Six days since the beginning of SIR, technical glitches and confusion prevail among the voters

Velan, a 50-year-old, a resident of Madurai Meenakshipuram, in Urappakkam panchayat on the outskirts of Chennai, on Monday searched for his name in the voter list online. On entering his EPIC number and the name of his assembly constituency, he found the name and contact number of the Booth Level Officer (BLO) assigned by the election commission.

He immediately called her up to locate her to collect the enumeration form and update his name in the draft rolls. But to his surprise, the officer on the other side said, “Sir. I am confused. I am not able to find the address in the forms I have with me. I am at the Pillaiyar Temple. Come here and collect your form,” the BLO said. Velan was completely shaken as he believed that the BLO would visit him door to door and give the enumeration forms to revise the voter list. “I did not expect this. I have now asked all my neighbours to call the BLO and take the form in person.” Following Velan, at least 50 residents from the Urappakkam Panchayat would have called the BLO and taken the enumeration form the same day.

Far away from Urappakkam, in T. Nagar assembly constituency in South Chennai, considered to be one of the strongholds of the DMK, the BLO seems to be steadfast, quick to answer phone calls. But here too, the BLO tells the voter to collect the enumeration form. “You check the details in the form and keep it with you. I will take it from you in a day or two,” he told Senthilnathan, a 78-year-old resident of Ashok Nagar.

“I called him to check as there are four votes in my house. He answered the call and asked me to collect the enumeration form in person. I will collect it today,” said Senthilnathan. But he is not sure if all his family members’ names are in the draft list.

Six days since the work on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) began in Tamil Nadu, confusions prevail on the ground with the voters trying to find their names in the voter list and fetch the contact numbers of their BLOs. “I checked my name in the draft list. I didn’t find it. I will register if the BLO comes to my house whenever I am at home. Otherwise, I will not vote. It is that simple,” said 21-year old Susheel Rajarathinam, an engineering college student living in Thiruvanmiyur. He voted in the 2024 Parliament election for the first time as a resident of Adyar. Susheel had moved from Adyar to Thiruvanmiyur recently and is clueless how he can update his address and which part and series his vote will be. “I checked the 2005 rolls. My name is missing from the list. I don’t know how my fresh details can be verified now,” says Susheel.

Chennai city alone has over 40 lakh voters, which has to be verified in a month’s time by the BLOs and updated to be published as the draft rolls by December 4, 2025, by the Election Commission of India. Many of the voters who voted in 2001 say their names can be traced in the 2005 draft roll list published by the ECI on its website. The 2005 draft roll is the key document used for cross verification to validate a voter for the SIR now. The ECI in its website has this provision to allow the people to verify their names in the older voter list. “I checked. I don’t see my name on the roll. I voted in every election from 2001 to 2024. I have shifted from Velachery to Thiruvanmiyur. I called the BLO. He is also clueless,” said Radhika Santhanam, one of the residents near the Marundeeswarar temple in Thiruvanmiyur.

While the government has allowed multiple proofs for address and verification of the voter names in the 2005 rolls, the voters feel that most of their names may still get deleted. “It is the discretion of the ECI official. Imagine if my BLO is not able to trace my address till the last date and I too doesn’t reach out to her. She will remove my name from the list. This is obvious,” contends Velan.

The BLOs are supposed to visit at least 500 houses a day in the area assigned to them. “I am able to reach out to only 30 to 35 houses a day. How can I cover 500 houses? People have multiple questions and doubts,” said one of the BLOs who did not want to be named.

Despite all these discrepancies on the ground, the ruling DMK and the opposition AIADMK are at loggerheads over the SIR. While the DMK is strongly opposing it, saying that it is one of the strong tools used by the BJP to curb the regional powers, the AIADMK is of the opinion that the DMK is opposing it because it fears that rigging will not possible if a fresh voter list is published. The DMK will launch a statewide protest on Tuesday opposing the SIR. The AIADMK has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to be impleaded in a plea filed by the Tamil Nadu government challenging the implementation of the SIR.