High voter turnout reflects roll purification due to SIR exercise: BJP

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu BJP chief spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy on Friday said the high voter turnout recorded in the Assembly elections across Puducherry, Assam and Kerala reflects the success of electoral roll purification undertaken by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Citing turnout figures of 91.2 per cent in Puducherry, 85.6 per cent in Assam and 78.2 per cent in Kerala, Narayanan Thirupathy said the numbers mark a significant institutional achievement driven by the effective implementation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

“This remarkable outcome has been made possible due to the highly efficient execution of the SIR exercise by the Election Commission,” he said, adding that the exercise was carried out despite resistance from sections of the opposition.

Narayanan said electoral rolls had, over the years, been inflated due to the inclusion of deceased voters, duplication of entries and failure to update address changes. “Such discrepancies led to an artificially high voter base, which in turn suppressed turnout percentages and created a misleading narrative of voter apathy,” he said.

The recent revision, he said, has corrected these distortions and presented a more accurate reflection of voter participation. “The initiative has strengthened public confidence in the democratic process by revealing the true extent of electoral engagement,” he added.

The BJP leader also called on political parties to acknowledge the reform. “It is the responsibility of all stakeholders to accept this exercise with a clear understanding of the facts,” Narayanan Thirupathy said.