Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Monday launched a strong attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the exercise is being misused by the BJP to manipulate voter lists for political advantage.
“Election Commission Has Become BJP’s Wing”: Elangovan
DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan said that the SIR process — which is conducted once every 25 years — has lost its neutrality after what he termed a “biased exercise” in Bihar.
“Was the SIR in Bihar done to clean up voter rolls? No. It was done to support the BJP. Their intention was to delete Muslim votes and supporters of the DMK. We will not allow that. The Election Commission has become a constituent body of the BJP,” Elangovan alleged.
Citing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, Elangovan said that “30 voters who were declared dead during the Bihar SIR were later found alive and photographed,” describing it as evidence of large-scale irregularities.
“We are not against SIR as a process, but against the BJP’s electoral wing, which the Election Commission has now become. If any mistake is made, we will approach the court. The BJP’s victories are built on political conspiracy, not popular support,” he added.
Targets Vijay and Opposition Bloc
Turning his criticism toward actor-politician Vijay, chief of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), Elangovan mocked his recent public outreach, saying the actor was “already falling at the feet of the BJP.”
“Even in elections, Vijay wants to do the same — keep all ballot boxes in his house and call voters to cast votes there. People may come for money, but that will not translate into votes. Vijay has already fallen at the feet of the BJP,” Elangovan said.
The DMK leader added that any alliance among the AIADMK, TVK, and BJP would ultimately benefit the DMK-led front, asserting that the ruling alliance would secure “more than 50 per cent of the votes.”
“If they join together, it is good for us. BJP is an anti-Tamil party,” he remarked.
DMK Defends Paddy Procurement Drive
Responding to Opposition criticism over the ongoing paddy procurement season, Elangovan claimed that the process was proceeding smoothly under state monitoring.
“The state government is taking firm action. Officials are monitoring district-level procurement. The AIADMK and BJP have nothing to say, so they are spreading lies,” he said.