Kerala CM flags 25 lakh voter exclusions in SIR draft, urges Election Commission action
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday expressed concern over media reports stating that 25 lakh people have been excluded from the draft voter list being prepared as part of the implementation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.
In a statement, Vijayan urged the Election Commission to ensure that not a single eligible voter whose name appeared in the voter list during the Special Summary Revision conducted in September 2025 is excluded from the revised list prepared under SIR.
The chief minister alleged that the Election Commission implemented the entire process without adequate transparency. He said that information related to SIR should be made transparent and made available on the website in a manner accessible to political parties and the general public.
His statement came a day after the Election Commission announced the completion of the enumeration phase of the SIR of the electoral roll in Kerala. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer Ratan U Kelkar said that 24.81 lakh voters fall under the "untraceable" category, which includes 6.49 lakh deceased voters, 6.89 lakh untraceable voters, 8.21 lakh shifted voters, 1.34 lakh duplicate entries, and 1.86 lakh under other categories.
Vijayan said the worrying aspect is that, apart from the deceased, those who have permanently migrated, cases of duplicate registration, and persons who could not be traced, a large number of deletions are also being made under the vague category of "others".
The chief minister alleged that even the Election Commission itself lacks clarity on who exactly falls under this category of "others".
"There is little doubt that a voter list riddled with flaws is being prepared. The right to vote should not be cancelled for technical reasons. It is a right that must be guaranteed to every adult citizen in a democratic society. Denying this right is equivalent to destroying the very foundation of democracy," Vijayan said.
Noting that in Kerala the SIR process was previously carried out in 2002, the chief minister said that at that time anyone below the age of 18 (that is, those who are below 40 years of age today) was required to prove their family relationship in order to be included in the voter list.
"As this process was not completed, available information indicates that at present around two lakh people per district remain ineligible to be included in the voter list," he said.
He said the Election Commission itself is responsible for the current situation, as it carried out a voter list revision--an exercise that requires long-term preparation and consultation--with unnecessary haste, and that too at a time when local body elections were taking place.
"The government and representatives of political parties had, even at that time, demanded that this hurried and pressure-driven approach, which rushed and burdened BLOs, be reconsidered. However, the Commission chose to move forward with further actions without accepting these demands," Vijayan said.
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He said the Election Commission should take steps to ensure that every last eligible voter in the state is included in the voter list.
"The state government will take all necessary measures to achieve this," Vijayan said, referring to the case filed by the Kerala Government before the Supreme Court in this regard.
"The Supreme Court itself has taken the shortcomings in the voter list revision seriously and has directed that the concerns raised by the state government be addressed. The Election Commission must review the steps taken so far and avoid unnecessary haste," he said.
Instead of excluding voters from the list by citing technical reasons, the foundation of voter list revision should be to include all eligible citizens while upholding democratic values, the chief minister added.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
