97.4 lakh voters removed, says CEO

Chennai: A total of 97.4 lakh voters have been removed from the Tamil Nadu voter list, following the enumeration phase of the SIR exercise and the state’s electoral roll now has 5.43 crore voters, Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik said on Friday.

As of October 27, 2025, the pre-SIR electoral roll had 6.41 crore voters, she said.

Giving a breakdown of the total voter list as per the new draft, the number of male voters stood at 2.77 crore, while the number of female voters is 2.66 crore. The total number of third gender voters stands at 7,191, while the number of differently abled voters stands at 4.19 lakh.

Briefing reporters at the Secretariat, Patnaik said, as per the Election Commission announcement, SIR exercise has been going on in Tamil Nadu.

The enumeration phase got over on December 14, and the revised list has been released today. The District Election Officers have released the draft rolls and have handed over the details to the registered political parties. In Tamil Nadu, as of October 27, 2025, the total electoral base was at 6.41 crore, and today’s list stands at 5.43 crore.

During the enumeration phase, the BLOs and BLAs visited houses up to three times, and based on that, the draft was released,” she said.

The 97.4 lakh names have been removed based on the absentee and those who have permanently shifted, she said.

“Based on the visits made by BLOs and BLAs, errors like permanently shifted voters, absentee voters, deaths and those who were enrolled at multiple places were identified. Their details have not been included in the draft voter list,” she said.

Giving a break-up, she said deceased voters stood at 26.94 lakh, while permanently shifted or absentee voters were at 66.44 lakh. Those who have enrolled at multiple places were at 3.39 lakh, while 12,000 individuals reportedly did not wish to be enrolled during the Special Intensive Revision campaign, she said.

Noting that the claims and objection period has commenced by the Election department, she said, “Those whose names could not be found or for newcomers, they can apply for inclusion through Form 6. There is Form 7 for claims and objections, and Form 8 for a change in address. “

“All information can be submitted to the respective Booth Level Officers or online,” she said.

Responding to a query on those people who could not find their names, she said, “They can approach the BLOs. They can also apply online. Apart from that, we will be conducting special camps.”

To a query on who should be approached for those whose names were not there, she said, they should approach the BLOs, EROs or can apply online.

On those who have repatriated from Sri Lanka have been added in Form 6, she said, “They would have been added. Now the EROs (Electoral Registration Officer) will check that, and if any additional documents are needed, they will ask. That process will begin now”.

Asked which Assembly constituency has the highest number of voter removals, she said Sholinganallur, Pallavaram and Alandur.