OPPOSITION DEMANDS REMOVAL OF CEC GYANESH KUMAR AMID SIR CONTROVERSY

September 23, 2026

NEW DELHI: Opposition leaders on Wednesday intensified demands for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, following a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over electoral-roll management and aspects of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal called for Kumar’s arrest and cancellation of the SIR exercise, while Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray demanded his removal and arrest. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said Kumar should resign, while TMC leaders Derek O’Brien and Abhishek Banerjee renewed calls for his removal and further investigation into the functioning of the Election Commission.

The controversy follows reports that the two Election Commissioners had objected at least 14 times over 10 months to matters including voter additions and deletions, changes to Form 6 and the centralisation of electoral-roll data. The report also said more than 13 crore names were struck off draft electoral rolls across 30 states and Union territories during the SIR exercise.

The Election Commission has rejected reports of a division within the poll panel, maintaining that decisions relating to SIR and other matters were taken unanimously by the three commissioners. The EC has said the revision is intended to remove ineligible and duplicate entries while ensuring that eligible voters are included in accordance with law.