Kharge Demands Removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Accuses Poll Panel of Undermining Electoral Process

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday demanded the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the Election Commission's handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has compromised public confidence in the electoral process.

Addressing the Congress Working Committee meeting, Kharge accused the CEC of acting in favour of the ruling BJP-led government and said Kumar had “no right to remain in his position”. His remarks came as the Congress discussed its strategy on the ongoing revision of electoral rolls. The Election Commission's official website currently lists Gyanesh Kumar as Chief Election Commissioner, a position he assumed in February 2025.

Kharge alleged that changes to electoral rolls and the voter-registration process could affect citizens' ability to exercise their franchise. He accused the government and the Election Commission of allowing voter names to be removed arbitrarily and said the Congress would continue to raise the issue in Parliament and through public protests.

“The Chief Election Commissioner has become a puppet of the Modi government,” Kharge said, reiterating his demand for Kumar's removal.

The Congress president also questioned the functioning of the Election Commission in relation to the SIR exercise, asking why certain information and decisions concerning the revision process were not being made fully accessible to political parties and voters.

Kharge referred to concerns raised by Congress over duplicate voters, addresses shared by multiple voters and entries made through Form 6, which is used for inclusion of names in electoral rolls. He said greater transparency was necessary to ensure that eligible voters were not wrongly excluded.

The Congress has put forward five demands in relation to the electoral-roll revision process. These include making data on significant changes to voter lists publicly available, providing voters whose names are removed with information and an opportunity to appeal, giving political parties timely access to electoral-roll data in an accessible format, conducting independent and time-bound investigations where serious discrepancies are found, and ensuring greater transparency around election-related data and decisions.

Kharge also criticised what he described as growing political pressure on constitutional institutions. He said the Congress' objections were not intended to weaken the Election Commission but to ensure that the poll body retained sufficient independence and credibility for both the ruling party and the Opposition to have confidence in its decisions.

He further alleged that two Election Commissioners had raised concerns about aspects of the CEC's functioning and questioned the decision-making process surrounding SIR. Reports have separately documented concerns raised within the Election Commission over aspects of the electoral-roll revision process.

Kharge also criticised the government's approach to young voters, alleging that changes to Form 6 could make it harder for eligible young people to register. He linked the issue to the Congress' broader argument that voting rights must remain accessible to all eligible citizens.

The Congress president said the party's campaign would focus on transparency of voter lists, fairness of elections and the independence of constitutional institutions. He also praised Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for raising allegations concerning electoral-roll discrepancies and said Congress workers would continue taking up the issue at the block, district and state levels.

Kharge additionally demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi resign on “moral grounds”, alleging that the CEC had acted under government pressure. These are political allegations made by Kharge and the Congress; the Election Commission and the Union government have their own positions on the SIR process and the functioning of the poll panel.

The Election Commission has described itself as an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering elections, while its current official records list Kumar as CEC alongside Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

Kharge said the Congress would continue to pursue the issue both inside Parliament and through organisational and public action, arguing that voter-list transparency and confidence in the electoral process were central to the functioning of India's democratic system.