About 96.22% of Tamil Nadu voters have received census forms for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. And 50% of them returned the filled forms, Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik said in Chennai on Monday.
Talking to reporters at the secretariat, she said that as on October 27, there were about 6.41 lakh people in the electoral rolls of Tamil Nadu. The forms were distributed by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to 6.16 million voters (96.22%).
Deleting names
Asked about allegations of mass deletion of names, Ms. Patnaik said, “As I said earlier, no eligible voter can be struck off the rolls without giving a specific reason.” A reason would have to be given for any person to be removed. “It has to be displayed in the polling booths.
Asked what a voter could do if his/her name was not included in the nomination lists to be published on December 9, she said: “If for some reason the name does not appear, we have a period for claims and objections. They can apply again.”
Asked about claims that in many districts BLOs have allegedly told voters they don’t have to fill some sections of the forms, Ms. Patnaik said, “All sections must be filled. If your name is on the 2002 or 2005 list, your name is enough. If it can’t be traced, other details will have to be given.” If someone changed residence within the constituency, it was possible to trace them. If there was a change of residence outside the constituency, Form 8 had to be submitted, she said.
Asked about the forms that may contain errors, Ms. Patnaik said the BLO would verify the details during the field investigation and forward them to the Election Registration Officers (ERO). The correct data would appear on the master rolls.
BLOs and volunteers were actively involved in the SIR, Ms. Patnaik said, appealing to members of the public to receive the enumeration forms, fill them up and return them. She said the names of all eligible voters will have to be part of the rolls and SIR is the process to ensure this. “The BLO question is the main, important part.
Digitization is the next step
The enumeration would take place until December 4, and the next step would be digitization. “About 50% of the forms have been returned and the digitization process is going on,” she said. Five categories of voters will be displayed: death cases; absent; those who have permanently changed their place of residence; duplicate forms; and those who have not received the forms, Ms. Patnaik said.
A total of 83,256 election officials, including BLOs and invigilators, besides 33,000 volunteers and 2.45 lakh booth-level agents, were involved in the process, she said. A total of 327 BLOs completed their task, she said.
“If you are eligible, your name should be on the electoral rolls and the SIR is to ensure that this is the case,” she said.
Asked about some cases where officials tried to take the extreme step allegedly due to work pressure, Ms. Patnaik said, “They are given training and support.”
Ms. Patnaik requested the public’s cooperation in completing the exercise. When asked whether the December 4 deadline would be extended, she answered in the negative.
Asked about allegations of “political interference” in the SIR and BLOs, who are not allowed to work independently, Ms Patnaik said: “Our BLOs act independently. If there are specific allegations, you can bring them to my attention.”
Responding to another question regarding the allegation that one political party had received enumeration forms, Ms. Patnaik said it was not true. About two million voters submitted their forms online, she said. BLOs were aware of their duties and responsibilities and EROs were aware of their responsibilities, she said.
Asked how many people with their names on the Bihar lists after the SIR sent the forms there in Tamil Nadu, Ms. Patnaik said, “People not only from Bihar but from any other state will have to submit Form 8 and a declaration. About 429 forms of this category have been received so far.” As for Chennai, about 96.27% voters received the forms and about 50% returned them. And 33.59% of the filled forms were digitized, she said.
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Published – 24 Nov 2025 20:15 IST
