The AIADMK has levelled serious allegations against the ruling DMK, accusing it of orchestrating large-scale voter fraud in Tamil Nadu. The DMK, which has harped on to Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” campaign commenting about electoral irregularities in other states, is turning a blind eye to the manipulation happening under its own administration says AIADMK.
Speaking at a press conference, AIADMK spokesperson and IT Wing head Kovai Sathyan alleged that tens of thousands of ineligible voters including deceased individuals, people who have relocated, and duplicate entries remain on the electoral rolls across Chennai. According to him, this was part of a deliberate attempt to engineer vote fraud in the upcoming elections.
Discrepancies In Chepauk Constituency
Citing data from the Chepauk–Triplicane Assembly constituency, currently represented by Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, Sathyan said the AIADMK conducted a door-to-door verification in 15 out of 220 booths. The survey revealed a total of 1,722 ineligible entries:
- 553 deceased voters
- 1,136 relocated individuals
- 33 duplicate names
“In just 15 booths 1,722 voters were not there. If this is the situation in just 15 booths, what is the situation in all 220 booths?” Sathyan asked.
Similar Issues Found In Thousand Lights
A similar exercise in the Thousand Lights constituency revealed 1,244 invalid entries across 39 booths:
- 899 deceased voters
- 708 people who had shifted
- 37 duplicate entries
These findings, Sathyan said, were compiled and submitted to the District Collector along with the relevant voter lists for official action.
20,000 To 30,000 Fake Voters Per Constituency
According to Sathyan, such discrepancies are not isolated. Based on internal assessments, he alleged that each constituency in Chennai may contain between 20,000 to 30,000 invalid voters. “These are not mere clerical errors,” he said. “This is a systematic ploy to enable fraudulent voting.”
He also questioned why Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are relying on political parties to supply documentation such as death certificates, when it is their legal responsibility to verify voter eligibility. “When we report deceased voters, BLOs ask us for the death certificates. This is the job of government officials, yet they push the burden onto our PLAs (Party-Level Agents),” he added.
The AIADMK spokesperson revealed that the party has already sought legal remedies in several constituencies and obtained court orders directing the removal of invalid voters. In RK Nagar, he said, the party successfully removed 28,000 fake entries via judicial intervention.
However, he expressed frustration that even after court orders, the names are being re-added to the electoral rolls. In Thousand Lights, he said the party had a similar order for the removal of 3,000 votes, which were mysteriously restored.
“We were back in court on 3 July 2025, and officials gave an undertaking that they would act. But till now, no meaningful action has been taken,” he said.
Sathyan emphasized that the Election Commission of India (ECI) often deflects responsibility to the State Election Commission, which in turn relies on state government officials to implement voter roll revisions. “The problem is that all these officials function under the DMK-led state government. When the very machinery tasked with fixing the issue is controlled by the ruling party, can we expect impartiality?” he questioned.
He also alleged that the DMK’s IT wing may be involved in digitally tampering with voter data, including online manipulation of electoral rolls. He claimed that voters displaced by infrastructure development still remain on the lists despite no longer residing in the area.
Sathyan concluded by calling out the hypocrisy of the DMK, which he said is quick to criticize vote fraud in states like Bihar but remains silent about alleged irregularities in Tamil Nadu. “How can the DMK speak about democracy elsewhere while nurturing a fraudulent electoral base in its own backyard?” he asked.
He said AIADMK will not stay silent and will continue its efforts, both legally and politically, to ensure clean and fair elections. Reports have already been submitted to the Chief Election Commissioner of India and the Tamil Nadu State Election Commissioner, with more documentation expected to follow.
“This is not a complaint we’ll file and forget. We’re committed to seeing this through to the end,” Sathyan declared.
Kovai Sathyan’s Full Speech Of The Press Meet:
“A BLA (Booth-Level Agent) from our party, acting on the orders of our General Secretary, recently went to every household in Chennai’s constituencies to verify the voters’ list. We found many irregularities, which we brought to the attention of the District Collector. We met with him in person to point out the errors in the voters’ list and requested that he take action.
The key finding in this is particularly in the Chepauk-Triplicane constituency, which is represented by Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. There are a total of 220 booths. Among the 220 booths we chose a sample of 15 booths to verify the voters’ list over the past month. In just these 15 booths, we found a discrepancy of 1,722 votes between the list we had and the on-ground reality. Of these, 553 were deceased, 1,136 had moved (migrated), and 33 were double entries. In just 15 booths 1,722 voters were not there. If this is the situation in just 15 booths, what is the situation in all 220 booths? Similarly, we conducted a house-to-house check in 39 booths in the Thousand Lights constituency. We found 899 deceased voters, 708 voters who had shifted, and 37 double entries, for a total of 1,244. We have submitted all this data, along with the voters’ list, to the District Collector. On average, there are 20,000 to 30,000 fake voters in each constituency in Chennai. We believe this is a deliberate effort by the DMK to facilitate fake vote during elections.”
He added, “We have informed the State Election Commission and the Central Election Commission about this. Every time we report these issues, we are told that it is the responsibility of the state government to appoint people to verify this and take action. The question here is: all the government officials and employees who are supposed to do this are under the control of the state government. So why is it that for thousands of fake votes in each constituency, no action is being taken? This is a major question. In addition, we have gone to court and obtained orders to remove names from the voters’ list. For example, in the Thousand Lights constituency, we got a recent order to remove 3,000 votes, but they were added back to the list. We have also shown the court order to the District Collector and asked for the reasons why it was added back. Similarly, in RK Nagar, 28,000 votes were removed through a court order. Do we have to go to court for every constituency, or it raises suspicion whether the state government deliberately neglecting its duty to allow the DMK to use these as fraudulent votes in the upcoming elections?”