Opposition demands CEC removal after dissent report

Opposition parties demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, after a report claimed that two of the three Election Commissioners formally recorded at least 14 objections over ten months to decisions taken by the poll panel without their knowledge. The report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected to decisions linked to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, with four of the objections recorded on a single day. The objections covered new voter registration, deletions and restorations of voters, electoral roll software access, and appeals filed against judicial decisions during the revision exercise. Among the specific issues flagged, Commissioner Vivek Joshi recorded objections on May 16, 2026, stating that Form 6, the statutory form new voters must fill to register, could not be altered without amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.