Long-time city voters omitted from poll rolls in Tamil Nadu

Many voters were prevented from voting because their names were missing from the electoral rolls despite having voted in the same constituency for decades.

Some had travelled from Bengaluru, Vijayawada and other distant places only to be turned away from booths.
K N Jayaraman, 95, a person who uses a wheelchair and who voted in 10 Lok Sabha elections, seemed as active as a first-time voter to cast his vote at the Thiruvanmiyur polling station, but his enthusiasm faded as soon as poll officials informed him that his name was not on the rolls.

K Vishvanathan, who faced the same issue, said that despite his request to use his challenge vote, he was rebuffed as this was only permissible if his vote had already been cast by someone else. In some polling booths, voters were shocked to see their names deleted while their relatives could still vote.

Actor Soori also expressed his disappointment, and said, “I have voted in all the elections. My wife’s name is there, but mine is omitted. I am unsure whose error it is. It saddens me to not vote.”

Names of 150 voters from an apartment in Subramanyam Nagar were missing, said booth agents. B Sathyanarayanan, former AIADMK MLA from T Nagar, emphasing the severity of the issue during his visit to a polling station in Ashok Nagar, said, “It is a serious issue that cannot be ignored”.

Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Commissioner J Radhakrishnan said they conducted electoral roll revisions to correct details of the deceased and those who had moved out of the city.

“There could be genuine errors too. If any deletion was done without field verification, action would be taken against the official. For now, we will add all the missing voters in the next roll,” he said.