The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu has triggered intense debate, with critics alleging that the massive deletion of voters has severely distorted the elector-population ratio (EPR), potentially disenfranchising lakhs of eligible citizens. While the Election Commission of India (ECI) justified the cleanup citing rapid urbanisation and migration over the past two decades, analysis of the draft rolls reveals alarming deviations from expected norms. At the state level, the EPR stands at 90.3%, meaning roughly one in ten potential voters may have been excluded. In Chennai, the figure plunges to 64.8%, suggesting every third voter could have been left out.

The ECI’s own Manual on Electoral Rolls (2023) mandates rigorous health checks during revisions, including EPR verification against population estimates to ensure rolls reflect the eligible 18+ population. Detailed instructions for the preceding Special Summary Revision (with January 1, 2025 cut-off) required preparation of statistical Formats 1-8 before and after publication, with District Election Officers and Chief Electoral Officers directed to scrutinise and remedy anomalies. Officials familiar with the process told TNIE that these mandatory checks were not adequately performed before releasing the draft SIR rolls, despite the absence of fresh Census data necessitating reliable population projections.

Experts and opposition voices have highlighted inconsistencies with migration trends. M. Vijayabaskar, professor at Madras Institute of Development Studies, noted that Tamil Nadu has seen a consistent decline in agriculture-dependent population as workers shift to non-farm jobs in urban and peri-urban areas—a robust rural-to-urban movement. Logically, voter deletions due to migration should be more pronounced in rural areas, yet the SIR data shows the opposite: disproportionately higher deletions in urban centres. This pattern defies established demographic realities and raises doubts about the exercise’s methodological rigour.

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IT Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, closely monitoring the process in his Madurai Central constituency, criticised the execution, arguing it relied on thousands of minimally trained Booth Level Officers (BLOs) under intense pressure to meet targets. He alleged that many BLOs resorted to bulk marking of voters as “shifted” to comply with deadlines, leading to indiscriminate deletions. Rajan stressed that operating without cross-verification against credible population estimates amounted to working “in the dark,” and described competence failures as fundamental flaws in the ECI’s approach.

The controversy underscores broader concerns about electoral roll integrity ahead of future polls. A senior bureaucrat suggested synchronising such intensive revisions with the upcoming Census for greater accuracy, allowing BLOs to coordinate with enumerators. As calls mount for greater transparency and corrective measures, the ECI faces scrutiny over whether the SIR has truly cleansed inflated rolls or inadvertently excluded genuine voters in violation of its own guidelines.

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