Pattern in Deletions: Electoral Roll Controversy In Poll-Bound Kerala And Tamil Nadu

The final electoral rolls published after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in poll-bound Kerala and Tamil Nadu have come under intense scrutiny, with reports of large-scale deletions and unexplained omissions triggering political backlash and voter anxiety. While the Election Commission of India (ECI) maintains that the exercise was routine and corrective, the scale and pattern of exclusions have raised questions about transparency in a process central to the right to vote.

The ECI has defended the SIR, stating that it was undertaken to remove duplicate, shifted, and deceased voters and to ensure accuracy ahead of elections. It has emphasised that the revision followed established procedures, including door-to-door verification by Booth Level Officers. The Commission has also reiterated that deleted voters retain the right to seek re-enrolment through due process.

The controversy has revived a broader concern about the shifting burden in electoral administration. While electoral law permits corrections, repeated demands on voters to prove eligibility undermine the presumption of inclusion that underpins the universal adult franchise. For migrant workers, the elderly, and those with limited digital access, navigating re-enrolment procedures can amount to de facto disenfranchisement.

As elections approach, the timing of the SIR has sharpened political fault lines. Opposition parties have accused the ECI of inadequate communication and insufficient safeguards against wrongful exclusion, while State governments have sought extensions and clarifications to address mounting complaints.

Pattern in the untraceable category?

In Kerala, as many as 24,08,503 voters are listed in the Absent, Shifted, and Dead (ASD) list published alongside the draft electoral rolls. Of these, 6,45,548 voters are categorised as “untraceable/absent” and 8,16,221 as “permanently shifted.” Another 1,60,830 fall under the residual “others” category, which includes voters who refused to accept or return enumeration forms. The ASD list also contains 6,49,885 deceased voters and 1,36,029 duplicate entries.

The draft electoral roll currently stands at 2,54,42,352 voters, comprising 1,30,58,731 women, 1,23,83,341 men, and 280 transgender voters. This marks a sharp drop from the 2,86,05,525 eligible voters recorded during the 2025 local body elections held earlier this month.

While deletions on such a scale have themselves drawn concern, it is the pattern within the “untraceable” category that has triggered sharper political scrutiny. Preliminary analysis by political parties indicates that a disproportionately high number of deletions occurred in Assembly segments in which the BJP emerged first in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Many of these segments fall within the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, where the BJP State president, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, lost to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor by about 16,077votes.

Opposition parties have flagged the clustering of “untraceable” voters in politically crucial Assembly segments, arguing that the pattern cannot be dismissed as coincidental. They have demanded detailed, constituency-wise disclosure of the basis for deletions, warning that the absence of such transparency undermines confidence in the revision process.

Local leaders of the Congress and the CPI(M) allege that the scale and pattern of deletions indicate that voters were added en masse from outside the constituency ahead of the last Lok Sabha elections, to influence the electoral outcome in Thiruvananthapuram. They argue that the current round of deletions has brought this to light, a charge the BJP has denied.

Congress and CPI(M) workers point to what they describe as a telling pattern. In the Vattiyoorkavu Assembly segment—where the BJP secured a lead and which falls under the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency—more than 50,000 voters have been categorised as “unidentified” or “untraceable.”

Party leaders say the issue is not confined to Thiruvananthapuram. Similar patterns, they argue, are visible in the Thrissur parliamentary constituency, which the BJP won, and in parts of Palakkad district. A Booth Level Officer (BLO) who worked in Palakkad said that a majority of the names that could not be traced during verification were from these areas. “In some cases, even neighbours could not identify some of the voters listed,” the BLO said.

The BJP has not responded to allegations that a disproportionate number of deletions occurred in Assembly segments where it emerged as the leading party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile, local leaders of major political parties say they are reviewing the draft rolls and assisting voters whose names were excluded to seek inclusion through the prescribed process.

“We are guarding against attempts to include voters from other areas into this constituency,” a CPI(M) worker from Thiruvananthapuram said. In Thrissur, where the BJP won its first-ever Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, opposition parties have alleged that thousands of voters were brought in from different parts of the State and transported to the constituency to facilitate the victory of the party candidate, Suresh Gopi.

“The entire exercise of SIR is being carried out at the behest of the BJP,” said CPI state secretary Binoy Viswom.

About One crore missing voters!

Tamil Nadu has the highest number of deletions.  According to data released by the Election Commission, 97.3 lakh voters were deleted after a Special Intensive Revision.

The deletions amount to a 15.2% reduction in Tamil Nadu’s electorate. When the Election Commission of India (ECI) froze the rolls on October 27, 2025, the State had 6.41 crore electors; the revised rolls now list 5.43 crore voters.

Political reactions have followed expected lines. The DMK and the Congress have raised doubts over the scale and veracity of the deletions. At the same time, the NDA has described the exercise as evidence of alleged irregularities by the DMK during earlier elections. Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram said the party would verify the 64 lakh voters categorised as shifted or absent.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin convened a meeting of DMK district leaders and directed them to monitor both deletions and additions in the electoral rolls closely and to assist voters in seeking corrections where required.

The Anna Nagar Assembly constituency in Chennai recorded the highest number of voter deletions in the State, with 1.18 lakh names removed from the rolls. Kolathur, represented by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, also saw 1.02 lakh deletions, among the highest in the city.

Overall, Chennai district accounted for the largest share of deletions in Tamil Nadu, with 14.36 lakh voters excluded from the draft electoral roll. The city has 16 Assembly constituencies and has historically been a stronghold of the DMK, adding a political dimension to the scale and concentration of deletions.

The AIADMK, however, welcomed the deletions. Party general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami said the removal of bogus voters had helped “clean” the electoral rolls. “This vindicates our stand on the need for a Special Intensive Revision,” he said.

Political battle over electoral roll revision

 By comparison, routine annual revisions in Tamil Nadu have typically resulted in incremental changes, with deletions offset mainly by new enrolments and corrections. Past revisions have rarely produced a double-digit percentage drop in the electorate, making the scale of the current reduction considerable. Opposition parties argue that such a sharp contraction in a single revision cycle warrants closer scrutiny. At the same time, the Election Commission has maintained that the exercise reflects the removal of duplicate, shifted, and ineligible entries accumulated over time.

A comparison with Kerala underlines why the Tamil Nadu deletions have drawn sharper scrutiny. In Kerala, while the Special Intensive Revision has resulted in a large Absent, Shifted and Dead (ASD) list, the draft roll still stands at 2.54 crore voters, down from 2.86 crore recorded during the recent local body elections—significant, but framed by the Election Commission as essentially provisional and subject to correction. In Tamil Nadu, by contrast, the electorate has fallen from 6.41 crore to 5.43 crore, a 15.2 per cent net reduction. Opposition parties argue that while Kerala’s controversy centres on patterns within categories such as “untraceable” voters, Tamil Nadu’s concern lies in the sheer scale of the contraction itself, making it an outlier among recent revision exercises.

Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are due in April–May, with the final electoral rolls expected by February. Before campaigning gathers pace, however, a major political battle is set to unfold over the credibility of the revised rolls. How many deleted voters succeed in getting their names restored—and whether patterns similar to those seen in the deletions emerge during the inclusion process—could become a central political issue in the run-up to the elections.