Draft voter list reflects urbanisation-deletion correlation, says former MP

The removal of about one lakh voters in the draft electoral rolls brought out after the Special Intensive Revision by the Election Department is within acceptable parameters, former MP and president of the Puducherry Maanila Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (PMMMK) president M. Ramadass.

In a statement, Mr. Ramadass said the draft voter list published by the Election Department of Puducherry after the first phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) appears by and large to be “reasonable and acceptable to the voters and political parties”.

Granting that the data remains provisional until the final list is prepared, Mr. Ramadass pointed out that the draft list showed that out of the 10,21,578 voters in the old voter list as of October 27, 2025, 9,18,111 voters have been retained and 1,03,467 voters have been removed which constitutes 10.6 per cent of the total electorate. This percentage is not alarming compared to other States, such as Tamil Nadu (15.2) and Gujarat (14.5) and the Department has ascribed reasons for such removal.

Of those removed, 20,798 were deceased and 2,024 names were registered in multiple places. The percentage of these two categories is 2.23%. The remaining 80,645 electors (8.37 per cent ) did not reside at the specified address or had permanently vacated their residence and moved elsewhere This is the result of a natural process for which the Department cannot be blamed nor can we attribute any motive to it. Perhaps, if such individuals had been removed in each period in the past, there would have been no need to remove more than one lakh people today, Mr. Ramadass said.

According to Mr. Ramadass, the draft voter data showed a positive correlation between urbanisation of the Union Territory of Puducherry and high removal of voters. The percentage of those removed is the highest in the Raj Bhavan constituency at 18.92%; followed by Kamaraj Nagar (16.58%); Ozhukarai (13.87%); Karaikal North (13.68%); Thattanchavady (13.27 %); and Karaikal South (13.2%).

In urban areas, three factors seem to work powerfully causing high degree of shifting of voters. The occurrence of high degree of in-migration and out-migration of voters, movement of highly-qualified and educated unemployed youth voters to other parts of India or abroad for placement and apathy of urban voters about the entire electoral process and the resultant indifference to register as voters.

He commended the Election Department for executing the SIR exercise with 1,099 officers in a transparent manner and associating nine major political parties at all stages of revision, roping in 2,729 polling station level agents belonging to these parties, and conducting four special camps. The Department had also registered new voters, increased the number of polling stations from 962 to 1,099 by reducing the number of voters from 1,500 per booth to 1,200 and completed the onerous task within the stipulated time (37 days), he added