Charging the Election Commission of India (ECI) with acting at the behest of the BJP-led Government at the Centre, an All Party Meeting chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M.K. Stalin today demanded that the EC drop the proposed Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and hold it after the Assembly polls due in 6–7 months, providing a level playing field.

The meeting resolved that all the political parties in the state will file petitions in the Supreme Court against the SIR exercise announced on October 27, terming it anti-democratic and against the voting rights of the people of Tamil Nadu.

Refusing to accept the SIR, the resolution, adopted unanimously, urged the EC to drop the exercise now.

After ironing out all the shortcomings made in the SIR announcement, it urged the EC to wait for the Supreme Court's verdict on a plea filed against the exercise conducted in Bihar—where more than 65 lakh voters were removed from the electoral rolls—follow the guidelines framed in a transparent manner, provide enough time, and hold the exercise after the Assembly polls in an unbiased manner.

“Since the EC has not accepted this view, there was no other option than to knock the doors of the Supreme Court to protect the voting rights of the Tamil Nadu electorate,” it said.

The meeting resolved that, with a view to safeguarding electoral democracy, it has been decided that all the political parties in the state will be filing petitions in the Apex Court against the SIR exercise.

Without addressing shortcomings identified during the SIR exercise in Bihar, holding it in 12 States was an attempt to snatch away the voting rights of the people and bury democracy. “There is no doubt about it,” the resolution said, adding that the revision of electoral rolls should be taken up after notifying it in the Government Gazette as per Section 169 of the Representation of the People’s Act, 1951.

Without adhering to this, the EC’s unilateral announcement of holding the SIR exercise was unconstitutional and in violation of the RP Act.

Stating that the Northeast monsoon will be at its peak during the enumeration period of November 4 to December 4, 2025, it said that during this time, the state could witness heavy rains and adverse weather conditions.

Since a majority of voters are from rural areas and farmers, they would not have time to receive the enumeration forms, fill them, and return them—leading to genuine fear that a large number of voters would be removed from the electoral rolls.

The meeting felt that since the Revenue Department had to be involved in handling the monsoon rains, this period was not feasible. Moreover, important festivals like Christmas and Pongal will be celebrated before the draft electoral rolls are released, causing inconvenience and creating fear among those who wanted to include their names in the rolls and faced the prospect of losing their voting rights.

Observing that preparing the electoral rolls was key for holding fair elections and the lifeline of parliamentary democracy, it said the Constitution and the Representation of the People’s Act have given these powers to the ECI.

Appealing to the EC to function in an autonomous and impartial manner without favouring any political party, it pointed out that the Constitution has vested the EC with the prime responsibility of providing a level playing field to all political parties.

The meeting charged that the EC, instead of fulfilling its onerous responsibility, has been acting as the handmaiden of the BJP-led government at the Centre. Holding the SIR at a time when the Apex Court was yet to pronounce its verdict on the plea against the SIR exercise in Bihar was anti-democratic and went against the voting rights of the people of Tamil Nadu.

Hence, the All Party Meeting refused to accept the SIR exercise and urged the EC to drop the move now and hold it after the Assembly elections, providing enough time for all.

Since the EC has not accepted this, it has been resolved that all the political parties in the state will file petitions in the Supreme Court against this exercise, it said.