CHENNAI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has begun preparatory work for a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, despite opposition from the state government.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Archana Patnaik has written to the revenue department seeking data on the number of community certificates issued between July 1, 1987, and September 23, 2025. According to officials, the data may take a couple of weeks to compile. The CEO’s note indicated that community certificates could be used to verify voter identity and assist in demographic profiling.
Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin has been among the strongest critics of the SIR, alleging it is being misused in states like Bihar to erase voters from disadvantaged and dissenting communities. “This is not about reforms. It is about engineering outcomes… Tamil Nadu will raise its voice with full force,” Stalin said in July, as part of the DMK’s ‘Quit SIR’ campaign.
Schedule and Process
ECI sources said the schedule for the revision, with January 1, 2026, as the qualifying date, is likely to be released next week, with the process completed by year-end.
An intensive revision was last conducted in Tamil Nadu in 2002, followed by annual summary revisions. The commission is expected to use the 2002 electoral roll as the base year for 197 constituencies, while 37 urban constituencies will use the 2005 rolls.
The exercise will involve:
- House-to-house enumeration by booth-level officers.
- Distribution and collection of enumeration forms with supporting documents.
- Rationalisation of polling stations before the draft roll is published.
- A period for claims and objections, followed by the release of the final roll.
More Polling Stations
The ECI has also capped the number of voters per polling station at 1,200, requiring the creation of at least 7,000 additional polling stations across Tamil Nadu. The state currently has around 68,000 polling stations.
District collectors have already begun holding meetings with political parties to discuss the rationalisation of polling stations.
