By Jagjagran | 28 September 2026
The Election Commission of India is facing its most serious credibility crisis in years, with the Opposition INDIA bloc set to meet on 30 September to push for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
WHAT SPARKED THE ROW
The controversy began with a report in The Indian Express on 23 September. It stated that two of the three Election Commissioners — Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi — had recorded objections at least 14 times over 10 months against decisions taken under CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The objections centred on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, during which more than 13 crore names have been removed from draft rolls. Key concerns reportedly included:
→ Form 6: A mid-July change asking whether an applicant or their parents were on the last SIR roll — which the Commissioners called "unauthorised and illegal."
→ Unapproved communications going out in the ECI's name.
→ Centralisation of the voter database.
→ Questions over who authorised 16.10 lakh appeals in West Bengal.
THE ECI'S RESPONSE
On Saturday, the full Commission met and pushed back. It said all SIR decisions were unanimous and noted the Supreme Court upheld the SIR on 27 May 2026.
It also announced reforms: agendas and minutes for all meetings, a legal-compliance review of the ECINet database, home visits by officials instead of in-person hearings for those served notices, and extended deadlines — Delhi to 30 October and Maharashtra to 12 October.
Critics noted the ECI did not explicitly deny that the 14 objections were made.
THE POLITICAL BATTLE
The reaction was fierce. Congress's Jairam Ramesh called it a "wishy-washy Press Note" and said "nothing short of the CEC's resignation or prosecution will suffice." Rahul Gandhi warned: "There are going to be consequences to this."
The BJP defended the Commission, with party president Nitin Nabin saying "every decision relating to the SIR was taken unanimously by the full Commission."
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
→ 29 September: Congress Working Committee meets
→ 30 September: INDIA bloc meets at the Constitution Club, New Delhi — Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav expected
→ A fresh removal notice is being drafted with at least 12 allegations — the Opposition's third attempt
WHAT'S CONFIRMED VS ALLEGED
Confirmed: The SIR is legal (Supreme Court, May 2026). Large-scale deletions happened. The dissent report exists, and the ECI has not denied the objections were made.
Alleged / unproven: "Vote chori" (vote theft) remains a political allegation. No court has found evidence of it.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The Election Commission is meant to be the neutral referee of India's democracy. With dissent now reportedly coming from inside the Commission and the Opposition uniting for a removal push, the real question is no longer just whether the process is legal — it's whether the public still trusts the referee.
Sources: The Indian Express, ThePrint, The Federal, The Wire, ETV Bharat, News on Air (PIB). (Balanced reporting: both ECI/BJP and Opposition positions included.)
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