Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik on Friday released the draft electoral rolls, showing that over 97.3 lakh voters were deleted after a Special Intensive Revision.The deletion represents a 15.2% decrease in the total electorate of the state. When the Election Commission of India (ECI) froze the rolls on October 27, 2025, Tamil Nadu had 6.41 crore electors. The total number now stands at 5.43 crore.Patnaik stated that the draft rolls were released in every district in the presence of recognised political parties. According to official data, the deletions were categorised under the Absent, Shifted, Deceased and Duplicate (ASDD) criteria.Chennai District leads deletionsIn Chennai, 14,25,018 voters were removed, accounting for 35.58% of the city’s previous electorate of 40,04,694. The district now has 25,79,676 voters, comprising 12,47,690 men, 13,31,243 women and 743 transpersons.Percentage-wise, Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar saw the lowest deletions at 24.19%, while Anna Nagar recorded the highest at 42.18%. In terms of numbers, Velachery constituency saw the highest with 1,27,521 names removed, reducing its electors from 3,17,520 to 1,89,999. Despite the deletions, the number of polling stations in Chennai has been increased from 3,718 to 4,079.Political reactions in Tamil NaduPolitical analyst Yogendra Yadav described the move as “mass disenfranchisement” and stated that the scale of deletions was unprecedented. Mr. Yadav noted he had expected a deletion of about 41 lakh names based on the State’s projected adult population of 6 crore.P. Chidambaram, Congress leader and former Union minister, urged political parties to scrutinise the 66.4 lakh names listed as shifted or absent. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) organising secretary R.S. Bharathi stated that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has directed booth-level agents to verify the rolls.All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami stated that the deletion of “mostly bogus” voters justified his party’s demand for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). He alleged that the ruling DMK was frustrated that its plans had been foiled. Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran pointed out that the time for corrections has been extended and urged members to assist the public.Kerala draft roll trendsIn Kerala, where the integrated draft is expected on December 23, Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U. Kelkar reported that 24.81 lakh enumeration forms were “uncollectable”. The ECI list for Kerala previously had 2.78 crore voters, whereas the State Election Commission list for local polls stood at 2.86 crore.Thiruvananthapuram district has the highest number of uncollectable forms at 4.36 lakh, followed by Ernakulam at 3.34 lakh. In Ernakulam, 2,15,957 voters were categorised as ‘unmapped’ as of December 18. These voters could not be linked to the 2002 electoral data, which serves as the base document for this exercise.Political dissent in KeralaRepresentatives including M.V. Jayarajan of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), M.K. Rahman (Congress), Sathyan Mokeri (Communist Party of India) and Mohammed Shah (Indian Union Muslim League) have demanded that the ASDD list be published online for verification. J.R. Padmakumar, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party, urged that no names be deleted without a personal hearing.Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked the ECI to re-examine the SIR process, alleging “undue haste”. He stated that the government moved the Supreme Court on this matter and the court has instructed that these concerns be addressed. He questioned the ‘others’ category, stating that denial of the right to vote on technical grounds destroys the foundations of democracy.Administrative and legal FrameworkRathan Kelkar’s office has lodged a complaint with the cyber police regarding the “misuse” of the ASDD list on social media by those portraying it as a final list.For new voters, 2.92 lakh applications have been received in Form 6, and 15,157 in Form 6A for overseas electors. Kerala will have 30,498 polling stations for the 2026 Assembly elections, adding 5,030 new stations.In Tamil Nadu, special camps will be held on December 20 and 21 at all polling stations. Citizens may submit Form 6 for new enrolments, Form 7 for objections to deletions, and Form 8 for corrections until January 18, 2026.In Kerala, the period for filing claims and objections will run from December 23 to January 22, 2026. The final electoral rolls for both states are scheduled for publication in February 2026.