Gyanesh Kumar: The row over an alleged internal rift within the Election Commission of India (ECI) escalated sharply on September 23, 2026, after AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal demanded the arrest of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of masterminding a vote-rigging scheme.
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What Kejriwal Alleged
Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said a report by The Indian Express had confirmed earlier opposition allegations of electoral manipulation, calling Gyanesh Kumar the “mastermind” behind it. He said the CEC had been running the Commission single-handedly instead of functioning as a three-member body, citing written objections from Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over orders allegedly issued without their approval.
Kejriwal demanded that Gyanesh Kumar be arrested and prosecuted on sedition charges, and that recent elections in Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal and Maharashtra be annulled and re-held. He also called for scrapping the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise entirely, claiming around 13 crore voter names were deleted from rolls across 30 states without the Commission’s formal approval.
The Government’s Reaction
The Election Commission pushed back through an official statement, saying “differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution” and form part of the decision-making process before a final call is taken.
The BJP echoed this defence, saying reports of commissioners sharing differing views actually demonstrated the poll body was functioning democratically, and argued this undercut the opposition’s claim that the ECI was acting in a “dictatorial” manner.
Wider Political Fallout
Gyanesh Kumar: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi separately accused the BJP, RSS and the Election Commission of committing “an act of treason,” while CPI(M) MP John Brittas called the situation a “one-man autocracy” and pressed for Parliament to begin removal proceedings against the CEC.
