Election Commissioners Object to Voter Roll Revision as Opposition Demands CEC’s Removal

According to an investigation published by The Indian Express and cited by The Hindu and India Today, an internal rift has emerged within the Election Commission of India after two election commissioners reportedly objected 14 times to the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise over a 10-month period. Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress MPs Manish Tewari and Jairam Ramesh, have responded to the report by questioning the poll panel’s functioning and calling for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The three-member Election Commission of India is headed by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alongside election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, according to India Today. The report details that Sandhu and Joshi raised objections to multiple aspects of the SIR process, which began in June of last year in Bihar. The exercise, aimed at weeding out ineligible and dead voters, has resulted in the deletion of over 13 crore names from draft rolls across 30 states and Union Territories, with the highest numbers of deletions recorded in Delhi and Maharashtra.

According to India Today, the SIR process drew intense contestation in West Bengal during the state assembly elections held in April, where approximately 91 lakh voters were deleted from electoral rolls. The Election Commission informed the Supreme Court that 38 lakh appeals were pending before tribunals, out of which 22.21 lakh appeals were filed by voters whose names had been deleted. An additional 16.10 lakh appeals were filed against voters whose names had been included by judicial officers, seeking their subsequent removal from the rolls.

The Indian Express investigation revealed that Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu flagged the filing of appeals against voters whom judicial officers had restored to the rolls. Sandhu recorded that neither he, nor Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi, nor the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal had been informed regarding the basis or process used to file those appeals, according to India Today.

Opposition Demands Action and Supreme Court Intervention

Political leaders reacted swiftly to the revelations of internal dissent within the poll panel. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav described the reported disagreements as a very serious development and urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance of the matter, as reported by India Today. Yadav stated that the repeated disputes indicate election commissioners are unable to perform their duties properly, calling the situation an alarming scenario for democracy.

Congress MP Manish Tewari asserted that the report has severely damaged the credibility of the Election Commission and alleged the influence of an invisible hand in its operations, according to India Today. Tewari suggested that if rules were bypassed and decisions were made without consensus or majority agreement, the decisions of the Election Commission could be considered arbitrary. He added that the situation warrants consideration of impeachment proceedings against the Chief Election Commissioner.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bhardwaj alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar behaved inappropriately during a meeting with opposition delegates, claiming Kumar responded to queries with dismissive justifications while the other two election commissioners nodded along, according to India Today. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh announced via social media that his party would address the revelations in detail through senior advocate and MP Abhishek Singhvi.

Election Commission Response and Ongoing Legal Scrutiny

In contrast to reports indicating deep internal division, The Times of India reported that the Election Commission countered claims of internal discord, maintaining that its decision-making regarding the voter roll revision was unanimous. The poll panel has faced sustained scrutiny from opposition parties over the execution and transparency of the SIR exercise across multiple states.

The Supreme Court continues to monitor aspects of the dispute, particularly regarding pending appeals from voters affected by roll deletions. The formal demands for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar add mounting political pressure on the constitutional body as legal and legislative challenges persist.