CHENNAI: Nearly one in three voters in Chennai were deleted from the final electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to data released by the District Election Officer and Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran on Monday.
The total number of voters across the 16 Assembly constituencies in the city dropped to 28,30,936 from 40,04,694 in the pre-SIR rolls.
The SIR exercise led to the deletion of 11,73,758 names, accounting for nearly 30% of the earlier electorate. Officials said the deletions were carried out to remove names of deceased persons, voters who had permanently shifted, and duplicate entries.
The highest proportion of deletions was recorded in Thousand Lights and Anna Nagar, with both constituencies witnessing a 35% reduction in voter numbers. In Thousand Lights, 84,466 names were removed, bringing the electorate down from 2,38,374 to 1,53,908 in the final roll. Anna Nagar saw the highest absolute number of deletions, with 99,020 names removed, reducing the voter count from 2,80,422 to 1,81,402.
The highest proportion of deletions was recorded in Thousand Lights and Anna Nagar, with both constituencies witnessing a 35% reduction in voter numbers
Villivakkam and T Nagar followed closely, with a 34% reduction each. Villivakkam lost 80,702 voters, with the total dropping from 2,40,466 to 1,59,764. In T Nagar, 80,554 names were deleted, bringing the electorate down from 2,35,497 to 1,54,943.
The lowest proportion of deletions was recorded in Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar, where around 39,416 names were removed, a 17% reduction, taking the voter count from 2,35,272 to 1,78,356. In Kolathur, about 29% of voters, or 83,402 names, were deleted, reducing the electorate from 2,90,653 to 2,07,251.
Before the SIR, Chennai had about 40,04,694 voters, comprising 20,41,144 women, 19,62,245 men and 1,305 third-gender voters. After the release of the draft roll on December 19, the total count dipped to 25,79,676, with 13,31,243 women, 12,47,690 men and 743 third-gender voters.
Following special enrolment camps and verification drives, 2,70,573 new voters were added to the final roll, including 1,27,418 men, 1,43,053 women and 102 third-gender persons. During the same period, 19,313 names were deleted, comprising 9,345 men, 9,952 women and 16 third-gender voters.
In the final rolls, Harbour recorded the lowest number of voters at 1,16,896, while Perambur had the highest with 2,22,792. A total of 4,079 polling stations have been set up across the city, with Velachery having the maximum at 314 and Harbour the minimum at 192.
The number of young voters aged 18 and above increased from 20,904 in the draft roll to 62,005 in the final roll. Senior citizens aged 85 and above rose from 22,293 to 23,350. The number of service voters remained unchanged at 555. Disabled voters increased to 12,347 in the final roll from 9,598 in the draft, with the number of women in this category rising to 7,322 while the number of men remained at 5,271.