Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026: Stalin lashes out at ECI, Alleges bias against DMK

Chennai: Following its actions in West Bengal, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has now taken action in Tamil Nadu. On Wednesday, the Election Commission removed Tamil Nadu's Chief Secretary and DGP. DMK Chief and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has accused the Commission of bias regarding this decision. Voting for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections is scheduled to take place on April 23.

On Wednesday, the Election Commission appointed senior bureaucrat M. Sai Kumar to replace the State Chief Secretary, N. Muruganandam, and appointed 1995-batch IPS officer Sandeep Mittal to replace the DGP (Armed Police, Vigilance, and Anti-Corruption), S. Davidson Devasirvatham.

What Instructions were Issued?

In a formal communication sent to the Chief Secretary, Election Commission Secretary Lata Tripathi directed that 1990-batch IAS officer M. Sai Kumar be posted as the state's top bureaucrat with immediate effect. The Election Commission further directed that the removed officials should not be assigned any election-related posts until the voting process is completed. The Commission took this step following several complaints from the opposition, alleging that the state's administrative machinery was working in favor of the DMK government. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin reacted strongly to this decision by the Election Commission.

Was This Done to Help EPS?

Stalin alleged that the transfers effected by the Election Commission—particularly in places like Salem—were executed as part of a calculated strategy designed to benefit AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and the NDA alliance. Salem Collector Vrinda Ravi had been transferred just a day earlier, and Arun Thamburaj was posted in her place. The Chief Minister questioned whether all these actions were being taken to assist EPS. He asked whether the Chief Secretary and DGP were transferred in a similar manner during the Bihar elections. He asserted that this is a blatant attempt to thwart a DMK victory, but predicted that they would fail miserably.