After the hearing on the move to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran accused the DMK of panicking and attempting to obstruct a necessary process to ensure fair elections. He dismissed Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s claims as a “smokescreen for electoral fraud”.
The Election Commission informed the Madras High Court on October 24 that SIR operations in the state would begin “in a week or so”. The move has placed the ruling DMK and its allies, the Congress, VCK, Left parties, and Seeman’s Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK), on the defensive, while the Opposition BJP, AIADMK, and their allies have taken an offensive stance.
Addressing a press conference on October 27 in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said that after the completion of Phase 1 of the SIR in Bihar, this would be the second phase. He added that all poll-bound states and Union Territories in 2026, including Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, would be part of the SIR. The draft roll would be published on December 9, and the final electoral roll would be released on February 7, 2026.
Pure Electoral Rolls Strengthen Democracy #ECI
Phase 1 – #SIR Successfully Completed in Bihar with Zero Appeals
Phase 2 – To start in 12 States / UTs pic.twitter.com/EgfroWoDJZ
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) October 27, 2025
The EC will conduct the SIR in Tamil Nadu by deploying approximately 75,000 personnel, including Booth Level Officers (BLOs), BLO supervisors, District Election Officers (DEOs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) sourced from various government departments, to carry out a comprehensive door-to-door enumeration process. It has asked the Tamil Nadu government to spare the necessary staff to undertake this massive exercise, being conducted after several decades.
CM M.K. Stalin, who opposed the SIR when it was launched in Bihar, on October 26 alleged that “the AIADMK and the BJP do not have the strength to face the people during the Assembly elections and are plotting to deprive them of their vote. In Tamil Nadu, their calculation will prove to be both costly and wrong.” The DMK and its I.N.D.I.A bloc allies have alleged that the BJP, with the help of the EC, deleted 65 lakh votes in Bihar and has similar plans for Tamil Nadu.
In a statement, Stalin said, “The DMK has already made a representation to the EC to withdraw the SIR and has sought adequate time if there is a need to revise the electoral rolls. The DMK will take legal recourse and join hands with the people if the EC goes ahead with the SIR.”
He appealed to his party cadres to remain vigilant and closely monitor the proposed SIR, which he claimed was aimed at deleting voter names. “Since the AIADMK, having pledged its rights to the BJP, has no time to bother about the rights of the people, the DMK and its allies have a responsibility to protect voters’ rights,” Stalin said.
The DMK leader further alleged, “The BJP and its ally AIADMK believe that if the names of voters from the working class, minorities, Scheduled Castes, women, and the poor are deleted through SIR, they can win without facing the people. But this calculation will fail in Tamil Nadu. We have insisted on halting the SIR and carrying out rationalisation of the voters’ list through appropriate means. If they go ahead, we will challenge them legally and resist such moves with the help of the people.”
🛑 #SIR எனும் சதிவலையைத் தமிழ்நாட்டிலும் விரிக்க பா.ஜ.க. ஆயத்தமாகிவிட்டது. மக்களின் வாக்குரிமையையே பறிக்கும் இந்த அநியாயம் ஏற்கெனவே பீகாரில் அரங்கேற்றப்பட்டதைப் பார்த்தோம். விழிப்புடன் இருந்து, கருப்பு சிவப்புக்காரர்கள்தான் தமிழ்நாட்டின் காவலுக்குக் கெட்டிக்காரர்கள் எனக் காட்ட… pic.twitter.com/vm9Qiq6SMw
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) October 26, 2025
Reacting to Stalin’s remarks, Nainar Nagendran criticised his comments on the SIR of electoral rolls. He accused the DMK of panicking and trying to obstruct a legitimate process to ensure fair elections. The BJP dismissed Stalin’s claims as a “smokescreen for electoral fraud” and defended the SIR as a standard procedure for cleaning up voter rolls before elections.
Nagendran accused the DMK of inflating voter lists in its strongholds, claiming that 9,000 extra, likely fraudulent, votes were found in Stalin’s own Kolathur constituency. He added that the DMK’s panic stemmed from the realisation that in the 2026 Assembly elections, their inflated voter margins would be exposed.
“There’s nothing wrong with implementing SIR, it’s a standard process to ensure clean rolls ahead of future elections. The DMK is howling now because it knows that in the coming elections, today’s rulers will be tomorrow’s Opposition. This is pure panic, not principle,” Nagendran said.
He reminded the DMK that it had itself sought an SIR during the 2017 R.K. Nagar Assembly by-election, citing fake voters and approaching the High Court for redress. “Does Stalin not know that ten SIR exercises were undertaken starting from Jawaharlal Nehru’s time and by successive Congress prime ministers? Why is he trying to project the present SIR as something new? The exercise will be carried out by Tamil Nadu officials such as district collectors, revenue officials, and VAOs, all under his government. Does he suspect them of dishonesty? At a time when infiltration by Bangladeshi nationals in Tamil Nadu is high, the SIR is needed to identify and eliminate them from the electoral rolls. It is not to delete genuine Tamil Nadu voters, as claimed by Stalin,” he added.
தோல்விக்கு இப்போதே காரணம் தேடுகிறார் முதல்வர்!
வாக்காளர் பட்டியல் சிறப்புத் திருத்த பணியைத் (SIR) தேர்தல் ஆணையம் துவங்கும் தகவல் வந்ததும் அலறும் முதல்வர் திரு. @mkstalin அவர்களுக்கு வரலாற்றை நினைவூட்ட விரும்புகிறேன். கடந்த 2017-ஆம் ஆண்டு சென்னை ஆர்.கே.நகர் சட்டமன்றத் தொகுதி…
— Nainar Nagenthran (@NainarBJP) October 27, 2025
Nagendran on October 26 urged BJP cadres to remain vigilant during the SIR of electoral rolls, expected to begin across Tamil Nadu next week. In a statement, he said, “It is our duty to ensure that no voter from any polling booth is left out and that names already included in the rolls are not deleted. Some may conspire to use the SIR to remove our supporters’ names. Therefore, BJP booth committee members must remain alert during the exercise.” He also advised them to seek clear reasons for any names removed from the rolls.
NTK chief Seeman, in a media conference, alleged that over 70 lakh people from Bihar are residing in Tamil Nadu. “If they are included in the voters’ list, Tamil Nadu would become another Bihar and a Hindi-speaking state. They follow the one-language principle and will slowly push us out,” he said.
பீகாரில் இருந்து வெளியேறிய 70 லட்சம் பேர் தமிழ்நாட்டுல தான் இருக்கான்.. அவங்களுக்கு வாக்குரிமையை கொடுத்து விட்டால் இது இன்னொரு ஹிந்தி பேசும் மாநிலமாக ஆகிவிடும்..! அவன் ஒரே மொழி என்ற அடையாளத்தில் ஒன்றா நிற்கிறான்.. பிறகு இங்கிருந்து நம்மை விரட்டிடுவாங்க.. சீமான் பரபரப்பு பேட்டி… pic.twitter.com/tdxAQTNYTB
— Polimer News (@polimernews) October 26, 2025
However, netizen Ethirajan Srinivasan countered Seeman’s claim, saying, “Seeman was wrong. The figure is entirely incorrect. Under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, individuals have the right to vote in the place they reside. He cannot deny that right. Has he considered what would happen to Tamils living in other states if the same logic were applied?”
முதல் பிழை, 70 லட்சம் பீஹார்வாசிகள் தமிழகத்தில் இருக்கிறார்கள் என்பது!
இரண்டாவதாக, வாக்காளர்கள் அவர்கள் வசிக்கும் பகுதியில் வாக்குச் செலுத்தும் உரிமையை மக்கள் பிரதிநிதித்துவச் சட்டம் 1950 வழங்குகிறது.
அதை மறுக்கும் உரிமை சீமானுக்கு இல்லை. https://t.co/3d7BMPfzSO
— Ethirajan Srinivasan 🇮🇳🚩 (@Ethirajans) October 27, 2025
VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan, on October 26, called upon all political parties in Tamil Nadu to unite and oppose the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Speaking to the media in Madurai, he urged parties across the political spectrum to prevent a situation similar to Bihar, where he alleged voter manipulation had occurred under the guise of SIR. Several parties, including the VCK, have filed petitions before the Supreme Court against the SIR, which are still pending. Despite this, the revision is set to begin next week in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala — a move he termed “shocking.”
