New Delhi/Chennai: Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have seen massive deletions from their electoral rolls as a combined total of 1.71 crore voters do not find their names in the draft voter lists published Friday under Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the two states.
While Tamil Nadu saw the removal of 97.37 lakh voters (15.19 percent), Gujarat had 73.73 lakh voters (14.4 percent) struck off the voter list, according to the draft lists published by the Election Commission of India.
According to Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Archana Patnaik, the state had 6.41 crore electors prior to the SIR exercise carried out between 4 November and 14 December.
After the verification exercise, the number of electors retained in the draft electoral rolls stands at 5.43 crore, Patnaik said.
Of the 97.37 lakh names deleted, 66.4 lakh (10.36 percent of total voters) have been classified as ‘shifted or absent’, 26.9 lakh (4.20 percent) as deceased, and 3.98 lakh (0.62 percent) removed as multiple or duplicate entries.
In Gujarat, out of 5.08 crore voters pre-SIR exercise, only 4.34 crore electors submitted their enumeration forms, leading to deletion of 73.73 lakh voters.
Out of the deleted voters, 51.86 lakhs (10.20 percent) have been categorised as ‘shifted or absent’ from their registered residences, 3.81 lakhs (0.75 percent) enrolled at multiple places, and 18.07 lakhs (3.55 percent) were found to be deceased.
Voters in both the states can access the draft lists online or through their local booth level officers (BLOs). Claims and objections can be filed from 19 December to 18 January by any elector or political party, for inclusion of eligible electors or deletion of ineligible electors.
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Highest deletions in Chennai
In Tamil Nadu, urban centres have seen the maximum number of deletions, with Chennai recording the highest drop at 35.6 percent, followed by Chengalpattu (25.2 percent) and Tiruppur (23.1 percent), according to district-wise data released.
Rural constituencies—amomg them Ariyalur with 4.6 percent, Dharmapuri 6.3 percent and Kallakurichi 7.3 percent of electors, reported the lowest levels of deletions.
Chief Minister MK Stalin’s Kolathur constituency in Chennai saw 1 lakh deletions, and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi’s Chepauk-Triplicane had 89,241 voters deleted from the electoral roll. Both the constituencies are said to have a sizable number of Muslim population.
On the other hand, in Leader of Opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami’s Edappadi constituency, about 26,375 voters were deleted.
In the Tirunelveli constituency, represented by BJP State President Nainer Nagendran, 42,119 voter names have been deleted.
Absolute numbers
In Chennai, the number of electorate fell from 40.04 lakh before the SIR to 25.79 lakh in the current draft roll, translating to 14.25 lakh deletions (35.58 percent).
The city now has 12.47 lakh male voters, 13.31 lakh female voters and 743 third-gender voters across Assembly constituencies 11 to 26.
In Coimbatore district, 6.50 lakh names were deleted from the voter list. The district-level break-up shows 3.99 lakh categorised as migrants, 1.19 lakh deceased voters, 1.08 lakh electors marked as address-not-found, and 23,202 identified as duplicate entries.
Tiruppur, which saw one of the steepest drops in terms of percentage points, recorded deletions of 5.64 lakh voters, accounting for nearly 23 per cent of its electorate, with 18.81 lakh names retained in the draft rolls.
While Chennai and Chengalpattu districts are known DMK’s stronghold, Coimbatore and Tirupur in the western region of the state are said to be the AIADMK’s stronghold.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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