DMK challenges Rahul Gandhi over Tamil Nadu voter deletions

DMK attacks Gandhi over voter rolls

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has delivered a sharp, dual-edged message to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. While a senior leader backed Gandhi’s high-profile protest in Delhi, the party’s official spokesperson simultaneously accused him of hypocrisy over his silence on voter deletions in Tamil Nadu.

DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai targeted Gandhi directly on social media, using the phrase "Daro Mat"—do not fear—to mock the Congress leader. Annadurai accused Gandhi of being "duplicitous" and questioned why he has stayed quiet about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) voter registration exercise in Tamil Nadu, despite loudly protesting similar electoral issues in Bihar.

The fallout of a collapsed alliance

The clash comes after a bitter split between the former allies following the Tamil Nadu assembly elections. After the DMK-Congress partnership dissolved, Congress chose to support actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which formed the state government alongside Left parties and the IUML.

Annadurai cited reports suggesting that the SIR exercise heavily skewed the election results in TVK's favour. He claimed that in 135 constituencies where more than 20,000 voters were struck off the rolls, TVK won 84. In the 10 constituencies where deletions surpassed 80,000, TVK won every single one. Annadurai publicly asked if Gandhi was "afraid of @actorvijay" and refused to speak out against the revisions for fear of upsetting his new ally.

Mixed signals from leadership

Yet, even as Annadurai called Gandhi a "skunk" on social media, senior DMK leader TKS Elangovan offered a very different take. Elangovan defended Gandhi’s right to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, calling it the right of every citizen to fight government wrongdoing.

Gandhi had been detained for nine hours in Delhi after leading a march towards the Election Commission. The opposition is demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, following revelations that two election commissioners had formally objected 14 times to decisions made without their knowledge, including those involving the controversial SIR process. Elangovan supported this, stating that re-elections should be held in states where Gyanesh Kumar allegedly helped the BJP capture power.