Published Oct 23, 2026 | 6:23 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 23, 2026 | 6:23 PM
Former AIADMK Minister D Jayakumar, who attended the meeting, said the discussions covered routine electoral roll revision.
Synopsis: Nine political parties, including the DMK, TVK and Congress, walked out of an all-party meeting in Chennai on 23 October, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision. The AIADMK sought a review of deletions involving voters classified as having shifted residence and duplicate registrations, and said the Commission had agreed to publish comparative voter figures.
Nine political parties, including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and Congress, walked out of an all-party meeting on the Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls in Chennai on Friday, 23 October, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik chaired the meeting at the State Secretariat. Thirteen recognised political parties had been invited to discuss the electoral roll revision.
The other parties that walked out were the Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK).
The All Indian Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and National People’s Party (NPP) attended the meeting. The Bahujan Samaj Party did not send a representative.
After walking out, representatives of the nine parties told the media that alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls needed to be addressed.
TVK representative Nirmal Kumar said his party had opposed the SIR exercise from the outset. He demanded that the Election Commission correct the alleged errors before proceeding with the revision. He also said the deletion of young and women voters had hurt the party’s electoral prospects.
DMK representative Parandhaman questioned when and how the discrepancies would be corrected. He said the voter registration process must be accessible to citizens, pointing to the contradiction between the Election Commission’s push for 100 percent voter turnout and the difficulties people faced in getting their names on the electoral rolls.
Parandhaman said the DMK had already adopted a resolution demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Continuing the exercise under his leadership, he argued, would undermine public confidence in the process. He called on the Chief Election Commissioner to resign voluntarily or face steps to remove him.
Former AIADMK Minister D Jayakumar, who attended the meeting, said the discussions covered routine electoral roll revision, including the addition of new voters and the deletion of deceased voters.
He said the SIR exercise had removed around 97 lakh voters from Tamil Nadu’s electoral rolls. The AIADMK had sought a review of 55 lakh deletions involving voters classified as having shifted residence, four lakh cases of duplicate registrations and 13 lakh voters whose names appeared in two constituencies, he said.
Jayakumar said the party had asked the Election Commission to publish figures showing the number of voters on the rolls before the SIR exercise and the number on the final rolls after the SSR process. According to him, the Commission had accepted the request. The figures are expected to be made available when the final electoral roll is published on 4 January.
Defending the Election Commission, Jayakumar said the AIADMK would support the poll body as long as elections were conducted democratically. He also said walking out of a meeting was a democratic right.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
