AIADMK FILES PETITION IN SUPREME COURT BACKING ELECTION COMMISSION’S SPECIAL REVISION OF TAMIL NADU VOTER ROLLS:

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has approached the Supreme Court supporting the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to carry out a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu. The party described the Commission’s move as a lawful and necessary step aimed at preserving the integrity of the electoral process, preventing voter fraud, and ensuring that elections in the State are conducted fairly.

The AIADMK is the first political party to move the Supreme Court in support of the SIR, which has been challenged by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The DMK’s petition contests the legality of the revision exercise, and the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the matter tomorrow.

In its application, the AIADMK asserted that Tamil Nadu, with its 234 Assembly constituencies, suffers from widespread inaccuracies in its voter lists, including thousands of duplicate and ineligible entries. It contended that the Election Commission’s decision to initiate the SIR was both justified and crucial to maintaining the purity of the electoral process. According to the AIADMK, the revision serves as a “legitimate and necessary exercise” to uphold the sanctity of elections and ensure that the rule of law prevails in the conduct of polls.

The party further argued that as one of the two principal political parties in the State, it would be directly and adversely affected if the electoral rolls were not revised properly. In its submission, the AIADMK stated that any failure to carry out the revision in its “true letter and spirit” would perpetuate inaccurate and inflated voter rolls, which in turn could distort electoral outcomes. The continuance of such errors, the party claimed, undermines the level playing field that forms the cornerstone of a fair democratic process.

The AIADMK emphasized that defective electoral rolls have the potential to “distort the representative mandate of the electorate,” as elections held on the basis of such flawed lists would not accurately reflect the people’s will. The application warned that allowing thousands of duplicate or ineligible names to remain on the rolls, while genuine voters continue to be excluded, would compromise the fairness of the election. This, the party argued, would infringe upon its constitutional right to contest elections, campaign effectively, and seek a fair verdict from the electorate, thereby violating the principle of electoral equality enshrined in the Constitution.

The matter assumes significance in light of similar challenges pending before the Supreme Court concerning the SIR conducted in Bihar. A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has been hearing those cases over the past several months. The ECI’s decision to extend the Special Intensive Revision exercise to other states, including Tamil Nadu, has faced opposition from various political parties such as the DMK, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the West Bengal Congress Committee.

With the AIADMK’s intervention, the issue has now taken on a larger political dimension, as parties across states debate the scope and legality of the Election Commission’s powers to revise electoral rolls. The Supreme Court is expected to take up the Tamil Nadu-related petitions for hearing tomorrow, where both the DMK and AIADMK will present their respective stands on the matter.