The Election Commission of India is set to launch second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 12 States and Union Territories, including Tamil Nadu. The move has unsettled the DMK and its allies, who view the exercise as a challenge to their grip over booth-level voter rolls. The SIR drive has already triggered political heat in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Alleging a ‘conspiracy’ in the move to carry out a SIR of the electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, along with leaders of allies, appealed to leaders of all political parties to attend an all-party meeting in Chennai on November 2 at a private hotel in Chennai. Stalin briefed about the impending challenges due to SIR.
தமிழ்நாட்டில் அடுத்த வாரம் முதல் SIR மேற்கொள்ளப்படும் எனத் தேர்தல் ஆணையம் அறிவித்துள்ள நிலையில், வரும் நவம்பர் 2 அன்று தமிழ்நாட்டில் உள்ள அனைத்து அரசியல் கட்சிகளையும் அழைத்து, அடுத்தகட்ட நடவடிக்கைகள் குறித்து ஆலோசிக்கக் கூட்டம் நடத்தப்படும்!
– மாண்புமிகு முதலமைச்சர் திரு… pic.twitter.com/UxZtfSLjt2
— DMK IT WING (@DMKITwing) October 28, 2025
Stalin said on X in the message titled “SIR in Tamil Nadu: we will resist disenfranchisement and defeat #VoteTheft”, “The right to vote is the foundation of democracy. TN will fight against any attempt to murder it and TN will win. To conduct SIR in haste and in an opaque manner is nothing but a conspiracy by ECI to rob citizens of their rights in TN from next week. There are practical difficulties in carrying out SIR just months before the Assembly election, especially during the monsoon months of November and December.”
He said, “SIR in Bihar revealed a large number of women, minorities and people from SC and ST communities were deleted from the rolls. Absence of transparency has fuelled a series of suspicions in the public’s mind.”
#SIR in Tamil Nadu: We will resist disenfranchisement and defeat #VoteTheft.
To carry out Special Intensive Revision just months before the election, and especially during the monsoon months of November and December, brings serious practical difficulties. To conduct SIR in a… pic.twitter.com/wXUXuZUkyp
— M.K.Stalin – தமிழ்நாட்டை தலைகுனிய விடமாட்டேன் (@mkstalin) October 27, 2025
The appeal came after a consultative meeting of the Secular Progressive Alliance leaders held at Anna Arivalayam on October 27, immediately after the ECI’s announcement that the next phase of the SIR will be held in nine states including Tamil Nadu.
In a joint statement, the leaders urged all political parties to participate in the all-party meeting, setting aside political differences. They said, “Though it has been vested with the responsibility of conducting free and fair elections, in recent times it has issued orders on a whim, conducting elections in a questionable manner. This is evident from what happened in the Bihar election where the SIR was used to remove genuine voters from the electoral roll.”
In reaction, TN BJP spokesperson A.N.S. Prasad in a statement pointed out, “For decades, Tamil Nadu’s electoral landscape has been marred by allegations of systemic irregularities under the DMK’s stewardship, eroding public trust in the franchise. The BJP has petitioned the ECI citing 19,476 suspected fake entries in Kolathur Assembly constituency, represented by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, highlighting concerns about accountability and the integrity of the ‘2.5 crore new members’ enrolled via the Tamil Nadu under One Front – the public outreach programme.”
Responding to the DMK-led alliance’s convening of a consultation and all-party conclave, he said, “It appears engineered to shield entrenched bogus voters from the ECI’s SIR, perpetuating a cycle of obfuscation. The ECI’s SIR is a constitutional exercise to refine electoral rolls, empowering 51 crore voters with authenticity, and innovates by waiving document requirements at the door-to-door stage.”
TN BJP said, “The real face of Rahul, Stalin and Mamata to be exposed in SIR and their desperate attempt to protect their bogus voter fortress, while DMK allies call for an all-party meeting to discuss the way forward to oppose the SIR exercise in Tamil Nadu.”
TN BJP noted, “The SIR surgically excises anomalies, ensuring one-person-one-vote as the cornerstone of India’s democratic republic. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s allegations of SIR being a ‘BJP-EC conspiracy’ belie the process’s safeguards and Bihar’s precedent, where deletions outpaced inclusions six-fold. DMK’s opacity in Kolathur amid BJP’s ECI complaint invites scrutiny under Section 31 of the R.P. Act for potential bulk fraud. For Tamil Nadu’s welfare, embracing verification and auditing the ‘2.5 crore’ enrollees is crucial to affirm legitimacy. The November 2 all-party meet risks entrenching inequities; cooperation is needed to honour the people’s franchise.”
சுதந்திர இந்தியாவில் மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்ட வாக்காளர் பட்டியல் சிறப்பு தீவிர திருத்தப் பணிகள் (SIR) விவரம். pic.twitter.com/3dJL8vb7I6
— BJP Tamilnadu (@BJP4TamilNadu) October 28, 2025
Prasad said, “Congress and allies’ ‘democratic massacre’ narrative crumbles against empirical bulwarks, with Bihar’s rollout affirming SIR’s equity. The ECI’s operations are transparent and constitutional, with all objections and claims being addressed. West Bengal’s bureaucratic blitz post-SIR announcement defies routine, igniting queries on intent amid scrutiny of alleged infiltrators.”
He said, “BJP’s plea to annul West Bengal’s administrative shuffle under ECI oversight invokes service conduct rules and electoral neutrality. Transparency is essential to ensure fair play and welfare. Prime Minister Modi’s vision positions SIR as India’s democratic renaissance, purging spectral legacies to amplify authentic voices. Collaboration restores faith, with appeals till January 2026 buffering monsoons. For the people’s welfare, clean rolls beget credible mandates, and SIR is a step towards that goal. India prevails when every authentic vote resounds, and it’s time to transcend partisanship for the people’s welfare.”
Prasad further said, “SIR is a people-centric reform, underscoring the ECI’s commitment to equity and accessibility. It’s not about ‘robbing rights’, but about ensuring one-person-one-vote. The process is impervious to political theatre and is a constitutional imperative. ECI’s vigilance ensures every move is mapped, every district fortified for fair play. Halting SIR via protests or petitions is not advocacy but abdication of duty. The people’s welfare demands clean rolls and credible mandates. SIR is a crucial step towards India’s democratic renaissance, and it’s essential to cooperate and ensure its success for the welfare of the people.”
TN Chief Electoral Officer Archana Pathak said she would hold a meeting with representatives of recognised political parties on October 29 to discuss the SIR of electoral rolls in the state.
Hindu Munnani State President Kadeswara Subramaniam, in a statement, welcomed the SIR exercise saying it is the necessity of the time. “EC is like a judicial and independent institution. It ensures the franchise rights of every citizen to elect a government to rule their country. Allegations that such rights are robbed after a well-plotted conspiracy to give illegal migrants and infiltrators from neighbouring countries should be viewed and addressed appropriately. It should be remembered that in a recent SIR exercise move in Bihar, 65 lakh bogus voters were identified. It also found thousands of illegal Bangladeshi nationals’ names in the rolls. Now they have all been set right. This enraged Rahul Gandhi, who coined a term ‘Vote Chori’ and organised protests. He failed to respond to the EC with documents to substantiate his claims.”
Subramaniam said, “In Tamil Nadu also there are thousands of Bangladeshi nationals in the tail end of the state with fake identity documents. Their names have been included in the voters’ list. Seventy-five Bangladeshi nationals, after getting bail from courts, have vanished. There have been more such illegal and infiltrators in Tamil Nadu. In any nation, people who live beyond visa periods or without valid papers are lodged in jails. But only in Tamil Nadu they get bail and vanish, and reappear before elections only to vote for the political parties that helped them.”
Hindu Munnani wants such a situation to change and says SIR is the only option available to us. “This is not the first SIR exercise. There have been such exercises in the past. Some want to use the illegal and infiltrators for their poll victory. Voters should be vigilant and give all necessary documents to ensure their names are not deleted.”
Former BJP President (TN) Annamalai said, “Do you have selective amnesia, Mr Stalin? There have been 13 SIR exercises all over the country. When the electoral roll was released in 2016, DMK alleged that there were 57.46 lakh bogus voters. During the R.K. Nagar bypoll, the same DMK moved HC seeking SIR, and in 2017 it wanted the EC to bring out a statewide revision of electoral rolls and urged linking Aadhaar and voter ID cards. Does Stalin forget all these?”
Appalling double standards of Tamil Nadu CM Thiru @mkstalin on the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll in Tamil Nadu, and the assumption that the SIR of electoral rolls is some conspiracy, shows how hollow his understanding is.
The Intensive revisions of electoral… https://t.co/bRpBR9mqDi
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) October 28, 2025
Coimbatore-based BJP cadre Shivshankar recalled, “During the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, more than two lakh voters, who were identified and suspected to vote for BJP, were deleted. In that constituency, Annamalai contested and lost by a one lakh vote margin. It is the DMK which has been indulging in such poll malpractices with the help of the party cadres and government officials. Both Dravidian parties are experts in bogus voting, impersonation, and removing indelible ink, etc.”
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