Friday, February 24 2006 18:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Coimbatore: The publication of the final electoral rolls in poll-bound Tamil Nadu has been deferred to the first week of March, Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami said here today (Feb 24,2006).

Though the Election Commission was scheduled to release the final list on Feb 27, it was delayed due to receipt of a large number of claims which needed verification, he told reporters here.

However, 90 per cent of applications and claims have been disposed of, he added.

"I wish I knew," was his reply when asked about the possible date for the polls in the State.

The official was here to review the progress in the verification of electoral roll and the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) in the region, comprising seven districts.

When asked about the percentage of increase in the voters, Gopalaswami and Naresh Gupta, chief electoral officer of Tamil Nadu, said that a draft estimate has suggested that the number has come down to 4.49 crore, as against 4.71 crore registered in 2004 and 4.63 crore in 2005, after verification.

Even assuming the 19 lakh claims and applications received during the summary revision were genuine, the total electorate would be around 4.68 crore, Gupta said.

On EPIC, Gopalswamy said the seven district collectors have assured to try their best to reach about 90 per cent of the voters by March 31. If Bihar could reach around 85 per cent, anything less than 85 per cent was not acceptable in Tamil Nadu, he added.