Election Commission denies rift over SIR, says all decisions unanimous
After a report claimed two election commissioners repeatedly objected to SIR decisions, the Election Commission said all its calls have been unanimous
A fierce debate is underway over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in several states. Amid this, reports had surfaced of differences within the Election Commission over the process. The reports said the Chief Election Commissioner and the other two election commissioners did not agree on some decisions related to SIR, and that the two commissioners had objected to the process in several meetings. The Election Commission has flatly rejected all these claims.
A media report had claimed that during SIR, the two election commissioners raised objections to the Commission's decisions 14 times over 10 months. Following this claim, all three commissioners held a joint press conference to clarify their position. The Commission said every decision related to SIR was taken unanimously and there was no discord within the Commission. It said all decisions were taken with the agreement of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
The Commission also said that the election commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner may hold differing personal views on any subject, but all decisions of the Commission, including on SIR, have been taken unanimously, with the approval of the Chief Election Commissioner and both election commissioners. Responding to questions about differences, the commissioners said opinions may differ, but a decision is taken only after all election commissioners reach agreement.
The question is what the media report had actually claimed. According to the report, election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected to several decisions and orders. The report said that between November 2025 and August 2026, the two commissioners raised at least 14 written objections. These objections covered issues including changes to Form 6, addition and deletion of names from electoral rolls, appeals against voter-related decisions, and access to election data. The report also said that in some cases, the two commissioners questioned how decisions and orders were issued without their knowledge. These objections were also conveyed to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Following the report, opposition parties questioned the functioning of the Election Commission and sought an explanation from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The opposition alleged that Gyanesh Kumar was running the Commission as he pleased, and that in the three-member Election Commission, only his decision prevailed. The Congress alleged that Gyanesh Kumar was acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
