AIADMK leader Jayakumar flags dead voters on rolls as Chennai adds 353 new polling booths

CHENNAI: AIADMK senior leader and former minister D Jayakumar on Tuesday alleged that hundreds of deceased persons’ names remain on the voters’ list across Chennai’s 16 assembly constituencies.

Citing a random check in Royapuram, he claimed that 507 dead persons were found on the rolls of just 10 booths. He urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to cross-verify the rolls with the Corporation death records and remove them.

“If the irregularities are not rectified by the next consultation meeting, we’ll move the court,” Jayakumar warned, while attending a consultative meeting at Ripon Building chaired by District Election Officer and GCC Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran.

Representatives from all major parties discussed the reorganisation of polling stations in line with ECI rules requiring a split wherever a station has more than 1,200 voters. Following the rationalisation, Chennai will see 353 additional polling booths, taking the total from 3,718 to 4,071. Officials said the exercise aimed to make voting more convenient and reduce crowding.

Several other party representatives raised concerns over the accuracy of the electoral rolls. CPI district executive committee member Hussain said his own name had been incorrectly marked ‘dead’ while his late brother’s name still figured on the list. “If this can happen to a political worker, imagine the plight of ordinary citizens,” he said.

BJP state secretary Karate Thiagarajan alleged that the Corporation was using cleanliness workers to add or delete voters and accused Minister KN Nehru of exerting political influence over the process.

Additional district election officer M Birathiviraj, district revenue officer (election) G Saravanamoorthy and senior officials, alongside leaders from the DMK, Congress, CPI(M) and other parties, attended the meeting. Authorities said objections from parties would be reviewed before finalising the rolls and booth arrangements.