DMK Demands Removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar

Member of Parliament Kanimozhi Karunanidhi led protests in Chennai on October 16, 2026, against the Union government's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Karunanidhi alleged that the exercise deprived citizens of voting rights, claiming that 100,000 voters were removed from the Kolathur constituency when only 20,000 deletions were warranted. She accused the government of lacking faith in the Constitution and branding critics as "anti-national."

Following these protests, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Parliamentary Party adopted a resolution on October 17 demanding the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a formal inquiry into his conduct. Led by President M.K. Stalin, the party accused Kumar of spearheading the systematic disenfranchisement of voters by overriding objections from other Election Commissioners. The party cited the deletion of over 97 lakh voters in Tamil Nadu as evidence of these irregularities.

Stalin announced plans to petition President Droupadi Murmu to scrap the SIR and return to a paper ballot system, arguing that Electronic Voting Machines lack credibility. While the party expressed support for student protests, it simultaneously condemned the Indian National Congress for "double standards," describing the party as "habitual backstabbers" regarding their opposition to the SIR.