The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has called out the Modi government and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over repeated allegations of ‘Vote-Chori’ (vote theft), citing an investigative report by The Indian Express. Following the report’s revelations, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal described the matter as the biggest scam in independent India and pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were winning elections through vote theft. He also revealed Gyanesh Kumar being the “chief” of vote-chori and demanded his immediate arrest and prosecution for treason.
The AAP Chief further questioned the legality of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, stating that it was being carried out without the approval of the Election Commission of India. He demanded that the SIR process be scrapped, the voter list from three years ago be restored, and state Assembly elections held in recent years, including those in Delhi and Bihar, be cancelled and conducted again.
Addressing a press conference, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal stated, “People in this country had so far only heard that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah were winning one election after another by ‘vote-chori’ (vote theft). Today, a story published by The Indian Express has established that they are actually stealing votes and winning elections through a massive vote scam.”
The AAP Chief said, “The mastermind behind this ‘vote-chori’, on behalf of PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, is CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Through this press conference, we demand that Gyanesh Kumar be arrested and prosecuted. We also demand that all elections held in Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Haryana over the past few years be cancelled and conducted afresh.”
He emphasised, “The Supreme Court has ruled that the Election Commission does not mean one individual leads it. The Election Commission means three people. There is one Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. All three meet together, and decisions are taken either unanimously or by majority.”
The AAP Chief asserted, “None of these three has the authority to take decisions individually. No one person can run the Election Commission. No individual can issue orders to Election Commission officials. The Chief Election Commissioner is called ‘first among equals’. The Chief Election Commissioner only chairs and presides over the meetings. The CEC does not have any independent authority.”
Referring to The Indian Express report, he stated, “Today’s story in The Indian Express says that Gyanesh Kumar has been leading the Election Commission single-handedly for the past few years. Both Election Commissioners have repeatedly submitted written complaints that officials and officers below them are being issued orders without the approval of the Election Commission.”
He added, “On October 28, 2025, Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu wrote to the Election Commissioner stating, ‘Letters and orders are being issued in the name of the Election Commission of India without the approval of the Central Election Commission.’ Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu is one of the Election Commissioners. He wrote to his Chief Election Commissioner that orders were being issued without the approval of the Election Commission.”
The AAP Chief continued, “On April 16, 2026, Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu again wrote that he had learnt through the media about modules related to Information Technology. He wrote, ‘Official communication is being issued without the approval of the Central Election Commission.’ On April 24, Dr. Vivek Joshi, who is another Election Commissioner, wrote, ‘Official communication is being issued without the approval of the Central Election Commission.’ How many letters will they have to write?”
He emphasised, “Letter after letter and note after note are being sent, stating that orders and circulars are being issued without meetings of the Election Commission and without its official approval. All these orders and circulars are illegal and unconstitutional. They are illegal because they were not issued with the required approval.”
The AAP Chief stated, “The Election Commission has not held meetings for several months, while Gyanesh Kumar has continued issuing orders. He keeps issuing orders on his own, saying, ‘Do this, do that. The Special Intensive Revision, through which more than 13 crore names have been deleted across 30 states, is completely illegal because it was not officially approved by the Election Commission. All orders passed under the SIR are illegal because they were not officially approved by the Election Commission. The entire SIR process should be cancelled.”
He further stated, “The same Indian Express story says that under the Constitution and the law, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of every area has the authority to add new voters and delete incorrect or ineligible entries. This officer is called the Electoral Registration Officer, or ERO. From the top to the bottom, the ERO alone has the authority to add or delete anyone’s vote. Even Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar does not have the authority to add or delete an individual’s vote.”
He said, “The two Election Commissioners have alleged that the ERO’s access has been restricted. The ERO is the person who goes to the ERO website and adds, deletes or alters people’s names. The ERO’s access has been shut down. The ERO’s access has been restricted.”
The AAP Chief asserted, “And sitting in Delhi, some people within the Election Commission now have access to the voter lists of the entire country. This means that they can delete anyone’s vote or add anyone’s vote anywhere in the country. The power given under the Constitution to the ERO has been taken away, while people sitting inside the Election Commission building have been given the authority to delete or add anyone’s vote anywhere in the country. There cannot be a bigger scam in this country than this.”
He stated, “The freedom fighters of our country fought for independence for two reasons. First, they wanted to drive the British out. Second, they wanted our country to have democracy. The people should have the right to choose their government. If the entire voter list is being prepared from the central office of their Election Commission, rather than by the EROs and SDMs, then it means that the voter lists across the country have been compromised.”
The AAP Chief demanded, “All changes made to the voter lists over the past two to three years should be rejected, and the voter list from three years ago should be restored.”
He added, “Whenever a person wants to get a new voter card, they have to fill Form 6. The changes that have been made to this process, both Election Commissioners have stated, are illegal and unconstitutional. Therefore, all the new votes created under this process should be rejected.”
The AAP Chief reiterated the demands, stating, “Today, we demand that the entire SIR process be cancelled. All changes made under SIR should be cancelled and the entire voter list from three years ago should be restored. Second, Gyanesh Kumar should be arrested and a case of sedition should be registered against him. Third, the elections held over the past few years in Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh should be cancelled and fresh elections should be conducted.”
Arvind Kejriwal asserted, “I believe this is the biggest scandal in independent India and something that shakes the very foundations of our country.”
