Election Commission – Express Investigation Reactions LIVE: Congress, TMC react to Express investigation on Election Commission
Opposition parties have questioned the Election Commission and CEC Gyanesh Kumar after Express report revealed that two Election Commissioners raised concerns.
· The Indian Express · JoinThe Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar have faced Opposition scrutiny after an Indian Express report revealed that two out of three Election Commissioners complained about being kept in the dark, adding new voters, and deleting names. Calling the decisions regarding new voters “unauthorised and illegal,” Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi warned against voter database access being ‘centralised’ in Delhi, bypassing state officials.
‘Gyanesh is ruling like a dictator,’ says Congress
Congress hit out at Kumar, stating that “Gyanesh is ruling like a dictator just like his boss Modi and is engaged in ‘vote theft’ to please Modi [sic].”
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In a post on X, Congress said, “We have said this before as well – Modi has captured the Election Commission. Gyanesh Kumar is Modi’s puppet. This fact is proven by this report from the Indian Express. Modi and Gyanesh together have caused great damage to the country’s democracy.”
‘Invisible hand is running the Election Commission’, says Congress leader Manish Tewari:
Congress leader Manish Tewari said the findings suggest an “invisible hand is running the Election Commission”.
“If the ostensible facts as reported by Indian Express are correct, then it seems to suggest that there is an ‘invisible hand ‘ running the ECISVEEP. 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. This is perhaps a fit case for serious considering an impeachment proceeding but more importantly the fundamental question is as to how will the credibility of ECISVEEP be ever resurrected [sic],” Tewari wrote on X.
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Sep 23, 2026 12:00 PM IST
‘Illegal, unauthorised’: Election Commissioners objected to Form 6 change
The change is “illegal,” “unauthorised,” it needs to be sent to the Government…it must be removed immediately so that young, first-time voters are not harassed. The warning by the two Election Commissioners couldn’t have been clearer — and yet it was ignored.
The change brought questions related to SIR into Form 6, the form new voters have to fill. It asked applicants to choose one of three statements: whether their name appeared in electoral roll during the last SIR held in the early 2000s, whether the name of a parent or grandparent appeared in that roll, or whether neither their name nor that of their parents appeared in it.
Sep 23, 2026 11:59 AM IST
What Election Commission rift reveals: Cloud over its conduct
There has been dissent within the Election Commission earlier but never before have two Election Commissioners put on record objections that touch the heart of the electoral process itself: new voters, deleting names, the IT system that secures the entire voters’ list.
Concentration of powers: You may be legally entitled to vote but now you may hit the “system hurdle”. Your Electoral Registration Officer may not be able to ensure your right. That’s what happened in Goa where 97 people met the ERO’s requirements. They produced their documents, the ERO found them eligible but the software, controlled from EC headquarters in Delhi, didn’t allow the ERO’s decisions to be recorded. A voter can be eligible, prove it, be found eligible by the officer the law appoints, and still not be on the roll when the day comes, because the roll is a centrally controlled system that cut the ERO out.
Sep 23, 2026 11:57 AM IST
Election Commissioners knocked on Cabinet Secretary’s door over voter software integrity
The promise was sweeping. On January 22, the Election Commission of India (ECI) launched ECINet, the tech backbone for almost a billion voters, bringing more than 40 of its apps and portals under one roof. It was built in strict accordance with the law, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said. It would “enhance transparency, credibility and public trust”, said Seema Khanna, the Director General of IT in the Commission.
Within months, this very platform the CEC and his DG(IT) had called lawful and trustworthy was unravelling — state officers, prescribed by law to add or delete names and update records, were finding themselves shut out of the system, their access restricted by Khanna’s team in New Delhi.
Sep 23, 2026 11:56 AM IST
14 times in 10 months, two Election Commissioners objected on record to poll panel steps
The Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which began in Bihar in June 2025, an otherwise routine clean-up of the rolls, has struck more than 13 crore names off the draft voter rolls in 30 States and Union Territories. This has put the Election Commission at the centre of intense public debate over its role in deciding who gets to vote — and who doesn’t.
An investigation by The Indian Express reveals that questions were raised on these very issues within the three-member Election Commission (EC) itself, time and again through much of this same period. By two of the three Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, no less.
Sep 23, 2026 11:40 AM IST
‘Gyanesh is ruling like a dictator,’ says Congress
Congress hit out at Kumar, stating that “Gyanesh is ruling like a dictator just like his boss Modi and is engaged in ‘vote theft’ to please Modi [sic].”
In a post on X, Congress said, “We have said this before as well – Modi has captured the Election Commission. Gyanesh Kumar is Modi’s puppet. This fact is proven by this report from the Indian Express. Modi and Gyanesh together have caused great damage to the country’s democracy.”
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Sep 23, 2026 11:40 AM IST
‘Invisible hand is running the Election Commission’, says Congress leader Manish Tewari
Congress leader Manish Tewari said the findings suggest an “invisible hand is running the Election Commission”.
“If the ostensible facts as reported by Indian Express are correct, then it seems to suggest that there is an ‘invisible hand ‘ running the ECISVEEP. 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. This is perhaps a fit case for serious considering an impeachment proceeding but more importantly the fundamental question is as to how will the credibility of ECISVEEP be ever resurrected [sic],” Tewari wrote on X.
Sep 23, 2026 11:36 AM IST
Opposition targets CEC Gyanesh Kumar after Express report reveals internal rift
The Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar have faced Opposition scrutiny after an Indian Express report revealed that two out of three Election Commissioners complained about being kept in the dark, adding new voters, and deleting names. Calling the decisions regarding new voters “unauthorised and illegal,” Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi warned against voter database access being ‘centralised’ in Delhi, bypassing state officials.
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