Full Breakdown
Internal Dissent Over the Special Intensive Revision of Voter Rolls
By Drooid · · How we work
The Core Event
Two Election Commissioners—Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi—recorded formal objections at least 14 times over a 10-month period to decisions taken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The objections covered voter registration and deletion, changes to Form 6, and the centralisation of the voter database. The commissioners say these actions were taken without their knowledge or approval, raising questions about the internal functioning of the three-member poll body.
Background to the SIR Exercise
The SIR, a nationwide cleanup of electoral rolls, began in June of the previous year and aims to remove ineligible entries. It is overseen by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar together with the two other commissioners. Opposition parties and civil-society groups argue that the removal of roughly 13 crore names could disenfranchise large numbers of voters.
Scale of the Roll Cleanup
- 13 crore (130 million) names have been deleted from draft rolls across 31 states and Union Territories.
- The deletions have triggered appeals from voters and concerns from state-level Electoral Registration Officers about restricted access to the EC’s digital platform, ECINet.
Election Commission’s Official Position
The commission emphasized that decisions on the SIR were “unanimous” and approved by all three commissioners, and that its digital platforms operate under strict data-security protocols.
Opposition and Party Criticism
- Arvind Kejriwal, AAP chief, demanded the immediate arrest of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the cancellation of the entire SIR, citing the commissioners’ objections.
- Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress president, called the objections “tampering with democracy” and highlighted a notice submitted on April 24, 2026 by 73 Rajya Sabha MPs seeking the CEC’s removal.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
The ECI maintains that all SIR decisions were unanimous, while the Indian Express investigation and statements from Sandhu and Joshi describe the objections as formal complaints indicating lack of approval.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Both the Election Commissioners -- Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have repeatedly submitted written complaints that orders are being issued to officers below them without the approval or authorisation of the Election Commission,” — Arvind Kejriwal, AAP chief
- “If rules were not allegedly followed and decisions were taken that were not unanimous or by majority then all the decisions of @ECISVEEP are per -se arbitrary and capricious if not completely illegal,” — Manish Tewari
What’s Next
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has cancelled its programmes scheduled for September 24, 2026, and will hold a press conference in Delhi on that date to address what it calls the “Hijacking of India’s Democracy.” The parliamentary motion to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar, filed on April 24, 2026, remains pending ahead of the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.