Tamil Nadu SIR: Election Commission deprived 1857 Dalit people of voting rights in Mancholai

In Manjolai, a hill settlement falling under the Ambasamudram Assembly constituency in Tirunelveli district, the Election Commission of India has removed 1,857 voters from the electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

After the revision, out of a total of 1,906 voters, only 49 persons have been retained on the rolls. The remaining voters have been classified by election officials as having migrated out of the area.

However, a field investigation by South First found that the permanent residence of the affected residents continues to be Manjolai.

Residents told South First that while many of them have temporarily moved to the plains in search of work following the closure of the tea estate, they have not changed their permanent address and still consider Manjolai their home.

Local residents have questioned how their voting rights can be taken away when their permanent address remains unchanged, arguing that temporary migration for livelihood cannot be treated as grounds for deletion from the electoral rolls.

They have warned that the mass deletions effectively disenfranchise an entire community that has lived in Manjolai for generations