Over 74 Lakh Names Deleted As Tamil Nadu’s Final Electoral Rolls Drop To 5.67 Crore Ahead Of Assembly Polls

The final electoral rolls for Tamil Nadu, released after the Special Intensive Revision, show a notable decrease in voters, with detailed breakdowns by gender and district and guidance on appeals against deletions.

The final electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, prepared after the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), have been published by Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik. The updated figures show a sharp drop in voters, with more than 74 lakh names removed from the list.

Before this revision, the electorate in Tamil Nadu stood at 6.41 crore on 27 October 2025. Following the SIR process, the final rolls dated 23 February 2026 show 5.67 crore electors, indicating a substantial reduction in the number of registered voters in the poll-bound state.

Electoral rolls data and SIR details

According to the Chief Electoral Officer’s release, Tamil Nadu now has 2.7 crore men, 2.8 crore women and 7,617 third gender voters on the electoral rolls. Within the state, Shozhinganallur assembly segment in Chengalpattu district has the largest electorate at 5.36 lakh, while Harbour constituency has the smallest, with 1.16 lakh voters.

The Election Commission has stated that electors who feel aggrieved by deletions or other entries may approach officials even after publication of the final rolls. The Commission will also share the final electoral rolls with recognised political parties, which often cross-check them with their own voter lists.

Electoral rolls, appeals and national SIR exercise

Under Section 24(a) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, an elector may file a first appeal before the District Election Officer if a decision of the Electoral Registration Officer is challenged. Section 24(b) allows a second appeal to the Chief Electoral Officer against the District Election Officer’s ruling.

The current SIR is the ninth nationwide revision of electoral rolls since Independence, with the last such exercise carried out between 2002 and 2004. The process has drawn strong criticism in some places, particularly West Bengal, where political parties have questioned the scale and method of deletions.

SIR work in Bihar finished in July last year, when officials removed 6.9 million names and added 2.15 million new voters to the electoral rolls. Alongside Tamil Nadu’s assembly election, voters in Kerala, West Bengal, Puducherry and Assam are also scheduled to go to the polls during the upcoming summer season.