CPM LEADER ALLEGES CEC GYANESH KUMAR HAD ‘MANDATE’ TO MANIPULATE ELECTIONS

September 25, 2026

NEW DELHI: Senior CPI(M) leader T.M. Thomas Isaac on Friday alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had an “explicit mandate” to manipulate elections, while citing an earlier vigilance inquiry involving Kumar during his tenure as a civil servant in Kerala. Isaac’s remarks come amid an intensifying political dispute over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Isaac alleged that Kumar, who was serving as Kerala’s PWD secretary in 2006, was removed from the post after the suicide of a director of a Malaysian construction company involved in a World Bank-funded road project. According to Isaac, the suicide note named Kumar and contained allegations of harassment, demands for bribes and delays in clearing bills. These are allegations made by Isaac and were not independently established in the report.

Isaac, who served as Kerala’s finance minister between 2006 and 2011, said a vigilance inquiry was subsequently ordered. He added that Kumar later served in the Defence Ministry and held the post of Resident Commissioner of Kerala House before taking on other responsibilities, including work related to Jammu and Kashmir and the trust associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi temple.

The CPI(M) leader alleged that Kumar later gained the confidence of the BJP leadership and was appointed Election Commissioner with a mandate to influence the electoral process. He linked his allegation to the controversy surrounding voter-list revisions and changes in the system for adding, deleting and restoring voters.

The allegations come after reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months concerning various Election Commission decisions. The Election Commission has maintained that decisions taken during the period were unanimous. There was no immediate response from the commission to Isaac’s allegations.