Chennai BLOs grope in dark for voters who shifted house

CHENNAI: Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) in Chennai have reported that a significant number of electors on the electoral roll have shifted their residences, raising concerns over the progress of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. According to BLOs, between 200 and 300 residents per booth were found to have moved from the addresses recorded in the existing rolls.

BLOs said the trend is particularly visible in Chennai and other metropolitan areas, where frequent relocation is common due to rental changes, new employment, and schooling requirements. Officers involved in the field verification process stated they have been facing challenges in tracing the relocated residents, as many have moved multiple times in the last few years.

A BLO from Saidapet, Chennai, said that on average, around 300 voters were found to have shifted during the verification round. “Despite the hardship in tracing them, we have kept the enumeration forms with us and marked them as ‘shifted voters’,” the officer stated. Similar patterns have been observed in several other booths across the city.

Officials involved in the electoral roll update said Chennai has 40.04 lakh voters across 16 Assembly constituencies. Of these, BLOs estimate that around 10 lakh electors may have shifted from their recorded addresses.

An official from the Public Election Department, Tamil Nadu, said that if a voter has moved, BLOs do not issue enumeration forms at the old address. “Once the draft electoral roll is published on December 9, citizens who have shifted residence can submit a form from their new address with valid documents specified by the Election Commission,” the official said.

Meanwhile, the distribution of enumeration forms took a hit on Tuesday amid the ongoing protests against the SIR exercise.

According to the Election Commission data, only 0.43% forms were distributed across Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, while last week, on average, 6 to 7 per cent forms were distributed per day. The overall percentage is 94.74% as on Tuesday.

Until Monday (November 17), the form distribution stood at 94.31% across the state. However, protests by government staff associations, including members of JACTO-JIO and officials from the Revenue Department, disrupted operations on Tuesday.

On regular days, form distribution had been at 6% to 7%. For instance, on November 13, the distribution rate was 81.37%, which rose to 87.66% the following day. Tuesday's overall percentage decline compared to these numbers.

The enumeration phase of the SIR exercise is being conducted from November 4 to December 4, 2025. The draft electoral rolls will be published on December 9, and the final rolls are scheduled for release on February 7, 2026.