Bharathi petitions poll CEO to defer SIR, cites serious lapses

CHENNAI: DMK organisation secretary RS Bharathi on Monday met the Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu and submitted a detailed complaint to the Election Commission of India (ECI), seeking the deferment of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

He said the ongoing exercise, implemented in 12 states and Union Territories following the ECI’s order dated October 27, 2025, was “impractical, inadequately planned and fraught with risks that could disenfranchise large numbers of voters”.

In his representation, Bharathi said the DMK had always supported periodic and thorough revision of electoral rolls to ensure 100% accuracy, but argued that the current SIR suffered from “severe procedural lapses”. He pointed to widespread confusion among voters, including a lack of clarity on attaching photographs, the documents required for married women, the status of voters deleted in 2024–25, and the challenge of tracing names in the 2002/2005 voter lists, many of which lack street names or identifying details.

He further highlighted practical difficulties on the ground: inadequate training for Booth Level Officers (BLOs), shortage of enumeration forms, delayed commencement of distribution in several districts, and the absence of Form 6 and Form 7 for new enrolment and objections. In some polling stations, BLO posts had remained vacant for months, he said.

Bharathi warned that distributing enumeration forms without simultaneously collecting them would create “severe bottlenecks”, particularly in households where both spouses work. He said it would be impossible to upload voter details by the December 7 deadline without a 24/7 digitisation system.

He noted contradictions in the ECI’s order, which says documents are not required during enumeration but may be sought later without specifying timelines or procedures for notice and submission.

Stating that the SIR could lead to the deletion of eligible voters and inclusion of ineligible names, Bharathi urged the ECI to halt the revision immediately and undertake a more scientific process after the 2026 elections.

Meanwhile, RS Bharathi accused the BJP and the AIADMK of conspiring to undermine the voting rights of people in Tamil Nadu through the SIR exercise. He said the DMK’s legal and public campaigns against the move had unsettled AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami. Claiming that minority, Dalit and women voters were targeted in Bihar through similar measures, he said the DMK would resist any attempt to replicate such efforts in the State.

Bharathi alleged that Palaniswami had a history of yielding to pressures from the Union government and was now defending the SIR process on behalf of the BJP. He said the AIADMK had supported the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and misled Muslims about its implications. Asserting that no political manoeuvre by the BJP would succeed in Tamil Nadu, he said the DMK would continue both legal and public protests to safeguard voting rights, alleging that the AIADMK remained silent on the issue.