Chennai: With the polling for the Assembly elections taking place in Tamil Nadu today, April 23, voter turnout is expected to increase significantly compared to previous elections. A key factor contributing to this expectation is the “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) exercise undertaken by the Election Commission, which has cleansed the electoral rolls of inactive and bogus names.
TN Election: Massive travel for voting
Currently, people have begun traveling in large numbers to their hometowns specifically to cast their votes. Hundreds of thousands of people have started heading to their native places for this purpose. In the previous election, 400,000 people travelled to their hometowns; similarly, this time around, hundreds of thousands have once again begun making the journey. Consequently, the total number of votes cast is expected to rise substantially.
Name deletion through SIR
Through the SIR initiative, the names of “inactive” voters (those who had remained on the rolls for a long time but never voted), individuals residing out of station, and deceased persons have been purged from the electoral rolls. Since approximately 74 lakh superfluous names have been removed, the current electorate of 5.67 crore voters consists predominantly of individuals who are directly traceable and ready to cast their votes. As a result, given that the total number of registered voters (the denominator) has decreased, the percentage of votes cast is mathematically expected to exceed the 80 percent mark.
Past eElection Data and Current Changes
An analysis of voter turnout trends in Tamil Nadu during previous elections reveals that 73.63 percent of votes were cast in the 2021 Assembly elections, preceded by 74.26 percent in 2016. The 78.12 percent turnout recorded in the 2011 elections had, until now, been considered the highest figure ever achieved.
In those earlier periods, however, the electoral rolls were plagued by numerous discrepancies and the presence of bogus names; consequently, the actual voter turnout percentage—when calculated against the true number of eligible voters—would have appeared lower than the officially reported figures. However, since the electoral rolls have been thoroughly cleansed this year based on SIR data, voter turnout is expected to reach a new high compared to previous elections.
Addition of new voters
Notably, many among the 6.29 crore voters listed in 2021 were inactive; this time, however, such anomalies have been rectified. While the removal of names during the roll revision process constitutes one aspect of this exercise, the other side is the addition of approximately 27.53 lakh new voters. A significant strength of this update is that 12.51 lakh of these additions are first-time voters aged between 18 and 19.
Increased awareness and urban turnout
Thanks to growing political awareness among the younger generation and the Election Commission’s sustained awareness campaigns, voter turnout is also likely to increase in urban areas. With the removal of bogus and duplicate entries, the casting of fraudulent votes will be prevented, thereby upholding the integrity of the democratic process.
Undoubtedly, every single vote cast this time around will play a pivotal role in determining the political destiny of the state.