Election Commission dissent sparks Opposition call for CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s removal

Opposition parties on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) stated that Parliament should immediately begin impeachment proceedings against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar after an Indian Express ‘expose’ claimed that two of the three Election Commissioners — Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi — formally recorded objections at least 14 times over ten months. They asserted that major decisions were being made in the name of the full Election Commission without their knowledge, several of which they labeled as “unauthorized and illegal.”

The Opposition parties also asked the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the report.

Election Commission of India (ECI) sources responded by saying that “all decisions of the Election Commission of India, including the SIR, have been unanimous and with the approval of both the Election Commissioners (ECs) and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)”.

According to the report, both the Election Commissioners red-flagged several key issues, led by the centralisation of the electoral rolls. In May this year, EC Vivek Joshi proposed an audit to certify that “no one except the concerned statutory authorities has any credentials to make any change in the [voter] database.” In August, EC Sukhbir Singh Sandhu recorded that State-level election officials were reporting that they do not have proper and complete access” to the ERONet portal — the digital system through which the electoral rolls are maintained. He further flagged that the Commission’s Director-General of IT Seema Khanna “does not have any legal authority to restrict proper and complete access and freedom to operate as given by law to the statutory authorities”.

The two ECs said Form 6 — which new voters must fill out to register— was altered to ask whether the applicant or their parents/grandparents “exist” on the electoral roll of the last SIR. EC Joshi had warned as early as May that such a statutory form cannot be changed without amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and Mr. Sandhu had agreed calling the change “unauthorised and illegal” in August, demanding its immediate removal.

Election Commissioner Sandhu also questioned who had authorised the Commission in West Bengal to file appeals against voters whom judicial tribunals had already included in the rolls — with 38 lakh appeals pending.

The Goa case where 97 voters found eligible by local Electoral Registration Officers after a Supreme Court-mandated hearing were left off the final roll because the centrally-controlled software had no mechanism to record the EROs’ decision, despite the CEO’s office writing eight times seeking a rollback option was also flagged by them.

Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said that, following the expose, CEC Gyanesh Kumar has no right to remain in office.

“How the hell can one man, acting on His Master’s orders, strike off names at whim? How can he sideline fellow Constitutional officers to only take blatantly illegal steps that put our democracy in danger? The right to vote is an essential Constitutional power given to every citizen, the fundamental bedrock of our democracy. If it is to be taken away, due process must be followed with utmost probity. Today, when we are staring at crores of genuine voters being excluded and a similar number of bogus voters being added to the rolls, it is clear that Gyanesh Kumar was the Chief Architect of the nationwide Vote Chori exercise, with the Modi top brass pulling the strings,” he said in a post on X.

There is no doubt remaining. Mr. Gyanesh Kumar has no right to remain in office. How the hell can one man, acting on His Master's orders, strike off names at whim? How can he sideline fellow Constitutional officers to only take blatantly illegal steps that put our democracy in… pic.twitter.com/W5ej7C7TZW

“We demand Gyanesh Kumar’s immediate removal and a Supreme Court-monitored impartial investigation to expose the rot that has destroyed the ECI’s credibility. If Gyanesh Kumar remains in office, the people of India will come forward and make sure that our democracy is not destroyed by a mere bureaucrat,” Mr. Venugopal added.

Congress MP Manish Tewari said if rules were not allegedly followed and decisions were taken that were not unanimous or by majority then “all the decisions of ECI are per -se arbitrary and capricious if not completely illegal”.

If the ostensible facts as reported by @IndianExpress are correct then it seems to suggest that there is an ' invisible hand ' running the @ECISVEEP . If rules were not allegedly followed and decisions were taken that were not unanimous or by majority then all the decisions of… https://t.co/OZzGFNMLZypic.twitter.com/ub9ghVvHiJ

“If the ostensible facts as reported by The Indian Express are correct then it seems to suggest that there is an “invisible hand” running the Election Commission. This is perhaps a fit case for serious considering an impeachment proceeding but more importantly the fundamental question is as to how will the credibility of ECI be ever resurrected,” he said in a post on X.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said this directly means that all Election Commissioners are not able to perform their rightful duties.

“If the members of an independent body do not have the freedom to carry out just actions or if there is no hearing of theirs, then these are extremely fatal and dangerous circumstances for democracy. For some people to betray democracy by becoming puppets of those in power is a grave constitutional crime. This is nothing less than a conspiracy to wipe out democracy,” he said urging the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance.

CPI(M)’s John Brittas alleged the Election Commission had become “a one-man autocracy under CEC Gyanesh 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. This is the open subversion of the EC and our democracy too!,” he said adding that Parliament must immediately start the process for the removal of the CEC and 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. What Gyanesh Kumar is doing is the death knell of a democratic nation”. Mr. Brittas added.

This is no longer an Election Commission. It is a one-man autocracy under CEC Gyanesh 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."Thy recorded objections to… pic.twitter.com/NVZ6KRw8LS

The Rajya Sabha MP of the Mamata Trinamool Congress, Derek O’Brien, stated that five months ago, more than 60 Rajya Sabha MPs (with only 50 needed) wrote to the RS Chairman, moving a 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,” Mr. O’ Brien said.