A sharp decline of 8.97 lakh voters in Kerala’s latest electoral roll has sparked political concern and intense scrutiny, even before the Assembly election schedule has been announced. With Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Kerala, preparing to formally publish the final roll on February 21, what should have been a routine administrative process has now emerged as a politically sensitive issue.
The final electoral roll, prepared after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), places the total electorate at 2,69,53,644 voters. This marks a significant drop from the 2,78,50,855 voters recorded in October 2025 during the special summary revision. The decline is even steeper compared to the 2,86,07,658 voters listed during the December 2025 local body elections, reflecting a reduction of over 16.54 lakh names.
Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar said the revised roll includes 1,38,27,319 women, 1,31,26,048 men and 277 transgender voters. It also comprises 2,23,558 overseas electors and 54,110 service voters. Among the electorate, 4,24,518 voters fall in the 18–19 age group, while 2,04,608 voters are aged 85 years and above. Additionally, 2,43,698 persons with disabilities (PwD) have been included in the roll.
The revision process has been extensive and complex. The draft roll published on December 23, 2025, recorded 2,54,42,352 voters. Officials later clarified that 53,229 names were removed due to death, foreign citizenship, relocation, duplication or other ineligibility criteria.
However, the broader downward trend has triggered anxiety across political parties. Representatives of both the CPI (M) and the Congress raised concerns during an all-party meeting, suggesting that eligible voters might have been inadvertently excluded.
Election authorities, meanwhile, emphasised that the revision followed due legal procedure. Between October 27, 2025, and January 31, 2026, the Election Commission received 45,36,143 applications for additions, deletions and corrections. Of these, 43,32,229 were approved, while 2,00,694 were rejected after verification.
Deletion requests accounted for a major share, with 24,32,139 Form 7 applications processed, and officials said 99.86 per cent of them were accepted. Fresh enrolments also remained significant, with 16,79,885 applications filed under Form 6 and Form 6A. Of the 14,57,468 domestic voter applications received, 13,51,151 were approved, while 1,59,111 of the 2,22,417 overseas voter applications were accepted.
Officials noted that further additions are expected, and the electorate may soon cross the 2.70 crore mark as pending applications are incorporated.
Authorities have also assured voters that grievance redressal mechanisms remain in place. Appeals can be filed before the District Election Officer or the Chief Electoral Officer under provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. Eligible citizens can continue applying for inclusion until the last date for filing nominations.
Administratively, the state is preparing for the upcoming elections with 30,471 polling stations, 119 distribution centres, and 41 counting centres already identified.
As the final electoral roll is set for publication, the sharp decline has added a new dimension to the political climate. In a state where electoral margins are often narrow, shifts in voter numbers can have significant political consequences.
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