Controversy has increased in Tamil Nadu regarding changes in the voter list. 9 political parties walked out of the Election Commission meeting in Chennai. These parties have demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Chennai: A meeting called to discuss the Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu was mired in controversy on Friday, October 23, 2026. Nine of the 12 political parties attending the meeting chaired by state Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik walked out. These parties raised questions on the previous SIR process of the Election Commission and demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from the post.
Leaders came out after presenting their views in the meeting
The Election Commission had called a meeting of political parties on Friday at the Chennai Secretariat. Its purpose was to discuss the preparations for the Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls to be launched in the state.
Representatives of several parties including the ruling Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), opposition DMK and Congress attended the meeting. The leaders presented their objections to the officials. After this, representatives of nine parties left the meeting.
These parties say that in the Special Intensive Scrutiny (SIR) of the voter list conducted earlier, the names of many people were removed. In such a situation, the problems of those people should be resolved before starting the new process.
TVK and DMK raised questions on Election Commission
In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Vijay's party TVK and its allies expressed displeasure over the issue. The main opposition party DMK also attended the meeting, but later walked out in protest.
DMK leader I. Paranthaman alleged that names of around 74 lakh voters were removed from the list during the previous SIR process. He asked what steps the Election Commission has taken to re-add the names of these people.
His party also reiterated the demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. DMK says that complaints of irregularities in the voter list should not be ignored.
However, deletion of names from the voter list does not mean that all cases are of wrongful deletion of names. Different parties have their own claims on this.
Which political parties were called?
The Election Commission had invited national and state level recognized parties for the meeting.
National parties included Congress, BJP, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Marxist Communist Party CPI(M) and National People's Party (NPP).
Among the state parties, TVK, DMK, AIADMK, CPI, Nama Tamilar Katchi (NTK), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and DMDK were called.
The purpose of the meeting was to take the opinion of political parties before preparing the new voter list and to explain the application process to them.
SSR will start in Tamil Nadu from November 12
As per the schedule of the Election Commission, special summary revision of voter list will begin in Tamil Nadu from November 12. This process will continue till December 11.
During this time, people whose names are not in the list will be able to apply to get their names added. Voters will also be able to get their name, address or other information corrected if there is a mistake in it.
Form 6 will be used for adding new names, Form 7 for objection related to deletion of name and Form 8 for correction of information.
The new voter list is scheduled to be published on 4 January 2027.
Why is there protest against removal of 74 lakh names?
The final voter list was released in Tamil Nadu after the previous SIR process in February 2026. According to the Election Commission data, about 74.07 lakh names were removed due to various reasons.
Many political parties are continuously raising questions regarding this figure. They allege that the removal of names has caused problems to some eligible voters.
Political parties want the Election Commission to first investigate these complaints and make arrangements to re-add those eligible people whose names have been left out in the list.
The Election Commission has also said that it will run a special campaign to add the names of missing and new voters.
What is important for voters?
It is most important for the voters living in Tamil Nadu to check their name in the voter list. If name is not found or information is incorrect, application can be made as per the prescribed procedure.
After many parties walked out of Friday's meeting, political differences regarding SSR have come to the fore. Now it remains to be seen what response the Election Commission gives to these objections and what steps it takes to add the names of the missing people in the next voter list.