Indian Election Chief Faces Revolt Over 130 Million Purged Voters
Two Indian election commissioners objected 14 times to unilateral decisions by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as a contentious drive purged over 130 million voter names.
India's Election Commission is embroiled in an escalating constitutional and political crisis following disclosures that two election commissioners repeatedly objected to unilateral decisions made by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during a contentious nationwide voter roll purge. The internal revolt, first reported by The Indian Express and subsequently covered by BBC News Nepali and Onlinekhabar, has triggered street demonstrations in New Delhi and calls from opposition parties for Kumar's resignation or arrest.
According to an investigation by journalist Ritika Chopra for The Indian Express, cited by Onlinekhabar, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi submitted written dissents on at least 14 separate occasions between November 2025 and August 2026. The two commissioners protested that Kumar repeatedly bypassed them, issuing directives in the commission's name without obtaining the full panel's approval. Under Article 324 of the Indian Constitution and Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act of 2023, the three-member body operates on consensus or majority rule, with the chief commissioner functioning strictly as first among equals.
Centralisation and Purged Rolls
The internal rift centers on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a nationwide drive launched in October 2025 that removed over 130 million (13 crore) names from preliminary voter rolls across 30 states and union territories. The election body stated that the exercise was necessary to remove deceased, migrated, and duplicate entries for the first time in 25 years, BBC News Nepali reported. However, Sandhu and Joshi objected to unauthorized changes made to voter registration Form 6, which made enrollment conditional on proving ancestors' presence in past registers without mandatory statutory amendments.
Onlinekhabar reported that the dissenting commissioners also raised alarms over the centralisation of electoral software under the commission's information technology directorate in New Delhi. In Goa, local registration officers were blocked by centralized software controls from restoring 97 verified voters ahead of publication, despite explicit Supreme Court orders granting affected citizens hearings.
Protests and Arrests
The revelations have ignited widespread political fury across India. Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the commission of electoral theft and treason, while West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded Kumar's arrest and insisted future state polls use pre-revision rolls, BBC News Nepali reported.
Protests quickly spilled onto the streets. In New Delhi, police detained Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary M.A. Baby alongside Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) leaders Sucheta De and Shweta Raj during a joint demonstration outside the commission's headquarters, according to Onlinekhabar. Meanwhile, the youth-led Cockroach Janata Party announced a nationwide court-arrest campaign after Mumbai authorities barred their planned demonstration at Shivaji Park, Onlinekhabar reported.
The commission defended itself by calling dissenting views a standard part of deliberation, while India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party dismissed the backlash as an opposition attempt to undermine public institutions after repeated electoral defeats.