FOR 29-YEAR-OLD Ajay Kumar, a construction worker in Chennai, elections in Bihar were always a festival. During the last two elections, he had returned to his village, on the outskirts of Patna, a week early. His family has 18 votes, including that of his two wives, four brothers, their wives, nephews, parents and grandparents. Ajay said that political parties often showered them with gifts during polls. But a week ago, one of his wives told him that his name was missing from the voter’s list. Ajay and his brothers approached a political party leader, only to learn that they were not in the list in Bihar. A friend told him that he might be added to the rolls in Tamil Nadu, where he has worked for nine years. Ajay and his brothers—Bola, Rahul, Sambu and Kesav—move around Tamil Nadu for work. They now believe they will be added to the list wherever they are living at the time of the polls.
Tamil Nadu has over 2.51 lakh migrant workers from Bihar, apart from labourers from Odisha, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and the northeast. In total, till June 2023, there were eight lakh registered under the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, 10.4 lakh on the Centre’s e-Shram portal and 22.47 lakh with the Tamil Nadu Construction Workers Welfare Board. Official sources said registered workers are less than 25 per cent of the actual numbers. Aside from construction sites, migrant labourers also work in manufacturing, the knitwear industry in Tiruppur and in eateries and restaurants. They generally move from place to place in search of their work. But, most of the workers in Tiruppur, who have been there for more than a decade, have rented houses and have got local address proofs like Public Distribution System cards.
As the Special Intensive Revision in Bihar progresses, its ripple effects are being felt in Tamil Nadu. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary and Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan warned that Tamil Nadu voters could be disenfranchised en masse through such exercises. “The DMK opposes the revision in its present form and not the roll revision as such,” said Rajya Sabha MP N.R. Elango, who led a group of DMK parliamentarians to meet election commissioners on July 17 to urge Aadhaar and PDS family cards be accepted for voter’s list revision.
Durai Murugan said that the BJP, “which came to power by spreading lies”, was now resorting to shortcuts. “It is desperate to destroy democracy in states where it knows it can never win,” he said. He also accused the ECI of bending to the BJP’s political will.
In Parliament, DMK MP Tiruchi N. Siva said the ECI was seeking documents beyond its remit (proof of citizenship) and claimed that up to one crore voters in Bihar may have lost their right to vote. “This raises doubts if the ruling party is cleverly trying to disenfranchise opposition votes from every state,” he said. “It is Bihar today; as we get close to elections, states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal will also face similar issues.”
Senior Congress leader and former Union home minister P. Chidambaram accused the ECI of “abuse of power and attempting to change the electoral character and pattern of states”. His comment came in the wake of claims that 6.5 lakh people who have been removed from the rolls in Bihar have been added to Tamil Nadu’s rolls.
“This is a diabolical plot,” Sivaganga MP Karti P. Chidambaram told THE WEEK. “It is an attempt to change the electoral character of Tamil Nadu. This will change the nature of the entire electorate in the state. In which constituency will these 6.5 lakh voters will be added? They do not have a permanent address in Tamil Nadu. One day they work in Coimbatore, the next day they move to Tiruppur, the third day they may be in Thoothukudi or Karaikudi. For instance, if 5,000 of these migrant workers from Bihar are added to the rolls in my Karaikudi constituency, it will alter the electorate. On one side they are bringing delimitation to reduce the number of constituencies and the representation from Tamil Nadu. On the other side, the BJP is deliberately trying to alter the electorate by adding migrant workers in the rolls.”
The ECI denied adding migrant workers to Tamil Nadu’s rolls, calling claims of 6.5 lakh enrolments false and saying the SIR in Bihar is unrelated to Tamil Nadu. “As far as voters who have permanently shifted from Bihar to other states and are ordinarily resident in those states, the exact figures can be known only after the SIR has been conducted,” it stated. “It is for the voters to come forward and get enrolled in the constituency where they are eligible.”
Sources in the Tamil Nadu government said that a labour department survey is underway now to assess the total number of migrant workers from other states. And, the DMK is preparing to verify the rolls ahead of state elections. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin warned against any “attempt to undermine democracy”. “We will fight this injustice with every democratic weapon at our disposal,” he posted on X. “To every citizen who believes in the Constitution: this is not just about one state, this is about the very foundation of our republic. Democracy belongs to the people. It will not be stolen.”
The BJP dismissed the allegations. “Chidambaram says voters were deleted [in Bihar] because they are anti-BJP,” said party spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy. “But, they have turned pro-BJP here. Is this not ridiculous?”
Meanwhile, the AIADMK has moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay against the DMK’s ‘Oraniyil Tamil Nadu’ (Tamil Nadu in one team) membership drive, alleging misuse of voter contact details. However, the BJP’s Dravidian ally has refrained from commenting on SIR.