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New Delhi: An investigation by The Indian Express into the Election Commission of India\u2019s (ECI) handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls has triggered a political controversy after revealing that two of the three Election Commissioners formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders they said had been taken without their knowledge.<\/p>\n
The ECI comprises the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two Election Commissioners of equal rank.<\/p>\n
The Indian Express investigation reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections over key aspects of the electoral process, including the addition, deletion and restoration of voters, appeals against decisions taken during the SIR, and the custody and security of the electoral roll database. The two commissioners also described certain measures concerning new voters as \u201cunauthorised, illegal\u201d and raised concerns over what they termed the \u201cgradual centralisation\u201d of the electoral roll database.<\/p>\n
The report said that in July, Form 6, used for registration of new voters, was modified to ask applicants whether their names, or those of their parents or grandparents, appeared on the electoral roll from the previous SIR, despite Vivek Joshi had reportedly raised concerns in May that the form could not be changed in this manner without an amendment to the relevant rules. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu later described the change as \u201cunauthorised and illegal\u201d and said it \u201cmust be removed immediately\u201d.<\/p>\n
The two commissioners also raised concerns about the centralisation of the voter database. Joshi flagged a \u201cgradual centralisation of the electoral roll database\u201d, while Sandhu cited reports from state-level election officials that they did not have \u201cproper and complete access\u201d to the ERONet system. The investigation also reported that the two commissioners approached Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan over concerns relating to the integrity and administration of voter-registration software.<\/p>\n
Sandhu also questioned the authorization of appeals filed in West Bengal against voters whom judicial officers had included in the electoral rolls, asking who had authorised the appeals on behalf of ECI.<\/p>\n
The findings prompted sharp criticism from Opposition leaders, who said that CEC Gyanesh Kumar undermined the Election Commission\u2019s institutional independence and collective decision-making.<\/p>\n
Congress leader Pawan Khera described Gyanesh Kumar as a \u201ctermite\u201d and said that he was being \u201cfed and protected by the BJP to hollow out the Election Commission of India from within\u201d. He said that the situation within the Commission had become \u201cmessy, dysfunctional and, frankly, disturbing\u201d. He added that Gyanesh Kumar exercised \u201cextraordinary control\u201d over the poll panel and said that he had \u201cpresided over the destruction of the integrity of India\u2019s electoral process at the BJP’s behest\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trinamool CongressMP Abhishek Banerjee called for Kumar\u2019s immediate removal and a court-monitored investigation, saying that \u201cdisenfranchising lakhs of voters to benefit one political party strikes at the very foundation of our democracy\u201d. He also urged the Supreme Court to examine what he described as questions concerning the \u201cinstitutional impartiality\u201d of the poll panel.<\/p>\n
CPI(M) MP John Brittas said that the CEC had turned the Election Commission into a \u201cone-man autocracy\u201d and called on Parliament to begin the process of his removal. He also demanded that the SIR process be annulled, arguing that the objections raised by two of the three commissioners warranted judicial scrutiny.<\/p>\n
Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Priyank Kharge, Pramod Tiwari and Sachin Pilot also criticised the developments. Kharge said that the CEC had bypassed the other commissioners and undermined collective decision-making, while Tiwari called for Kumar\u2019s resignation and demanded that the concerns raised by the two commissioners be made public.<\/p>\n
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh called for Kumar\u2019s arrest, stating that elections across Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal had been won through \u201cdishonesty\u201d and demanding that those elections be cancelled with immediate effect. Journalist Ravish Kumar also called for an investigation into the Election Commission and questioned the integrity of the electoral process.<\/p>\n
The SIR, which began in Bihar in June 2025 as an exercise to revise and update electoral rolls, has so far removed more than 13 crore names in draft electoral rolls across 30 Indian states and Union territories.<\/p>\n
Notably, earlier in April, 73 Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha submitted a notice seeking the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging \u201cproven misbehaviour\u201d in connection with acts and omissions since March 15, 2026. The notice is pending before the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi: An investigation by The Indian Express into the Election Commission of India\u2019s (ECI) handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls has triggered a political controversy after revealing that two of the three Election Commissioners formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders they said had …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":211469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-211466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"yoast_head":"\n