SIR in TN: Amid BJP vs DMK, EC meeting with parties likely on Oct 28 in Chennai
The EC will conduct the SIR in Tamil Nadu by deploying approximately 75,000 personnel, including BLOs, BLO supervisors, DEOs, EROs, and AEROs sourced from various government departments
Tamil Nadu's Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik said that the state will gain more clarity on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls only after receiving the state-specific guidelines, notification, and schedule from the Election Commission (EC).
Patnaik told The Federal that a meeting is planned with representatives of recognised political parties to incorporate their suggestions upon official communication, expected as early as October 28.
As the EC gears up to launch a nationwide SIR of voter lists, Tamil Nadu's political parties are trading accusations against each other.
75,000 personnel to be deployed
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.
Also read: EC to begin electoral roll revision in TN by next week amid vote fraud allegations
BLOs will collect voter data using mobile devices equipped with EC-designed software for real-time IT integration, while political parties are encouraged to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLAs) for oversight, with most having already complied.
The exercise kicks off following the issuance of a notification, incorporating multi-level consultations at state, district, and Assembly constituency levels to promote transparency, followed by verification mechanisms that allow parties to monitor the process and challenge additions or deletions.
DMK vs BJP over SIR
The EC informed the Madras High Court on Friday (October 24) that SIR operations in the state would commence "in a week or so", a move that has the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on the defensive and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the offensive.
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BJP Tamil Nadu president Nainar Nagendran, speaking exclusively with The Federal, dismissed DMK's apprehensions as a smokescreen for electoral fraud.
"There's nothing wrong with implementing SIR — it's a standard process to ensure clean rolls ahead of future elections," Nagendran asserted.
He accused DMK ministers of intervening to block the deletion of 13,000 votes in a single Chennai constituency, drawing parallels to Bihar's recent SIR where 6.5 million ineligible voters were struck off amid similar outcries from the opposition there.
But Nagendran turned the tables, alleging rampant inflation in DMK bastions. "Take Kolathur, Chief Minister MK Stalin's own constituency — evidence shows 9,000 extra votes padded in, likely bogus entries to bolster their margins," he charged. "The DMK is howling now because they know: in the coming elections, today's rulers will be tomorrow's Opposition. This is pure panic, not principle."
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The controversy underscores deepening rifts in Tamil Nadu's fractious political landscape, where the DMK has held sway since its sweeping 2021 victory, securing 133 of 234 Assembly seats in a secular alliance with Congress and other parties. Led by Stalin, the DMK has prioritised social welfare schemes like free bus rides for women and breakfast programmes for school children, consolidating Dravidian support in a state historically wary of "Hindi imposition" and northern influences. Yet, with urban youth disillusionment rising over issues like unemployment and law-and-order lapses, cracks are emerging.
CM Stalin’s accusations
Enter the BJP, long a marginal player in Tamil Nadu's Dravidian-dominated arena, where it won just four seats in 2021. Under Nagendran's leadership —appointed state president in April 2025 after K Annamalai's high-octane but polarising tenure — the party has pivoted to a more alliance-friendly stance, sealing a pact with the rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) led by Edappadi K Palaniswami. This National Democratic Alliance (NDA) tie-up aims to unseat the DMK in 2026, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah publicly predicting an NDA victory in the state.
In Bihar's 2025 revisions, mass deletions fuelled allegations of disenfranchising marginalised communities, a charge echoed by DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin who recently warned of "targeted purges" in minority-heavy urban pockets.
Also read: EC to launch first phase of all-India SIR next week
"Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, misusing the process to covertly excise voters from marginalised communities, thereby manipulating the electoral landscape to benefit the BJP. This is not about reform. It is about engineering outcomes," he accused the EC in a recent statement.
DMK Organising Secretary RS Bharathi countered the BJP sharply: "We've always supported clean elections. But let the EC act impartially, not as the BJP's errand boy. We will attend the all-party meeting and register our points before EC."
