Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram has expressed serious concern over the Election Commission’s massive voter list revision in Tamil Nadu, particularly questioning the deletion of 66,44,881 voters cited as “shifted, absent, or without verifiable addresses.” Calling the figure “disturbing” and “astonishing,” he urged political parties to closely examine the draft electoral rolls to ensure no legitimate voter is wrongfully removed.
The Election Commission released the draft rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) conducted between November 4 and December 14, ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Of the total 97.37 lakh deletions recorded statewide, officials said 26,94,672 names belonged to deceased individuals and 3,39,278 were identified as duplicates. However, it is the large category of voters removed due to address-related reasons that has triggered fresh debate.
X Post Triggers Political Reactions
In a post on X, Chidambaram wrote, “We can accept the number of deceased persons removed… 26,94,672 and duplicates 3,39,278. The number of individuals without addresses 66,44,881 is what raises concerns.” He urged leaders across party lines to focus on this statistic, stressing that “no genuine person should be removed from the voter list.” His remarks have added a new dimension to the growing discourse on electoral transparency versus potential voter exclusion.
Context of Statewide Cleanup
The revision exercise saw deletions categorized as deceased, duplicate, and shifted/untraceable. Chennai recorded the highest number of deletions at 14.25 lakh across its 16 Assembly constituencies. Following the cleanup, Tamil Nadu now has 5.43 crore registered voters, with the Election Commission maintaining that the exercise aims to improve accuracy ahead of the crucial 2026 polls.
Chidambaram called upon party workers to conduct door-to-door verification to ensure eligible voters are not disenfranchised due to address mismatches or documentation gaps.