SIR: Controversy erupts in Tambaram after 510 names traced to two houses

CHENNAI: A major controversy erupted in the Tambaram Assembly constituency during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) after it emerged that as many as 510 voter names were linked to just two residential addresses in Irumbuliyur.

Flagging the issue, AIADMK general secretary and Opposition Leader Edappadi K Palaniswami alleged that the discovery exposed “serious lapses” in the way the voter roll revision process was being carried out in Tamil Nadu.

According to him, 360 voter names were registered under a single house in Gayathri Nagar, while another 150 names were tied to a house in Roja Thottam, both falling under Ward 62 of Tambaram Corporation. Palaniswami accused the ruling DMK functionaries of manipulation, which instantly triggered a political uproar.

Responding to the allegation, Tambaram Corporation officials said the two premises in question accommodated the believers who attended a nearly five-decade-old Pentecostal church in the locality. Many had registered their voter ID using the same address during different periods, causing the numbers to accumulate over time.

During the door-to-door verification, Booth Level Officers found that only 85 people were found to be actually residing at these two addresses. Officials added that the names of those who do not live there would be deleted during the revision process.

Meanwhile, with the issue threatening to blow up into a controversy, the senior officials, including the Chengalpattu Collector and top officials from the State Election Department, have launched a detailed inquiry to find out how such a large number of voter entries remained clustered under just two door numbers for so many years.