Several political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and the principal opposition DMK, on Friday walked out of an all-party meeting convened by the Election Commission to discuss the Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the previous revision exercise.
The parties accused the Election Commission of compromising transparency and democratic neutrality during the earlier Special Intensive Revision (SIR), claiming that large numbers of eligible voters had been removed from the electoral rolls without adequate justification.
Tamil Nadu Minister for Energy Resources and Law R Nirmal Kumar said the proposed summary revision should not proceed until discrepancies in the previous exercise were addressed.
"A massive number of electors, especially youth and women, were arbitrarily struck off the voter rolls under the guise of the previous revision. The CEC must take moral responsibility for these lapses and resign immediately. Without rectifying these glaring mistakes first, conducting another summary revision is completely unacceptable," Kumar said.
The meeting, chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik, continued with representatives of participating parties, including the AIADMK and BJP.
๐๐ ๐ ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐
Addressing reporters after the walkout, DMK Legal Wing Joint Secretary I Paranthamen alleged that the electoral revision exercise conducted under the current Election Commission lacked credibility.
He claimed that more than 74 lakh voters had been removed from the electoral rolls during the final SIR process and questioned the basis for the deletions.
"Over 74 lakh voters were removed from the electoral rolls during the final SIR process. Where have they gone? Have they been deported or are they no longer residing in India and Tamil Nadu? The EC has provided no answer. Any exercise conducted under the current CEC is an eyewash and a futile exercise. He should either step down voluntarily or be removed constitutionally," Paranthamen said.
He recalled that DMK Members of Parliament had already resolved to seek the CEC's resignation and submit a petition to the President.
The allegations concerning voter deletions were made by party representatives and were not independently established in the account of the meeting.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ท๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ธ๐ผ๐๐
A Congress representative confirmed that the party had also walked out of the meeting, citing a lack of confidence in the Election Commission and concerns over the conduct of the election commissioners.
The representative said Congress would not participate in meetings chaired by the current Commission leadership until Gyanesh Kumar resigned.
The walkout brought together parties from different political alignments in their opposition to the handling of the electoral roll revision.
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐
Unlike the parties that staged the walkout, the AIADMK and BJP remained at the meeting.
Senior AIADMK leader and former minister D Jayakumar defended his party's decision to participate, saying it was important to place concerns about voter deletions formally before election officials.
"Whether to stage a walkout or participate is a party's democratic right. We chose to participate to place concrete facts on record," Jayakumar said.
He said Election Commission data from the SIR exercise indicated that nearly 97 lakh voters had been flagged or affected, including 26 lakh deceased voters and 52 lakh who had shifted residence.
"We demanded that the EC thoroughly review these 97 lakh entries transparently during this revision and publicly clarify how many were legitimately verified. People have doubts about the SIR exercise, and it is the commission's foremost duty to clear them," he said.
Jayakumar also urged the Commission to reschedule the special enrolment camps planned for November, citing the monsoon season and the difficulties it could create for voters.
๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฐ๐ฟ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐
The Special Summary Revision is intended to update electoral rolls by allowing eligible voters to seek inclusion, correction or deletion of entries through prescribed procedures.
However, political parties opposing the exercise have demanded that the Commission first address complaints arising from the previous SIR, particularly the removal of names they claim belonged to eligible voters.
While the DMK cited more than 74 lakh deletions from the final rolls, the AIADMK referred to approximately 97 lakh voters flagged or affected during the wider exercise. The two figures describe different categories and should not be treated as equivalent.
The meeting chaired by Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik continued with the remaining political representatives after the walkout.