VCK’s Thirumavalavan links Stalin’s Kolathur loss to SIR, alleges more than 1 lakh voters were removed

According to The News Minute and Daily Thanthi, Thol Thirumavalavan, who heads the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), has claimed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls played a part in the loss suffered by former Chief Minister M K Stalin in Kolathur, Chennai, in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election of 2026. His remarks came on Thursday, 15 October, at an INDIA bloc protest held in Egmore, Chennai.

Protesters called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to be removed over what they alleged were irregularities in the SIR, and for deleted names to be put back on the rolls.

The Kolathur allegation

Both outlets reported Thirumavalavan as saying that upwards of one lakh names were struck off in Kolathur. Roughly 20,000 of them were marked as dead, he said, and the remainder were recorded either as duplicates or as people who had moved away permanently. Across Tamil Nadu, he put the number of deletions at close to 97 lakh.

Thirumavalavan said he had flagged the issue to Stalin ahead of polling. The News Minute quoted him recalling that he told Stalin, “Anna, there seems to be a problem in Kolathur.” He also said he had put the question to Stalin: “Why don’t you contest from another constituency?” According to Thirumavalavan, DMK leader Sekarbabu had assured Stalin that the SIR was being carried out correctly. The News Minute quoted him as adding, “I am recounting this not to accuse any individual.”

As per Daily Thanthi, Thirumavalavan charged the BJP with using the SIR as a tool against political rivals, and listed Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee and Pinarayi Vijayan along with Stalin.

• Kolathur in 2026: Stalin lost to V S Babu of the TVK by a margin of 8,795 votes (The News Minute)
• Kolathur deletions as claimed: above 1 lakh, of which about 20,000 were marked deceased
• Statewide deletions as claimed: close to 97 lakh

What others said

The News Minute reported that TVK’s A Rajmohan, a minister in Tamil Nadu, said his party had been against the SIR even before it took office, had protested against roughly 97 lakh voters being deleted, and was taking up the issue before the Supreme Court. Vaiko of the MDMK was among the other speakers at the protest.

Neither report included any reaction to the allegations from Stalin, from Sekarbabu or from the Election Commission. The deletion numbers are Thirumavalavan’s own and have not been verified independently.

Sources: The News Minute, Daily Thanthi