The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Thursday said that the rise in Tamil Nadu’s voter turnout percentage is due to changes in the total electorate following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said the increase should be viewed in the context of revised voter numbers.
Speaking to ANI, he said, "In 2021, before SIR, the total number of votes polled was 4.63 crore. Post SIR in this election, the total number of votes polled is around 4 crore 82 lakhs. So, around 19 lakh votes have only increased.There is not much difference."
He added that a higher turnout percentage does not necessarily reflect a major jump in voter participation when assessed in absolute terms.
Echoing this view, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai also said that the higher voter percentage in Tamil Nadu is linked to the reduction in the number of voters after the SIR exercise.
"The percentage is higher because the denominator has come down. This is elementary mathematics. You have brought the number of voters down by introducing SIR. Now you're saying, 'Wow, look at this poll percentage!' That is not something unprecedented, nor is this something which is out of the way, as some claim. Whoever tracks numbers, especially with regard to an election, they are very clear that this is a normal thing," he said.
Tamil Nadu recorded robust voter participation across districts. Karur led with 89.32 per cent turnout.
According to the Election Commission of India, the overall voter turnout in Tamil Nadu stood at 82.24 per cent as of 5 pm, with polling across all 234 Assembly constituencies concluding at 6 pm. Counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
(With inputs from ANI)