CHENNAI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) indicated that the total number of voters in the State is likely to settle at around 5.60 crore when the final electoral roll is published on February 19.
Before the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the electorate stood at 6.41 crore. Following the enumeration exercise, the draft roll released earlier showed a sharp decline to 5.43 crore voters.
The ECI had opened the window for claims and objections from December 19, allowing eligible citizens to seek inclusion of their names in the electoral roll. As of now, around 16 lakh applications have been received for name inclusion. The deadline for submitting claims and objections ends on January 30.
"During the claims and objections period, we had estimated that around 20 lakh applications would be filed. However, about 16 lakh forms have been received so far. After scrutiny and verification, the total number of voters is expected to increase to around 5.60 crore," an ECI official said.
Officials said the final figure would depend on the outcome of the verification process, including the acceptance or rejection of applications received during the SIR period.