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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin on Sunday, November 9, alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has rushed the revision process ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections and raised concerns about possible voter deletions and irregularities.
CM Stalin criticised the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. “Despite our continuous opposition, the SIR in Tamil Nadu has started and many people of the state are unaware of the process,” he said.
He clarified that the DMK was not against revising the voter list but questioned the timing and urgency which the process was being conducted. “A correctly updated voter list is the foundation of a free and fair election,” he said.
The CM also pointed out that opposition leaders including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have raised similar objections to the SIR, alleging that the ECI and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had joined hands to manipulate voter rolls.
The DMK chief said he had already convened an all-party meeting, passed resolutions opposing the SIR, and also filed a case in the Supreme Court. He has also announced state-wide protests on November 11 along with its Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA).
He also alleged there were numerous confusions in filing out the SIR forms, particularly in the section about relatives’ names. “Even highly educated individuals are finding the form difficult,” he said.
Responding to criticism that DMK was opposing a process carried out by their own government officials, Stalin clarified that the state officials deputed for election duty report to the ECI, not the state government.
“When the Election Commission assigns them duties, they act under its control, not under the state government,” he said.
The DMK chief also announced the help centers on behalf of the party. “We have also set up help centres where anyone can reach out for assistance,” he said and shared the helpline number 80654 20020.
Earlier in the day, the CM held an online meeting with DMK district secretaries from the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, to discuss the SIR issue and coordinate the party functioning in the process.