Citizens group claims millions missing from Tamil Nadu voter lists

A citizens group has stated that over 74 lakh voters are missing from the voter lists in Tamil Nadu and called for a full inquiry into these removals.

Protest Plans

The Independent Young Citizens Collective announced a protest rally on Anna Salai on November 26 as part of a nationwide day of action opposing the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls.

Press Meet

The group shared these details during a press conference at the Chennai Press Club on Tuesday, featuring political economist Parakala Prabhakar, Carnatic vocalist T.M. Krishna, former union leader Thomas Franco, and group co-convenor Radhika Ganesh.

Claims

Radhika Ganesh stated that the revision process led to the deletion of over 74 lakh names, which makes up about 11.5% of the voters in the State, and she asked the Election Commission and Union government for answers. Parakala Prabhakar urged authorities to cancel the revision process, bring back all removed voters, and hold upcoming polls using older voter lists from 2024. T.M. Krishna said the revision forms asked for details from the year 2002, which creates a heavy burden for normal people who may not remember such old information.

Context

Voter roll revisions are periodic administrative updates carried out by election authorities to clean up lists by removing names of people who have moved or passed away, but major changes often lead to public debate over eligible voters being left out.