The DMK intensified its criticism of the Election Commission of India on Tuesday, accusing the poll body of enabling the inclusion of ineligible voters through what it described as a “calculated” and “deeply suspicious” decision. The party’s objections centre on the ECI’s move to recognise excerpts from Bihar’s electoral roll — as on July 1, 2025 — as a valid document for the SIR 2.0 electoral roll revision in Tamil Nadu.
NR Elango, secretary of the DMK’s legal cell, said the decision raised serious doubts about the integrity of the revision process. Speaking to India Today, he alleged that the step appeared designed to facilitate the wrongful removal of eligible voters and the addition of those who do not meet the criteria. He called it an “open secret” that the ECI’s actions were not neutral administrative exercises but decisions with potential political consequences.
Elango argued that accepting a person who voted in Bihar in November 2025 as an “ordinary resident” of that state for SIR purposes was highly questionable. He said such a criterion stretched the meaning of residency and could enable large-scale voter shifting without proper verification.
The controversy began last month when the Election Commission added the Bihar SIR electoral roll extract as the 13th acceptable document for SIR 2.0 verification. The DMK immediately raised concerns, asking whether this could lead to voters from Bihar being added to Tamil Nadu’s rolls without any checks on eligibility, residency, or intent.
The party has already voiced strong objections to SIR, arguing that the revision process risks the arbitrary deletion of lakhs of legitimate voters. Chief Minister MK Stalin has openly stated that the SIR system threatens democratic integrity, and the DMK convened a meeting with 47 political parties to explore moving the Supreme Court against its implementation.
Meanwhile, the execution of SIR has triggered backlash from government employees assigned to carry out the process. Workers have been protesting the extreme workload, with many claiming they have been working past midnight for weeks. A senior member of the Federation of Associations of Revenue Employees said door-to-door verification for every voter was overwhelming and unsustainable, adding that the federation had decided to boycott the exercise due to the pressure and impractical expectations.
The clash between the ruling DMK, the Election Commission, and state employees has deepened the political and administrative turmoil surrounding SIR 2.0, with the controversy expected to escalate in the coming weeks.
