'CEC Gyanesh Kumar will go to jail': Oppn on report of difference in EC over SIR

Two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, reportedly flagged multiple issues and formally objected 14 times over 10 months to decisions regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

Opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party, CPI-M, Shiv Sena (UBT), and AAP, are demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's removal, alleging 'one-man autocracy' and 'subversion of democracy'.

Calls have been made for Kumar's suspension, an FIR, and the annulment of the entire SIR process, with some leaders claiming the ECI has become 'a fraud'.

Former chief election commissioner O P Rawat described changes to the statutory voter registration Form 6 as 'absolutely wrong and illegal' and the internal differences as 'very serious'.

AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal alleged that Kumar has been running the Election Commission on his own, making the SIR process, which led to 13 crore name deletions, 'illegal'.

 

Expansive red flags raised by two Election Commissioners within the poll panel over the Special Intensive Revision of voters list triggered a massive political storm on Wednesday, with the Opposition demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's removal.

Officials said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had flagged multiple issues, including deletion of names, in various states during the voter roll cleanup but the poll body was unanimous in its decisions related to the pan-India Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list.

Internal Dissent and Opposition Outcry

The reactions poured in after a report in The Indian Express revealed that questions were raised on issues related to the SIR of electoral rolls within the three-member Election Commission itself, time and again by two of the three Election Commissioners.

The national rollout of the SIR has been under the supervision of all three Commissioners. But Sandhu and Joshi have formally objected, on record, at least 14 times over the last 10 months -- four times on a single day -- to decisions taken and orders issued, they say, without their knowledge, the report in the English daily said.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal demanded Kumar's suspension and filing of an FIR to probe who is behind his actions. Former chief election commissioner O P Rawat said changes to the statutory voter registration Form 6 are "absolutely wrong and illegal", while describing revelations of differences within the Election Commission as "very serious" and "unfortunate".

Allegations of Undermining Democracy

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav alleged that governments formed during a period when the Election Commission was not functioning impartially were "unconstitutional", and said the alleged interference with the poll panel amounted to "trampling" democracy.

"This is dangerous for our democracy. This is an attempt to weaken our democracy," he said. Yadav said the Election Commission was a constitutional body and questioned who was "playing with" such an institution for the purpose of remaining in government.

"What can you imagine now? Would the Election Commission have been fair? Would it have been impartial?" the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister asked.

CPI-M MP John Brittas said this is no longer an Election Commission, it is a "one-man autocracy" under CEC Kumar.

"Two Election Commissioners have formally objected 14 times in 10 months. They branded the addition of new voters and mass deletion 'unauthorised and illegal'. They recorded objections to secret deletions, restorations, and form 6 changes that harass young first-time voters - all while being kept in the dark," he said.

This is the open subversion of the EC and our democracy too, Brittas said.

Calls for CEC's Impeachment and SIR Annulment

"Parliament must immediately start the process for the removal of the CEC. We had in fact submitted a notice for removal on 24th April, 2026 as per the constitutional stipulations - solid grounds and around 70 members signing( 50 in the stipulated number)," he said.

The Constitution provides this power for precisely such moments of institutional capture and subversion, he said.

"The Supreme Court must annul the entire SIR process without delay. When two of the three Commissioners put on record that the exercise is illegal and destructive of the electoral roll's integrity, judicial silence becomes complicity," Brittas said. What Kumar is doing is the death knell of a democratic nation, he said.

"Remove the CEC. Strike down the SIR. Or accept that free and fair elections in India are already being buried," the CPI-M MP said.

Shiv Sena-UBT MP Sanjay Raut also cited the media report, and said "A-Gyanesh Kumar will go to jail! He will have to go! His masters will flee the country and run away!" Shiv Sena-UBT MLA Aaditya Thackeray claimed the ECI has transformed India into the "world's largest former democracy".

"Working as agents for one party, to finish off India's democracy, they have snatched away the voting rights of millions of Indians," he alleged. "What started with the Universal Adult Franchise (elections) when India won its Independence, has now been turned into selected voter rolls by this institution. The institution itself, once impartial, is now a fraud," Thackeray alleged.

TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien said on X, "Five months ago, 60+ Rajya Sabha MPs (50 needed) wrote to Chairman RS moving Motion to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar. After big news break today that two Election Commissioners objected to many of CEC's actions, it's time to bring out the RS Motion today. Impeach CEC to save democracy".

AAP Demands Cancellation of SIR and Arrest of CEC

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal demanded that the entire SIR exercise be cancelled and that Gyanesh Kumar should immediately be arrested. Kumar was running the Election Commission on his own, making the entire process of Special Intensive Revision carried out across the country "illegal", Kejriwal claimed.

"For several months, meetings of the Election Commission have not been taking place, while Gyanesh Kumar has continued issuing orders on his own. Therefore, the entire SIR process, through which 13 crore names have been deleted across the country, is illegal because the Election Commission has not officially approved it," he said in a press conference.

"So today, we demand that the entire SIR process be cancelled, that all changes made under SIR be cancelled, and that the voter list from three years ago be restored," the AAP chief said.

Kumar should be arrested and a case of sedition should be registered against him, he added. As per the Indian Express story, Kumar has been running the Election Commission on his own for the last few years, he claimed.

"Both the Election Commissioners -- Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have repeatedly submitted written complaints that orders are being issued to officers below them without the approval or authorisation of the Election Commission," Kejriwal said.

"There cannot be a bigger scam in this country than this. If the entire voter list is being prepared from the Election Commission's central office, and if the voter list is not being prepared by the ERO or by the SDM, then the voter list of the entire country has effectively become compromised," he added.