Key facts
- India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is facing a crisis of trust over electoral roll revisions.
- Over 130 million names have been removed from draft voter lists across India.
- Opposition parties allege the revision process risks disenfranchising eligible voters.
- The Election Commission states the revision aims to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.
- Reports indicate disagreements among the three-member Election Commission regarding the revision process.
- Opposition leaders are reportedly planning a motion in parliament to seek Kumar's removal.
Gyanesh Kumar, India's Chief Election Commissioner, is embroiled in a crisis of trust due to a significant revision of the country's electoral rolls, known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). This exercise has led to over 130 million names being removed from draft voter lists across 30 states and territories, representing about 13% of India's electorate. While the Election Commission states the SIR is intended to eliminate duplicate and ineligible entries, opposition parties and activists have raised concerns that it could disenfranchise eligible voters. Kumar and the commission have denied any political manipulation.
Adding to the controversy, an investigation by The Indian Express revealed that fellow Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders they claimed were issued without their knowledge. These disagreements reportedly touched upon core aspects of the SIR, including voter registration procedures and database access.
In response to the allegations, the commission issued a statement acknowledging differences of opinion as part of normal deliberations but rejecting suggestions of a serious internal rupture. The commission stated that its decisions over the past year, including those related to the SIR, were ultimately unanimous. Kumar, Sandhu, and Joshi also met and released a joint statement addressing the issues raised by the investigation, accompanied by a photograph of the three commissioners together.
Despite the commission's efforts to quell the controversy, opposition parties are reportedly preparing a motion in both houses of parliament to seek Kumar's removal. A youth-led pressure group, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), has also threatened nationwide protests. However, some political figures, such as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, have defended the commission, criticizing attempts to undermine confidence in India's democratic processes.
Kumar, a 62-year-old bureaucrat with a 36-year career, previously built a reputation for handling politically sensitive assignments, including his involvement in drafting the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill and overseeing the implementation of a Supreme Court ruling for a Ram temple in Ayodhya. He was appointed an election commissioner less than two months after retiring from the civil service in January 2024 and became Chief Election Commissioner in February 2025, under a new law that removed the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi had opposed his appointment, arguing for its deferral pending Supreme Court review of the new law.