Gyanesh Kumar: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar finds himself at the centre of a nationwide political storm, with the Congress directing its Rajasthan unit and every other state Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) to march to their respective State Election Commission offices on September 25, demanding his immediate arrest and removal.
What’s Driving The Protest
The nationwide agitation follows a report published on September 23 revealing that two of the three Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions taken during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, several of which they said were made without their knowledge.
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Rajasthan’s Congress Leadership Leads The Charge
In Rajasthan, former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has emerged as one of the sharpest voices in the row, calling the situation an extremely serious threat to democracy and demanding Kumar’s immediate resignation or removal. Gehlot went further, calling on all political parties and citizens across the state to jointly organise a “Rajasthan Bandh” in protest. He linked the controversy to the state’s recent urban local body elections, alleging unilateral delimitation had favoured the BJP, and took a swipe at Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma over the manner of the party’s victory.
The ECI has pushed back against the allegations, maintaining that decisions relating to SIR were taken either unanimously or by majority, and that differing views among commissioners are a normal part of institutional deliberation rather than evidence of wrongdoing.
A Long-Running Confrontation
Gyanesh Kumar: This is not the first time opposition parties have targeted Kumar. Earlier this year, 73 opposition MPs submitted a notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking his removal over alleged misconduct linked to the SIR exercise in West Bengal and Bihar, an effort that was ultimately rejected by both Houses of Parliament in April. Congress leaders, including Jairam Ramesh, had also previously described Kumar as a “weapon of mass destruction” for India’s electoral rolls.
