NEW DELHI: Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Tuesday hit out at chief minister MK Stalin for opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll , accusing him of showing “double standards” and having a “hollow understanding” of the process.
In a post on X, Annamalai said, “Appalling double standards of Tamil Nadu CM Thiru @mkstalin on the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll in Tamil Nadu, and the assumption that the SIR of electoral rolls is some conspiracy, shows how hollow his understanding is.”
Stalin had on Monday criticised EC’s move, calling it a “conspiracy” to benefit the BJP. “To carry out Special Intensive Revision just months before the election, and especially during the monsoon months of November and December, brings serious practical difficulties. To conduct SIR in a hasty and opaque manner is nothing but a conspiracy by the ECI to rob citizens of their rights and help the BJP," Stalin said.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance also called for an all-party meeting on November 2 to discuss the second phase of the SIR.
Annamalai, in his post, pointed out that similar revisions had been undertaken several times in the past. “The Intensive revisions of electoral rolls, in all or some parts of the country, have been undertaken 13 times earlier: 1952-56, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1983-84, 1987-89, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Clearly, this is not the first time,” he said.
Annamalai reminded Stalin that the DMK had earlier demanded revisions to electoral rolls and even approached the court for it.
He also cautioned Stalin against relying on Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav’s claims about voter deletions. “We request that Thiru Stalin avl not rely on the imagination of Thiru Tejashwi Yadav on the deletion of electoral rolls of a certain section of people in Bihar, as Thiru Tejashwi Yadav previously claimed that his electoral roll was deleted from the draft list and was rebutted with the fact that his name with his photograph was available in the electoral list,” he said.
Recalling earlier DMK concerns over voter rolls, he added, “In 2016, after the electoral roll was published, DMK claimed that, with all possibilities, there could be 57.43 lakh bogus voters in the electoral list, as the surge in the eligible voters did not seem genuine according to the DMK.”
The Election Commission will conduct the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across 12 States and Union Territories, with the final rolls to be published on February 7, 2026, chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said on Monday.
In a post on X, Annamalai said, “Appalling double standards of Tamil Nadu CM Thiru @mkstalin on the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll in Tamil Nadu, and the assumption that the SIR of electoral rolls is some conspiracy, shows how hollow his understanding is.”
Appalling double standards of Tamil Nadu CM Thiru @mkstalin on the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll in Tamil Nadu, and the assumption that the SIR of electoral rolls is some conspiracy, shows how hollow his understanding is.
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) October 28, 2025
The Intensive revisions of electoral… https://t.co/bRpBR9mqDi
Stalin had on Monday criticised EC’s move, calling it a “conspiracy” to benefit the BJP. “To carry out Special Intensive Revision just months before the election, and especially during the monsoon months of November and December, brings serious practical difficulties. To conduct SIR in a hasty and opaque manner is nothing but a conspiracy by the ECI to rob citizens of their rights and help the BJP," Stalin said.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance also called for an all-party meeting on November 2 to discuss the second phase of the SIR.
Annamalai, in his post, pointed out that similar revisions had been undertaken several times in the past. “The Intensive revisions of electoral rolls, in all or some parts of the country, have been undertaken 13 times earlier: 1952-56, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1983-84, 1987-89, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Clearly, this is not the first time,” he said.
Annamalai reminded Stalin that the DMK had earlier demanded revisions to electoral rolls and even approached the court for it.
He also cautioned Stalin against relying on Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav’s claims about voter deletions. “We request that Thiru Stalin avl not rely on the imagination of Thiru Tejashwi Yadav on the deletion of electoral rolls of a certain section of people in Bihar, as Thiru Tejashwi Yadav previously claimed that his electoral roll was deleted from the draft list and was rebutted with the fact that his name with his photograph was available in the electoral list,” he said.
Recalling earlier DMK concerns over voter rolls, he added, “In 2016, after the electoral roll was published, DMK claimed that, with all possibilities, there could be 57.43 lakh bogus voters in the electoral list, as the surge in the eligible voters did not seem genuine according to the DMK.”
The Election Commission will conduct the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across 12 States and Union Territories, with the final rolls to be published on February 7, 2026, chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said on Monday.
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