‘Gyanesh, it’s done bro!’: CJP turns up heat on CEC after explosive SIR report

In a sarcastic remark directed at the CEC, CJP founder and convener Abhijeet Dipke posted on X, "Election Commission Thik Karo! Important PC tomorrow in Delhi. Gyanesh, it’s done bro!"

Dipke alleged that Kumar had been "scripting" elections by deleting more than 12 crore voter names through the SIR exercise.

He equated the figure to 12.4% of the country's 97 crore electorate and linked it to the approximately 2% vote gap in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

What The Indian Express report said

The controversy follows a report by The Indian Express that detailed differences within the three-member Election Commission involving CEC Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

According to the investigation, Sandhu and Joshi formally raised objections at least 14 times over a period of 10 months to decisions and orders concerning electoral rolls and the SIR. They reportedly said some decisions had been taken without their knowledge.

The objections covered changes to Form 6, access to the electoral-roll database, deletion and restoration of voter names, appeals related to electoral rolls and aspects of the ECI's internal decision-making.

The two Election Commissioners also reportedly raised concerns over what they described as the gradual centralisation of the electoral-roll database.

Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) at the constituency level have statutory responsibility for preparing and maintaining electoral rolls.

According to the investigation, Joshi called for an audit to ensure that only authorised statutory officials could alter the voter database, while Sandhu recorded complaints from state-level officials that they did not have "proper and complete access" to the relevant systems.

The report also said the two Commissioners separately wrote to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan over changes in the ECI's work allocation that they felt could further concentrate control over the IT systems handling electoral rolls.

Election Commission rejects claims of internal rift

The Election Commission has disputed the interpretation of the report, saying that written objections, suggestions and differing views are part of its internal deliberative process.

EC sources said all decisions, including those concerning the SIR, were taken with the approval of all three Election Commissioners and were unanimous.

Opposition reactions

The report triggered strong reactions from several Opposition leaders, with demands ranging from an inquiry into the ECI's functioning to action against Gyanesh Kumar.

Rahul Gandhi: The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged that the BJP, RSS and the Election Commission had committed an "act of treason" over what he described as "vote chori", calling it an attack on the Constitution.

Akhilesh Yadav: The Samajwadi Party chief urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the reported differences within the Election Commission.

Mamata Banerjee: The former West Bengal Chief Minister demanded the arrest and criminal prosecution of Gyanesh Kumar. She also called for fresh Assembly elections in Bengal using the pre-SIR electoral rolls and sought a wider Opposition movement over the issue.

M.K. Stalin: The DMK chief called for a fair and thorough investigation into the developments within the Election Commission and said those responsible should be held accountable.

Uddhav Thackeray: The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief called for Kumar's removal and arrest and demanded an investigation into the functioning of the Election Commission. He also called for the cancellation of decisions he described as incorrect.

Arvind Kejriwal: The AAP chief demanded the arrest of Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the developments revealed by the report had undermined the electoral process.

The reactions came as Opposition parties intensified their criticism of the ECI following the report, while the poll panel maintained that its decisions were taken unanimously.