Over 97 lakh voters were removed from Tamil Nadu’s draft electoral roll ahead of 2026 polls, sparking public review period.

Over 97.3 lakh voters were removed from Tamil Nadu’s draft electoral roll during a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, reducing the electorate from 6.41 crore to 5.43 crore, a 15.2% drop. The deletions were due to death, migration, absence, or duplicate registrations, with Chennai seeing the highest reduction at 35.6%. The draft roll, now open for public review, allows voters to file claims or objections from December 19 to January 18, 2026, to challenge removals or register as first-time voters. The final roll is set for publication on February 2, 2026, ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.