Mon Oct 27 16:32:08 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary and news article based on the provided text:

Summary:

Kerala’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Rathan U. Kelkar, has announced the state’s readiness for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, as directed by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The CEO’s office has completed preliminary exercises and is preparing for meetings with political parties and overseas electors to ensure comprehensive enrolment. Key concerns include the enrolment of overseas voters and preventing officer overload due to the overlapping SIR and local body election duties. Additional resources, including EROs, and booth-level agents, will be deployed to facilitate the process, which aims to complete by February 7th, 2026, ahead of the Assembly elections.

News Article:

Kerala Gears Up for Electoral Roll Revision Ahead of 2026 Elections

Thiruvananthapuram, October 27, 2025 – Kerala’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Rathan U. Kelkar, today declared the state’s preparedness for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a crucial exercise mandated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in anticipation of the 2026 Assembly elections.

Mr. Kelkar revealed that preliminary assessments have already been conducted, comparing current voter lists with the 2002 SIR rolls, identifying that 55% of the existing 2.78 crore voters were also present on the earlier list. This benchmark should simplify the overall operation.

Addressing specific concerns regarding the enrolment of overseas electors, Mr. Kelkar assured that all efforts will be made to facilitate their registration, leveraging their passport documentation. “We will facilitate their enrolment by drawing up a list to make sure they are enrolled,” he stated.

To mitigate potential strain on personnel managing both the SIR and upcoming local body elections, Mr. Kelkar announced the deployment of additional electoral registration officers (EROs) in all Assembly constituencies. “We will be deploying two additional EROs per Assembly constituency. We had initially deployed three EROs each, and now this number will go up to five. We are also trying to find people who do not have (local body) election duty so that they can be deployed for the SIR,” he said. Furthermore, political parties will be encouraged to appoint additional booth-level agents to monitor progress.

The CEO plans to convene meetings with political parties and representatives of overseas electors to ensure a smooth and inclusive revision process. The ECI has set a deadline of February 7th, 2026, for the completion of the SIR, with the final electoral rolls to be published shortly thereafter. The Special Intensive Revision(SIR) is expected to be concluded by February 7th, 2026.

Read More