Vanathi Srinivasan, BJP’s Andhra Pradesh co-incharge, has said opposition parties are attempting to “seize power through shortcuts” by turning the voter roll revision exercise into a political controversy.
She noted that the Election Commission periodically conducts Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to ensure only eligible voters are listed, by removing names of the deceased, those who have shifted constituencies, duplicate entries and non-citizens. She said the exercise has been carried out eight times since Independence, with the last nationwide SIR held between 2002 and 2004.
Referring to the SIR conducted in November–December 2025, she said large numbers of names were removed in Tamil Nadu, but a window was provided for corrections. As per the final electoral roll released on February 23, she said 74,07,207 names were removed in the state, while about 23 lakh were added back after corrections.
Srinivasan attributed higher deletions in Chennai to dense constituencies and frequent house moves leading to duplicate entries, along with incomplete removal of deceased voters. She cited Kolathur, where former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had contested, as having 83,402 deletions, while rural constituencies saw comparatively fewer removals.
She also argued that although the Election Commission is an independent body, the preparation of rolls and SIR work are carried out by state government staff under district election officers. If errors occurred, she said responsibility lay with officials involved, and eligible Indian citizens could still get their names added using the opportunities provided. She criticised Congress and other opposition parties for blaming the Election Commission and demanding the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner, saying decisions are not taken unilaterally and require majority support among the three commissioners.
