Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay-led TVK has joined the Opposition’s protest in Chennai against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan said on Friday.
Speaking about TVK’s participation in the protest on October 15, Thirumavalavan said the party had recently joined the INDIA bloc’s Tamil Nadu unit and was expected to participate in similar protests at the national level in the future.
“TVK has already joined the INDIA bloc. They are against the Election Commission and the Union government. They attended the INDIA bloc protest yesterday. Recently, they have joined the Tamil Nadu unit; later on, they will participate in the protest at the national level,” he told ANI.
What the protest was about
The protest was organised against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, an exercise to review and update voter lists. Opposition parties have raised concerns that the process could lead to the deletion of eligible voters’ names and demanded safeguards to protect voting rights.
The demonstration also included a demand for the removal of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with opposition parties questioning the Election Commission’s handling of electoral matters.
TVK’s growing engagement with the INDIA bloc
TVK’s participation in the protest follows a series of political engagements with opposition parties in Tamil Nadu. On October 3, representatives of the party attended a meeting of the state-level INDIA bloc, which included the Congress, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the VCK, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
The meeting discussed coordinated opposition to the BJP-led Union government and the SIR exercise. The parties also passed resolutions, including one welcoming TVK into the state-level opposition grouping.
The development came days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met Vijay at his residence in Chennai on October 10. The meeting fuelled further discussion about cooperation between the Congress and TVK.
TVK, which was launched by actor Vijay in 2024, entered electoral politics with an emphasis on challenging the established political parties in Tamil Nadu. Its participation in the INDIA bloc’s protest signals greater engagement with opposition parties, although the extent of its involvement in the alliance’s national-level activities remains to be seen.
Protests over voter roll revision
On October 12, Opposition leaders, led by Rahul Gandhi, and supporters marched towards the Supreme Court in New Delhi, seeking scrutiny of the voter list revision process and safeguards against the removal of eligible voters. The INDIA bloc has also demanded resignation against Gyanesh Kumar.
The issue has also reached the Supreme Court. On October 15, the court issued notices to the Election Commission and other officials on a petition concerning alleged irregularities in the revision process and sought records relating to the Election Commission’s decision-making.