CHENNAI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) officially released the final electoral roll for Tamil Nadu on Monday, February 23, 2026, revealing a significant reduction in the state’s voter base. Following a months-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a total of 97.37 lakh names were purged from the list, primarily due to deaths, permanent relocations, and duplicate entries.
Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik announced that the state’s total electorate now stands at 5.67 crore, down nearly 11.5% from the 6.41 crore voters recorded before the revision began in October 2025. Despite the heavy deletions, the final push for “claims and objections” between December and January saw the successful addition of 27.53 lakh new voters, including a significant surge of 7.40 lakh first-time voters in the 18–19 age bracket.
Demographic Breakdown and Regional Highlights
The final roll indicates a continuing trend of female voters outnumbering male voters in the state:
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Female Voters: 2.89 crore
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Male Voters: 2.77 crore
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Third Gender: 7,617
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Largest Constituency: Sholinganallur (Chengalpattu district) remains the largest with 5,36,991 electors.
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Smallest Constituency: Harbour (Chennai district) remains the smallest with 1,16,896 electors.
In Chennai alone, over 14 lakh names were removed, a figure attributed to the city’s high floating population and a concerted effort to clean up “dead” and “shifted” entries that had persisted for years.
The “SIR” Process and Political Reactions
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was a door-to-door enumeration exercise similar to those conducted in other poll-bound states like West Bengal and Bihar. While the Election Commission maintains that the goal was an “error-free” list, the massive scale of deletions sparked a political row earlier in the cycle.
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Opposition Support: Leaders from the AIADMK and BJP largely welcomed the pruning, stating it validates their long-standing claims regarding “duplicate” or “fake” voters.
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Ruling Party Caution: The DMK and its allies, while acknowledging the need for accuracy, directed booth-level agents to double-check the lists to ensure no genuine eligible voters were inadvertently disenfranchised.
Next Steps for Voters
With the final roll published, the period for Continuous Updation has now begun. Chief Electoral Officer Patnaik urged citizens who find their names missing to immediately file Form-6 for inclusion. Voters can verify their status on the official website (elections.tn.gov.in) or at their local zonal offices and polling stations.
