DMK, TMC, CPM Call EC's Voter Revision A BJP Plot, Vows to Fight SIR

The opposition-rules states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala have strongly objected to the Election Commission's (EC) announcement of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in their states, which are all slated for elections next year.

The DMK-led government in Tamil Nadu was the first to react, branding the move as a "conspiracy" to erode voting rights and swiftly convening an all-party meeting for November 2 to strategize. The DMK alliance, joined by other opposition groups, accused the central government of attempting to "discredit and dismantle democracy."

They argued that conducting such a massive exercise during the North-East monsoon season (November-December) would be impractical and rushed, especially with the Assembly polls approaching in April. The parties also cited allegations that a similar SIR exercise in Bihar had unfairly "targeted Muslims, Scheduled Castes, and women," vowing to jointly resist any such attempt in Tamil Nadu.

The ruling TMC in West Bengal and the CPI(M) government in Kerala echoed this criticism. Senior TMC leader Derek O'Brien called the Bihar exercise a "dress rehearsal," claiming West Bengal was the "main target" and asserting that the people would soon silence the "extremely compromised" EC.

CPI(M) General Secretary M. A. Baby labelled the EC's decision "arbitrary" and "unilateral," highlighting the EC's contempt for democratic norms by proceeding despite the Supreme Court hearing challenges to the Bihar SIR. He noted that the Kerala Assembly had unanimously opposed such a revision so close to both local and state elections, concluding that the EC's lack of transparency validates suspicions that it is acting at the "behest of the ruling party" to manipulate voter lists.

Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced that the second phase of the SIR would cover 12 states and Union Territories including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal. He clarified that the revision, the ninth since Independence, aims to ensure that "no eligible elector is left out and no ineligible elector is included."

The second phase is set to cover 51 crore voters, with the enumeration starting on November 4, draft rolls released on December 9, and the final rolls published on February 7. Kumar also pointed out that the first phase in Bihar was completed with "zero appeals," where the final list of 7.42 crore voters was published on September 30.