Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), the party led by actor-turned-Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thalapathy Vijay, has joined a Congress-led protest demanding the removal of India’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.

The protest was held in Chennai on Thursday as opposition parties raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. The demonstration was organised under the banner “Protect Democracy” by Congress MP B. Manickam Tagore and the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee.

Representatives of seven parties belonging to the opposition INDIA bloc participated in the demonstration. It marked TVK’s first participation in a protest demanding Kumar’s removal since the party joined the opposition alliance on October 3.

TVK was represented by A. Rajmohan, a party leader and Tamil Nadu’s School Education Minister.

Other prominent participants included Thol. Thirumavalavan, president of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and a member of parliament; Vaiko, general secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK); and leaders of several left-wing parties.

Congress MP Vijay Vasanth called for Kumar’s resignation, alleging that the Election Commission was working in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

He said the commission’s role in safeguarding democracy required accountability.

Opposition Alleges 9.7 Million Names Removed

Speakers at the protest alleged that more than 9.7 million names had been removed from Tamil Nadu’s electoral rolls during the SIR process.

They claimed that Muslim, tribal and other marginalised communities had been particularly affected by the revision.

The Election Commission had not issued a response to the allegations at the time of publication.