VCK alleges SIR deletions may have tipped TVK’s win in Tamil Nadu

VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan says the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise that erased about 97.3 lakh names from Tamil Nadu’s draft electoral rolls may have tilted the recent Tamil Nadu Assembly election in favour of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government.

What Happened

The SIR process removed roughly 97.3 lakh voters, cutting the state’s electorate from about 6.41 crore to 5.43 crore. Official data attribute the deletions to 66.4 lakh voters marked as shifted or absent, 26.9 lakh listed as deceased and around 4 lakh identified as duplicates.

Reaction

Speaking after an opposition protest in New Delhi, Lok Sabha MP and VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan claimed the exercise created a three‑cornered contest that helped produce the final result and could have affected TVK’s victory as it did in other states. VCK general secretary D. Ravikumar added that most of the removed voters belong to SC/ST and other minority groups, traditionally non‑BJP voters, and that while the party has no proof TVK won because of SIR, the scale of deletions makes influence possible. He noted that field workers—local anganwadi staff, women and teachers—often handed forms only to people present, leaving many rural workers uncounted.

Context

Electoral roll revisions like SIR are meant to clean voter lists but can reshape the voter base, especially when large numbers of marginalized voters are deleted. The VCK’s legal challenges in the Supreme Court aim to question the fairness of the process and its impact on election outcomes.