Tamil Nadu's electoral landscape has undergone a significant revision, with the state's draft voter list seeing a massive reduction of 97.37 lakh names. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise has brought the total electorate down from 6.41 crore to 5.43 crore, marking a substantial 15.9% decrease in registered voters.
Urban Centres Bear the Brunt of Voter Deletions
The revision process revealed a stark urban-rural divide in the scale of deletions. Chennai district recorded the highest proportion, with 14.25 lakh voters removed, accounting for a striking 35% of its electorate. The trend of high deletions continued in other major urban and industrial hubs. Neighbouring Chengalpet and Tiruvallur districts saw seven lakh (25%) and six lakh (17%) deletions respectively.
Other urban centres followed suit: Coimbatore (15%), Madurai (13%), and Trichy (14%) all recorded significant cuts. Tirupur, known for its migrant worker population, had 23% of its voters removed. In contrast, rural Ariyalur recorded the lowest number of deletions at just 4% of its electorate.
Reasons Behind the Massive Clean-Up
Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu, Archana Patnaik, provided a breakdown of the reasons for the deletions. Officials identified and removed 26.94 lakh electors reported as deceased. However, the largest category was "permanently shifted or absentee" voters, which accounted for a staggering 66.44 lakh names—roughly 10.36% of the state's total electorate.
Furthermore, 3.98 lakh voters were deleted for having enrolled in more than one constituency. Patnaik emphasized that no voter was dropped without valid reasons, with all procedures being strictly followed. The Chennai region, comprising Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpet, and Kancheepuram districts, together accounted for 31% of all deletions statewide.
Process, Pushback, and the Path Forward
The SIR exercise, which began on November 4, faced severe criticism from political parties, notably the DMK and its allies. Despite an extension of the deadline for submission of enumeration forms to December 14, election authorities achieved 100% digitisation of these forms by December 11. The process was not without challenges, with reports of extreme work pressure from Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
At the assembly segment level, Sholinganallur recorded the highest number of deletions (2.18 lakh), while Jayankondam reported the lowest (11,382). Around 12,000 voters were reportedly "unwilling to return enumeration forms." On a positive note, the Election Commission received over 5.19 lakh Form-6 applications seeking inclusion of names during the exercise.
A crucial claims and objections period is now open from December 19 to January 18. During this window, eligible voters and political parties can file for inclusion of names they believe were wrongly omitted. The state election machinery has engaged 234 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and 1,776 assistant EROs to scrutinise these cases.
Transparency measures are in place, with lists of deleted voters shared with Booth-Level Agents (BLA-2) for verification. These lists are also displayed at the offices of Block Development Officers (BDOs), village panchayats, and urban local body officials. The DMK has stated it will take steps to include genuine voters left out of the list, setting the stage for potential political and legal scrutiny in the lead-up to future elections.
