Kerala, 6 December (H.S.): The Election Commission of India (ECI) has granted a one-week extension to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala, setting January 1, 2026, as the qualifying date for voters. The revision exercise, which is underway across all Assembly constituencies, will now continue until December 18 following a request submitted by the Kerala government.
Under the revised schedule, the draft electoral roll will be published on December 23. Voters can file claims and objections—from correcting entries to enrolling new voters—between December 23 and January 22, 2026. The final electoral roll for the state will be published on February 21, 2026, ensuring adequate preparation time ahead of critical elections next year.
The state government sought additional time citing the ongoing local body polls, which have significantly reduced the availability of party workers typically engaged in the enumeration process. The request was permitted after the Supreme Court allowed Kerala to submit valid reasons for extending the deadline for filing enumeration forms. The ECI examined the state’s report and agreed that logistical constraints warranted a short extension.
Chief Electoral Officer Dr. Rathan U. Kelkar said the revision process is progressing at an accelerated pace, with over 95 per cent of enumeration forms already digitised. “We expect full digitisation to be completed by December 11,” he said, adding that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) are in the final stages of verifying absent, shifted and duplicate entries. These field-level verification meetings are scheduled to conclude by December 7.
The Election Commission noted that the extension will not only ease administrative pressure but also give voters more time to review their entries and file necessary corrections. Officials emphasised that accuracy and inclusivity remain the primary goals of the revision process, especially in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls and subsequent state elections.
This is the second adjustment to the SIR schedule in recent weeks. Earlier, the Commission extended the digitisation deadline for enumeration forms to December 11 and deferred the publication of the draft roll to December 16 after Kerala and several other states flagged operational challenges. Political parties and Booth Level Officers had warned that the volume of fieldwork risked compromising data accuracy unless deadlines were relaxed.
With the latest extension, the ECI aims to ensure a clean, error-free and comprehensive electoral roll, enabling all eligible voters in Kerala to participate fully in the democratic process.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman
