Congress workers staged demonstrations across several states on September 25, demanding the resignation and removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Protests were reported in Delhi, Chandigarh, Patna, Jammu, Dehradun, Kolkata, Lucknow and other cities, with police using water cannons in Chandigarh and Patna and detaining some protesters, including Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi.
The demonstrations followed a The Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised at least 14 objections over 10 months regarding decisions linked to voter registration, deletion and restoration of names and electoral-roll databases.
The ECI has rejected claims of an institutional split, saying internal observations are part of normal deliberations and that its final decisions, including on SIR, were unanimous.
Meanwhile, Congress is considering a removal motion against Kumar, a fresh Supreme Court plea has sought an SIT probe into alleged voter deletions, and Union minister Chirag Paswan has urged the ECI to publicly clarify its position.
Protests Escalate Across States
The Congress protests followed the party’s direction to its state units to march to State Election Commission offices demanding Kumar’s removal, arrest and an independent review of electoral-roll changes. In Delhi, security was tightened around the Election Commission headquarters, while the Indian Youth Congress marched towards Jantar Mantar seeking Kumar’s resignation.
Demonstrations were also reported in Chandigarh, Patna, Jammu, Dehradun, Kolkata, Lucknow and other locations. Police used water cannons to disperse protesters in Chandigarh, while similar action was reported in Patna; in Assam, Congress leaders including Gaurav Gogoi were detained during demonstrations.
The protests have been accompanied by increasingly strong political statements. Congress president KC Venugopal said the party was demanding Kumar’s “immediate arrest” and removal, along with an independent review of electoral-roll decisions taken under him.
Rahul Gandhi has also demanded Kumar’s resignation, alleging that elections had been “rigged” and repeating his broader “vote chori” claims. These allegations are contested by the ECI and the BJP and have not been established by a court.
Union minister Chirag Paswan, while not endorsing the opposition’s allegations, said the Election Commission should address the questions being raised. “If questions are being raised on Election Commission, which is an independent constitutional body, responsibility lies with CEC to present his stance clearly,” Paswan said, adding that it was problematic if people began doubting the electoral process.
What Triggered The Row?
The latest confrontation follows a September 23 Indian Express investigation reporting that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally recorded at least 14 objections between October 2025 and August 2026.
According to the report, their concerns covered several aspects of electoral-roll management, including the addition of new voters, deletion and restoration of names, changes to Form 6 used for voter registration, appeals concerning electoral-roll decisions and access to voter databases.
The report also highlighted objections over what the two commissioners described as the possible “centralisation” of electoral-roll databases and concerns about access to the software used by statutory election officials. In one instance, Sandhu reportedly described a change to Form 6 as “unauthorised and illegal”, while both commissioners raised concerns about how electoral-roll data was being accessed and managed.
The ECI has rejected the interpretation that these objections amount to an institutional breakdown. The poll panel has maintained that internal questions, feedback and administrative suggestions are part of the normal functioning of a multi-member constitutional body, and that final decisions, including those related to SIR, were unanimous.
The distinction is important: the reported objections document disagreements or concerns raised during the Commission’s internal processes, but they do not by themselves establish that electoral rolls were unlawfully manipulated or that elections were rigged.
13 Crore Names At Centre
The dispute has also been fuelled by the scale of the SIR exercise. The Indian Express reported that more than 13 crore names were absent from draft electoral rolls across 30 states and Union Territories following the revision process. However, the figure should not be read as 13 crore confirmed cases of wrongful deletion.
Electoral rolls are revised for several reasons, including deaths, migration and duplicate entries, while voters can also seek inclusion or restoration through the prescribed process.
West Bengal has become one of the key flashpoints. The Election Commission recently told the Supreme Court that 27.16 lakh voters were removed during the state’s SIR exercise, of whom more than 22 lakh had filed appeals seeking reinstatement.
Overall, 38.31 lakh appeals were filed, including 22.21 lakh seeking inclusion and 16.10 lakh seeking further deletions. The ECI said the deletions included voters classified as absent, shifted, dead or duplicate after verification.
The issue has now moved beyond street protests. Congress has reached out to opposition parties over a possible removal motion against Kumar in both Houses of Parliament. Separately, a fresh petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a declaration that decisions allegedly taken without majority concurrence were illegal, along with an SIT investigation into the alleged deletion of around 13 crore voters.
The petition also seeks action over alleged changes to Form 6 and other electoral-roll procedures. These remain prayers and allegations contained in the petition, not findings by the Supreme Court.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
India’s electoral process ultimately depends not only on the accuracy of voter rolls but also on public confidence that every eligible citizen can participate and that concerns about the process can be examined transparently.
The current dispute involves serious allegations from the Opposition, a detailed media investigation into internal ECI objections and a categorical response from the poll panel that its final decisions were unanimous. Rather than allowing political confrontation to deepen distrust, the focus should remain on transparent explanations, accessible records, due process for voters seeking restoration and institutional dialogue.
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