SIR triggers heat in Tamil Nadu; poll officials stand by transparency

New Delhi: With elections due in several states next year, the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has triggered a sharp political tussle in Tamil Nadu, even as election officials insist the exercise is transparent and rule-bound.

The nationwide SIR, which began on November 4, aims to clean up voter lists by deleting the names of deceased, duplicate and migrated voters, while adding new eligible electors.

Officials say rapid urbanisation, migration between districts and demographic changes have led to outdated entries across many constituencies, making a fresh verification drive essential to prevent impersonation, fake voting and other irregularities. 

What the SIR involves in Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, where there is a steady flow of people moving from rural areas to cities, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been going door to door to verify names, ages, addresses and ID documents listed on the rolls. Citizens can also check and update their details online.

According to the schedule, house-to-house verification runs till December 4. Draft rolls will be published on December 9, after which claims and objections can be filed from December 9 to January 8, 2026. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will hold hearings and verify applications between December 9 and January 31, and the final rolls are to be published on February 7, 2026.

Officials underline that entries are not being deleted arbitrarily. Only records that cannot be confirmed despite repeated attempts are being flagged for further scrutiny, and there are multiple layers of review and appeal built into the process, they say.

Opposition flags fear of deletions

Despite these assurances, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu and its ally Congress have questioned the SIR, warning that it could lead to wrongful deletions, especially among marginalised groups who may lack documents or awareness of the process.

They argue that large-scale field verification, handled by overburdened BLOs, could end up excluding genuine voters who are away for work, have shifted temporarily, or are not reachable during official visits. They also point to the political context, saying the revision is being pushed just months before key polls.

The BJP and its allies at the Centre have rejected these accusations as unfounded, insisting the exercise is purely administrative and uniform across all states.

Officials stress transparency, uniform rules

Election officials maintain that the SIR follows the same rules everywhere and is grounded in existing law. They point to:

• Standard operating procedures for BLOs across states
• A formal window for citizens to file claims and objections after draft rolls are published
• Hearings before EROs where deletions can be challenged
• Grievance channels for voters who believe they have been wrongly removed

According to them, the SIR is designed to improve, not undermine, the accuracy of the rolls and to build public trust in elections.

Bihar’s experience used as counter-example

Supporters of the SIR point to Bihar, where a similar intensive revision was conducted recently, as evidence that fears of mass disenfranchisement are exaggerated.

Instead of turnout falling, Bihar saw overall polling touch 66.91 per cent. Women’s turnout was even higher at 71.6 per cent, compared to 62.8 per cent for men. Analysts quoted in that context said a well-maintained voter list reduces confusion at polling stations and encourages more people to vote.

After the INDIA bloc’s defeat in Bihar, where the BJP-JDU alliance won 202 seats, opposition parties stepped up their criticism of SIR, with some leaders informally blaming the revision for their performance. However, officials and analysts note that there is no evidence linking the clean-up of rolls to the electoral outcome.

What it means for voters

While the political debate around SIR is set to intensify as key deadlines approach, officials say the immediate responsibility for voters in Tamil Nadu is straightforward: check their names, verify their details and respond to BLOs during house visits.

They argue that a reliable, error-free voter list reduces the scope for fraud, strengthens the integrity of elections and protects every citizen’s right to vote, which, they say, is the core purpose of the Special Intensive Revision, regardless of the political noise around it.