NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Monday said it has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the southern state.The Election Commission of India (ECI) last week ordered the next leg of the SIR of electoral rolls, covering a dozen states and Union territories, and 51 crore electors in all. Enumeration for this phase is set to start on November 4, and the final electoral roll, with January 1, 2026, as the qualifying date, will be published on February 7, 2026.Four of the five states/UT where assembly polls are due in April-May next year — West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry — are among the 12 that will witness SIR over the next three months. Assam, though also poll-bound, is not on that list.Earlier today, chief minister MK Stalin accused the ECI of “conspiring to implement” what he described as a “malicious exercise” through SIR of electoral rolls.He alleged that the process was intended to remove genuine voters, particularly those perceived as opposing the BJP, ahead of crucial state elections.“To prevent this anti-democratic move, we convened an all-party meeting and passed a resolution condemning the SIR. The Election Commission’s decision to carry out a full revision of the electoral roll just months before the election is part of a well-planned strategy to delete legitimate voters,” he said, according to news agency IANS.CM Stalin added that the same tactic was used earlier in Bihar, where lakhs of genuine voters were allegedly removed from the list. He pointed out that opposition to this controversial process had first emerged from Tamil Nadu, following which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Bihar’s Opposition leader also raised strong objections.“Even after a legal case was filed, the Election Commission did not give a satisfactory explanation,” CM Stalin noted.Taking aim at AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, CM Stalin accused him of “playing a double game” and being “afraid of the Election Commission due to his ties with the BJP.”He added that while migrant workers from Bihar had found livelihood and respect in Tamil Nadu, the Prime Minister was “playing political drama in Bihar for electoral gain.”The Election Commission of India (ECI) conducts a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to ensure the accuracy and completeness of voter lists ahead of major elections. The exercise involves a detailed door-to-door verification to identify and remove duplicate, shifted or deceased entries while enrolling new and first-time voters. Carried out under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the SIR aims to maintain the integrity of the electoral rolls by updating demographic details and correcting inaccuracies. During the revision, booth-level officers visit households, verify electors’ details, and facilitate claims and objections. The process is a key part of the Commission’s voter roll management, ensuring that every eligible citizen is included and the rolls reflect the most current and authentic data before elections.
