The Left Democratic Front (LDF) will seek legal recourse, including possibly a speedy hearing in the Supreme Court, against the Election Commission of India (ECI)‘s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters’ list in the short run-up to the local body polls and the Assembly elections in 2026, which the ruling front and the Opposition believe risks disenfranchising an estimated 50 lakh voters in Kerala.
LDF convener T.P. Ramakrishnan accused the ECI of forsaking its Constitutionally mandated impartiality. He alleged that the panel had become a junior political partner to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Mr. Ramakrishnan said the ECI had revealed a stark political bias by dismissing the unanimous resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly against the SIR. In contrast, the ECI had given Maharashtra and Assam, both BJP-ruled States, reprieve from the SIR.
‘Sub judice’
He said that Kerala, among other non-BJP-ruled States, including Tamil Nadu, had challenged the SIR in the Supreme Court. The judgment in the case was pending. “However, the ECI seems undeterred and ready to risk contempt of court for its political masters,” he added.
