectified right up until the final minute before the issuance of the final electoral roll in February.
Kelkar clarified that all political parties and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) can verify the published list. Eligible voters whose names were wrongly omitted can be reinstated by producing the relevant documents to the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), who are mandated to correct any errors pointed out in the draft list. This process is designed to ensure the final list is as accurate and inclusive as possible before the upcoming elections.
