Overview
- Trade unions representing government employees and teachers in Kerala announced a statewide work boycott and protest marches on Nov 17 following the Kannur BLO’s death, which family and colleagues linked to SIR pressure.
- Kerala’s Chief Electoral Officer sought a report on the death of 44-year-old Aneesh George, who had distributed most of his assigned forms, as parties demanded a probe and compensation for his family.
- The IUML filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala SIR window as overlapping with local body polls and burdening staff, also warning that NRI voters risk exclusion during physical verification.
- The Election Commission and Bengal governor defended the legitimacy of SIR and reported large-scale progress, with 4.87 billion forms delivered across 12 regions and Kerala lagging at 87.54% distribution.
- Operational and political friction widened: BLOs in multiple states flagged heavy targets and a slow app, TMC accused targeted deletions and ramped up monitoring in West Bengal, and an ECI team is set to review issues in Kolkata on Nov 18.