Absolute voter increases seen across Tamil Nadu followed spatial patterns

The all-time high turnout in Tamil Nadu – 85.1%, according to provisional figures from the Election Commission of India – was shown to be a consequence of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the State that had led to the net deletion of 68 lakh electors.

While the State also registered an increase in the absolute number of voters who turned out, the provisional addition of roughly 24.8 lakh voters appears lower than the gains registered in recent cycles — 31.1 lakh between 2016 and 2021, and 64.8 lakh between 2011 and 2016. At the same time, when we break down the State-wide aggregate increase this election, distinct constituency-level variations that cut across urban/rural segments and regions are observed.