Despite submitting the SIR form within the stipulated time, several names did not even figure in the list of deleted voters.
Published Dec 28, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 28, 2025 | 9:00 AM
Voters stand in the queue for the Erode East bypolls in Tamil Nadu on` 27 February, 2023. (Supplied)
Synopsis: As the ECI released the draft electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision, around 97 voters have been removed. Meanwhile, several inconsistencies remain, including the presence of deceased votes and those who did not submit remuneration forms in the list.
When the Election Commission of India (ECI) released the draft electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) on 19 December, 53-year-old Krishnaveni from Singanallur in Coimbatore was left stunned.
Krishnaveni had been a registered voter in the Singanallur Assembly constituency for nearly three decades and voted without fail in multiple elections. However, her name was missing from the newly published draft list.
What shocked her further was that despite submitting the SIR form within the stipulated time, her name did not even figure in the list of deleted voters.
In contrast, the name of her 27-year-old daughter, Kaviya, appears in the draft list. Kaviya, who has migrated to Chennai for work, said, “My name, even though I vote only occasionally, is in the list. But my mother, who has voted consistently all these years, has been removed. It is completely confusing.”
Krishnaveni and Kaviya are not isolated cases. Across Tamil Nadu, voters are grappling with confusion after the release of the draft electoral rolls. On the one hand, many claim their names are missing despite submitting forms on time. On the other hand, the names of deceased persons and those who never submitted forms continue to appear.
Several voters are also unsure how to even check whether their names are included or not. As a result, voters across the State are caught in a state of anxiety and uncertainty.
On 19 December, Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik released the SIR draft list, stating that 97,37,831 voters had been removed from the rolls.
Before the revision, Tamil Nadu had 6.41 crore voters. After the deletions, the total voter count has dropped to 5,43,76,755. Of these, 2,77,63,332 are women voters, 2,66,63,233 are men, and 7,191 belong to the ‘other’ category.
The highest number of deletions has occurred in the Chennai district and in western Tamil Nadu.
Chennai alone accounts for 14,25,018 deleted voters. Of these, 12,22,164 have been categorised as “migrated voters,” while 1,55,555 are listed as deceased. Chennai accounts for more than 35 percent of the total voter deletions in the State.
Following Chennai, the Chengalpattu district has seen over 25 percent of its voters deleted. Tiruppur district in western Tamil Nadu ranks third with over 23 percent deletions, while Coimbatore district has seen over 20 percent of its voters removed.
According to the ECI, voters have been deleted for reasons such as permanent migration, death, duplicate registration, or being “unreachable.” However, many voters insist they submitted the required forms within the stipulated period and still found their names missing.
P Anjali, a 48-year-old resident of MGR Nagar in Chennai, falling under the Virugambakkam constituency, has been voting from the same locality for over 20 years. She was shocked to discover that her name, along with that of her 51-year-old husband, G Punniyakodi, and their 28-year-old daughter Priyanka, was missing from the draft list.
“We have voted from the same place for years and have never migrated anywhere. Yet our entire family’s names have been removed,” said Ravi, Anjali’s brother.
When they approached the Booth Level Officer (BLO), they were told that, maybe only forms submitted between 4 November and 4 December — the initial deadline — were uploaded, while forms collected during the extended deadline period were not uploaded at all.
If this claim is true, it raises a serious question: Why did the ECI extend the SIR deadline if forms submitted during the extended period were not considered?
In another instance, residents of a grama panchayat have complained that the names of more than 100 deceased persons remain on the voter list.
In Agaramel grama panchayat under the Poonamallee Assembly constituency in Tiruvallur district, four polling booths together had 3,839 voters in the draft list. After the intensive revision, the number has inexplicably increased to 3,997.
Residents allege that more than 150 entries in the list include deceased persons and duplicate registrations under the same names. They have submitted a complaint to the District Collector.
Prominent individuals have not been spared either. The name of the late lyricist and former deputy chairman of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council, Pulamaipithan, appears in the Mylapore Assembly constituency draft list, although he passed away in September 2021.
Similarly, journalist Indhuja Raghunathan, who has voted consistently for 25 years, revealed on social media that her name had been removed. In a post on X on 22 December, she wrote:
“Thank you @ECISVEEP for removing my name from the electoral list. I have been voting for the last 25 years, filled the SIR form, gave all the necessary documents but you conveniently removed me.”
Several others have posted online that votes of entire families, who have lived in the same house for decades, have been deleted under the category of “permanently migrated.”
In Tiruppur district’s Madathukulam municipality, lawyer Anbu stated that despite submitting the SIR form properly, his name was added to the “deceased voters” category and deleted from the rolls. Following his complaint, Madathukulam election tahsildar Vishnu has said an inquiry is underway.
Serious concerns have also emerged over voters deleted as “permanently migrated”.
In Manjolai, under the Ambasamudram Assembly constituency in Tirunelveli district, the number of polling booths has been reduced from five to three. Of the original 1,906 voters, 1,827 have now been deleted as permanently migrated.
Most of these voters belong to the Dalit community and are fourth-generation workers of the Manjolai tea estate. Despite Manjolai continuing to be their permanent address, the district election authorities have removed their names from the rolls.
In Sivaganga district’s Karaikudi Assembly constituency, a 55-year-old retired government employee, who did not wish to be named, said that despite her and her family being away from the village, forms were submitted on their behalf and all their names appeared in the draft list.
Similarly, a 45-year-old woman from Chennai found that her name continues to appear in the draft electoral rolls despite her not being a frequent voter and having changed her residential address and voter ID details multiple times over the years. She said she was unsure whether she had ever participated in the SIR process, raising questions about how her name was retained in the rolls despite repeated changes in address.
Meanwhile, concerns are growing that women voters may constitute a disproportionate share of the 97 lakh deletions.
Regarding Tiruppur district, where deletions are particularly high, political activist Kalaichelvi said: “In many places, votes of people who are very much alive have been removed. On the ground, we see that women voters are disproportionately affected. We are now mobilising them and helping them submit Form 6 to get their names restored.”
However, the Election Commission has not yet released gender-wise data on deleted voters.
As the claims and objections period is currently underway, voters whose names have been deleted or whose details require correction can submit the relevant forms.
According to information released by the ECI on 25 December, Forms 6 and 6A have been received from 1,68,825 voters so far. Additionally, 1,211 Form 7 applications for deletion have been received.
The ECI stated that voters whose names have been removed must submit Form 6 to be re-included in the rolls.
However, Ravi questioned this logic: “Why should we re-enrol as new voters? We have lived and voted in the same area for over 30 years. If the Election Commission removes our names arbitrarily and then asks us to reapply as new voters, what justice is this?”
Similar to Ravi, Anjali, and Krishnaveni, thousands of voters across Tamil Nadu are now unsure whether their names will appear in the final electoral roll. Many are not even aware of whether their names are in the draft list or how to verify it. This lack of information and outreach remains a stark ground reality.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
