BJP trying to ‘win by deletion’: Tamil Nadu CM Stalin slams SIR, calls all-party meeting
He said the future of the state would be decided in the 2026 Assembly election, casting it as a battle between the DMK, which he said ‘stands tall with its unique rule’, and ‘slaves bending before Delhi’.
Chief Minister MK Stalin said the BJP was aware of the DMK’s strength and was “trying new ways to cause trouble”, including using the Election Commission as a political tool. (File photo)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday accused the BJP of plotting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters through the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and announced that an all-party meeting would be held in Chennai on November 2 to decide the next course of action.
Addressing party workers at the ‘My Polling Booth–Victory Booth’ training programme in Mamallapuram, Stalin alleged that the BJP and the AIADMK were attempting to “win by deletion”, targeting voters among the working class, Scheduled Castes, minorities, and women. “They lack the courage to face the people. Their calculation is to remove the voting rights of those who stand with us. But Tamil Nadu will not allow it,” he said, alleging that the EC had already deprived 65 lakh voters of their rights in Bihar under the same process.
He said the future of the state would be decided in the 2026 Assembly election, casting it as a battle between the DMK, which he said “stands tall with its unique rule”, and “slaves bending before Delhi”.
Calling the upcoming election a fight to “protect Tamil Nadu’s self-respect and individuality”, Stalin warned that the state was facing an “invasion” of its social, cultural, and economic fabric. “They trouble us in the name of Hindi, Sanskrit, GST, and the Governor. Only we have the strength to defeat them. The RSS designs will not work in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the BJP was aware of the DMK’s strength and was “trying new ways to cause trouble”, including using the Election Commission as a political tool. “The EC has announced the SIR and is threatening us with it. We will not bow down,” he said, adding that the 2026 election would “save Tamil Nadu from the BJP-AIADMK combine” just as the 2021 polls had saved it from an AIADMK government “that had become a slave to the BJP”.
In a separate message posted on X on Monday titled “SIR in Tamil Nadu: We will resist disenfranchisement and defeat #VoteTheft,” Stalin said the state would “fight against any attempt to murder democracy”. He said that conducting the SIR “in a hasty and opaque manner” during the monsoon months amounted to a “conspiracy by the EC to rob citizens of their rights and help the BJP”.
Following consultations with INDIA bloc allies, the DMK chief announced that leaders of all recognised political parties would be invited for the November 2 meeting in Chennai. “Our next course of action will be decided based on the recommendations and demands made at the meeting. All parties must come together for democracy and the future of Tamil Nadu,” Stalin said.
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A joint statement by the DMK and its allies, including the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), and MDMK, accused the EC of acting in a “suspicious and whimsical” manner. The parties cited the Bihar case, where “lakhs of genuine voters were removed” despite the Supreme Court’s orders, and alleged a similar “anti-democratic conspiracy” was underway in Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik has called a meeting of recognised political parties in Chennai on Wednesday to discuss the SIR process.
Arun Janardhanan is an experienced and authoritative Tamil Nadu correspondent for The Indian Express. Based in the state, his reporting combines ground-level access with long-form clarity, offering readers a nuanced understanding of South India’s political, judicial, and cultural life - work that reflects both depth of expertise and sustained authority.
Expertise
Geographic Focus: As Tamil Nadu Correspondent focused on politics, crime, faith and disputes, Janardhanan has been also reporting extensively on Sri Lanka, producing a decade-long body of work on its elections, governance, and the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings through detailed stories and interviews.
Key Coverage Areas:
State Politics and Governance: Close reporting on the DMK and AIADMK, the emergence of new political actors such as actor Vijay’s TVK, internal party churn, Centre–State tensions, and the role of the Governor.
Legal and Judicial Affairs: Consistent coverage of the Madras High Court, including religion-linked disputes and cases involving state authority and civil liberties.
Investigations: Deep-dive series on landmark cases and unresolved questions, including the Tirupati encounter and the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, alongside multiple investigative series from Tamil Nadu.
Culture, Society, and Crisis: Reporting on cultural organisations, language debates, and disaster coverage—from cyclones to prolonged monsoon emergencies—anchored in on-the-ground detail.
His reporting has been recognised with the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism.
Beyond journalism, Janardhanan is also a screenwriter; his Malayalam feature film Aarkkariyam was released in 2021. ... Read More
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