The DMK’s door-to-door membership campaign, Oraniyil Tamil Nadu, has been under increasing scrutiny, with a growing list of controversies and allegations of misuse of public trust. Initially launched as an ambitious mass-mobilisation effort, the campaign’s credibility took a hit after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court issued a temporary injunction barring the party from using OTP-based verification for enrolling members citing concerns over data privacy and personal information misuse.
Now, fresh allegations have emerged from parts of Chennai, where individuals posing as civic officials are allegedly misleading residents under the guise of electoral roll verification.
According to several residents, individuals one wearing a Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) identity card are going door-to-door claiming to work with the civic body. Residents say they were asked to provide their mobile numbers, believing it to be part of an official election-related update. Once the number is provided, another person accompanying the supposed official inputs the number into an app and instructs the resident to give a missed call to a particular number.
Soon after, people receive a call featuring a pre-recorded message from Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, thanking them for joining the Oraniyil Tamil Nadu campaign.
Entire neighbourhoods have reportedly gone through this process. Many residents say they felt pressured to comply, fearing backlash or not wanting to appear uncooperative. Most believed the interaction was an official Election Commission activity.
The Election Commission of India (ECI), however, has issued no such directive requiring OTPs, missed calls, or phone verification as part of any ongoing electoral verification effort. This has raised serious concerns about the blurring of lines between party outreach and civic processes, and the exploitation of public trust for political gains.
Critics argue that the local DMK leaders appears to be pushing local functionaries to boost membership numbers by any means necessary particularly as the 2026 Assembly elections draw near. What was promoted as a campaign to unify Tamil Nadu and challenge central policies, now risks being overshadowed by accusations of deception, data misuse, and coercion.
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