Chidambaram Raises Concerns Over Migrant Voter Additions In Tamil Nadu During Bihar Electoral Row

As Bihar undergoes a contentious special intensive revision (SIR) of its electoral rolls, senior Congress politician P Chidambaram has raised serious concerns about the Election Commission of India's (ECI) practices regarding voter registration across states.

The Rajya Sabha member has specifically highlighted the addition of 6.5 lakh migrant workers to Tamil Nadu's voter rolls, describing this development as both "alarming" and "illegal." Chidambaram alleges that the Election Commission is attempting to alter the fundamental "electoral character" of various states through these registration practices.

The controversy centers around the ECI's decision to remove 65 lakh voters from Bihar's draft electoral rolls. Of this significant number, 36 lakh electors are categorized as either permanently migrated or untraceable individuals.

Simultaneously, Chidambaram has drawn attention to Tamil Nadu, where 6.5 lakh individuals have been added as voters. The state is scheduled for elections next year and may face a similar intensive revision process as Bihar. The former Home Minister has posed several critical questions regarding the legality of cross-state voter enrollment:

Permanent Residence Requirements: Chidambaram argues that voter enrollment requires a fixed and permanent legal residence, which migrant workers typically maintain in their home states.

Electoral Rights: He questions how migrant workers can be considered "permanently migrated" to Tamil Nadu while their families continue to reside in their original states.

Democratic Interference: The Congress leader characterizes these practices as interference with Tamil Nadu voters' right to elect their preferred government.

The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has also expressed opposition to adding guest workers to Tamil Nadu's voter lists. DMK General Secretary Duraimurugan warned that such additions could lead to significant political changes in the future.

Chidambaram has called for both political and legal resistance to what he terms an "abuse of powers" by the Election Commission. He emphasizes that migrant workers should return to their home states to participate in respective state assembly elections.

The ECI has defended its intensive revision process by pointing to practical concerns. The commission states that two decades of large-scale additions and deletions have created numerous duplicate entries in electoral rolls, necessitating comprehensive revision to maintain accuracy.

This controversy occurs against the backdrop of Bihar's ongoing electoral roll revision, which opposition parties claim could disenfranchise significant portions of the state's 7.89 crore existing voters. The debate raises fundamental questions about electoral federalism and the boundaries of the Election Commission's authority in managing state-level voter registration processes.

The situation highlights the complex challenges of managing electoral rolls in a country with high internal migration rates while maintaining the integrity of state-based democratic representation.