Tamil Nadu CEO Calls All-Party Meeting to Discuss Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls

Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik convened an all-party meeting to discuss the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, urging parties to appoint Booth Level Agents for accuracy. The initiative aims to ensure error-free voter lists across Tamil Nadu and other regions.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer, Archana Patnaik, led a meeting with all political parties to discuss the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. This revision aims to ensure accurate and error-free voter lists. Political parties were encouraged to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLAs) for this extensive task, which is being conducted in Tamil Nadu and 11 other states and union territories after more than two decades.

Representatives from various political parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, BJP, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian National Congress, AIADMK, and DMK attended the meeting. The CEO explained the SIR process, detailing the training of booth level agents and their role in assisting voters. Parties were urged to appoint BLAs for each polling station to ensure voter list accuracy.

Electoral Roll Revision Process

A presentation was made on the activities and schedule for the 2026 SIR of Electoral Roll during the meeting. Political party representatives shared their views and suggestions. From November 4 to December 4, Booth Level Officers will conduct house-to-house visits, distribute pre-filled forms to existing voters, collect completed forms, identify absent or duplicate voters, and register new eligible electors.

Officials stated that each household would be visited at least three times to collect completed forms, ensuring no voter is left out. During the pre-revision period, the Election Department will rationalise polling stations by December 4, 2025. This ensures no polling station has more than 1,200 electors for easier public access.

Key Details on Voter Registration

Eligible citizens aged 18 years and above as of January 1, 2026, are requested to cooperate with Booth Level Officers during the enumeration process. Each citizen's participation is crucial for a complete and error-free electoral roll. The ruling DMK and its allies have opposed the SIR. The government has scheduled an all-party meeting on November 2 to decide on further actions after the EC announced the revision implementation next month in poll-bound Tamil Nadu.

The electors of attached polling stations should not travel more than 2 km. The Election Commission's initiative aims to ensure that every eligible voter is included in the electoral roll accurately. This comprehensive exercise highlights the importance of citizen involvement in maintaining democratic processes.

With inputs from PTI