The Election Commission rejected suggestions of a lack of consensus after a newspaper report on objections by two Election Commissioners, prompting Opposition demands against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

BulletsIn

• The Indian Express reported on 23 September that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections at least 14 times over ten months.
• The objections concerned decisions linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, including additions and deletions of voters.
• The report also cited concerns over changes to Form 6, used to apply for voter registration, and the centralisation of electoral-roll data systems.
• The Election Commission said differing views are a normal part of institutional deliberation before a final decision is taken.
• It maintained that all its decisions, including those on SIR, were approved unanimously by the full Commission.
• The Commission said the report highlighted selected internal notes from a ten-month period while leaving out a larger body of approvals and decisions.
• Congress and other Opposition parties sought action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with demands ranging from resignation and removal to an independent probe.
• A notice seeking the CEC's removal, submitted by Opposition MPs in April 2026, remains pending.
• Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the reported objections.
• The SIR began in Bihar in June 2025, and the CEC announced the nationwide exercise on 27 October 2025.
• On 27 May 2026, the Supreme Court upheld the SIR as within the Election Commission's statutory mandate under the Representation of the People Act.

Tags: ElectionCommissionOfIndia, SpecialIntensiveRevision, GyaneshKumar