Chennai, February 27 – The recently concluded electoral roll revision in Tamil Nadu, which has been hailed as a model for the country and a great success, was praised by CEC Gyanesh Kumar on Friday. He said that the state's political parties have suggested holding Assembly elections in a single phase, and a decision on this will be taken after considering all the factors.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar said that the Election Commission's decision on the "phasing of elections" will be announced once the election schedule is announced. He added that the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections will set a record in improving the polls in Bihar.
Addressing a press conference, the Chief Election Commissioner said: "The experience in Bihar is that it has been the most flawless elections in recent decades. I have been assured by all the district magistrates, SPs, and the entire electoral machinery, including enforcement agencies, that Tamil Nadu will set a record and will be much better than Bihar."
He lauded the recently concluded electoral roll revision in Tamil Nadu as a model for the country and a great success, ensuring cleaner voter rolls. He said that it demonstrated the professionalism of the Election Commission officials in ensuring cleaner voter rolls, in response to criticism from certain political parties that the exercise resulted in the mass deletion of voter names.
He said that while 100% voting is not mandatory according to law, Tamil Nadu's voting has been "highly encouraging and politically conscious."
The top poll official assured that 75,000 polling stations across the state will have the necessary amenities.
Regarding the vote counting exercise, he said that mandatory VVPAT counting will take place, and even after counting, any candidate can match the EVM with the VVPAT for 7 days, upon payment of a fee.
One of the new initiatives was that postal ballots will be counted two rounds before the EVM rounds.
The CEC praised Tamil Nadu's "glorious past in democracy," and mentioned that the state's ancient 'Kudavolai' system of polls was proudly mentioned in a conference.
He contended that pure electoral rolls are the bedrock of democracy, and congratulated all the officials, including BLOs, who helped to make the revision a great success in the state.
"The upcoming election will have a greater focus on youth. There will be 3,600 dedicated assistant electoral registration officers for campaigns in colleges. Tamil Nadu will witness over 12.5 lakh voters aged 18-19 years, and there were one crore young voters in the 20-29 age bracket," he said.
The special intensive revision carried out from October 27, 2025, to February 23, 2026, was simple, straightforward, clear, and transparent, and no eligible voter was excluded. The final electorate as on February 23, 2026, stood at 5.67 crore, with women accounting for 2.89 crore, outnumbering men who constitute 2.77 crore, while 7,617 voters were third gender.
The state has 234 Assembly constituencies, of which 199 are general, 44 are reserved for SC, and 2 are reserved for ST.
Arrangements will be made to provide polling stations on the ground floor for the benefit of senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
Tamil Nadu will have 258 women-managed polling stations, 47 disability-friendly polling stations, and 265 model polling stations.
"Each polling station will accommodate 1,200 electors. Voters' information slips will be like an invitation, asking people to come and vote, and on the right side, the booth numbers will be clearly indicated," he said.
The entire polling process will be webcast through ECINET, which will contain all information about the election, candidates, affidavits, polling stations, voter turnout, and even the results. Even the voting percentage will be constantly uploaded on this centralized digital platform. The ECINET app could be downloaded on mobile.
"I hope that the promise of holding inducement-free, transparent, and fair and memorable model elections in Tamil Nadu will be showcased by our machinery to the entire country and the world," Kumar said, adding that the political parties had assured the EC that the election would be inducement-free.
To a question on permitting online filing of nomination by candidates, he replied that, as per law, nominations should be submitted in person and on time. "I think the festival of democracy will take precedence," he added.
The CEC had reviewed the poll preparedness for the forthcoming Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election along with senior police officials, district collectors who are district election officers, state government officials, and heads of enforcement agencies in the state.
Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, senior deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg, deputy Election Commissioner Sanjay Kumar, and Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik, also participated.
During the two-day review which concluded today, the ECI officials interacted with the representatives of recognised national and state political parties, and booth level officers.
Earlier, the CEC honoured the BLOs of TN for their dedicated contribution during the revision in 2026 and interacted with them. He presented the EPIC cards to the first-time voters during the poll preparedness review in Tamil Nadu, reaffirming the commission’s unwavering commitment in enhancing youth participation in the democratic process.
Visually impaired Jyothikalai, a PwD icon of the election commission, was honoured on the occasion in recognition of her inspiring contribution to inclusive electoral participation.