CONGRESS ALLEGES MODI-SHAH BACKING FOR GYANESH KUMAR AMID EC CONTROVERSY

September 24, 2026

NEW DELHI: The Congress has alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s decisions were taken with the knowledge, support and alleged intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh made the allegations amid growing opposition criticism over reported objections raised by two Election Commissioners concerning electoral-roll procedures.

Ramesh accused Kumar of acting in coordination with the Union government, while other Congress leaders demanded his resignation and called for action against him. The party has linked the controversy to the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and alleged irregularities in electoral-roll management.

The Indian Express report cited by opposition parties stated that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over matters including voter deletions, restoration of names and changes to electoral procedures.

The Election Commission has rejected suggestions of institutional dysfunction, stating that differing views and observations are part of normal deliberations. It has maintained that all orders issued by the full Commission over the past year, including those concerning SIR, were based on unanimous decisions.