Tamil Nadu SIR | Door-to-door voter enumeration begins as DMK flags 'De Facto NRC' concerns

Amid strong opposition by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls commenced in various wards across Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) involved in the door-to-door revision of the electoral rolls visited the houses in all the 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu. As part of the SIR exercise, the house-to-house enumeration will be carried out from November 4 to December 4. 

 

Earlier on Tuesday, before setting out to the field, the BLOs had a brief training session. “If BLO finds that any house is locked or closed, the officer will make three visits. Electors may also download their enumeration forms and submit the filled-in forms online,” an official statement from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said. 

 

The statement from the CEO also said that the dates of the visits of the BLOs will be shared in advance and widely publicised in the locality of the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). BLOs will collect the filled forms and provide an acknowledgement in one copy of the enumeration form, which will be retained by the elector, the statement added.

 

Apart from the door-to-door visits, the enumeration forms can also be filed via online by the voters. The BLOs will assist the electors in filling these details. “The names of all the electors who have submitted their duly filled enumeration forms to the BLO during the house-to-house enumeration period will be included in the draft electoral roll, which will be published on December 9. This will include names of electors who have submitted the filled and signed forms online also,” Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik said in the statement. 

 

In case any elector is unable to submit their filled enumeration form within the specified time, Form 6, along with the prescribed declaration form, can be filed to get included during the claims and objections period. This exercise will be carried out from December 9, 2025, to January 6, 2026. The final electoral roll will be published on February 2, 2026, after considering all the claims and objections, said the press statement from the CEO. 

 

The door-to-door visits have begun despite DMK’s staunch opposition to the SIR. The DMK, in its plea before the Supreme Court, dubbed the exercise as “De facto NRC” and has challenged the constitutional validity of the exercise. The DMK has urged the Supreme Court to quash the Election Commission’s notification dated October 27 on SIR. 

India