Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal has demanded the arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid a political controversy over reported objections by two Election Commissioners to decisions concerning electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision. The Congress plans to discuss the issue in the CWC and INDIA bloc meetings.
Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 2026 : Congress general secretary and organising secretary K.C. Venugopal on Friday demanded the arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saying that his resignation was not sufficient, amid a widening political controversy over the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Venugopal said the developments surrounding the poll panel would be discussed at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) next week. He also announced that the INDIA bloc would hold a meeting to deliberate on the issue.
His remarks came after reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period to decisions and processes concerning electoral-roll management, voter registration and related matters.
The reported disagreements have particularly focused attention on the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. According to reports, the objections included issues relating to changes to Form 6, access to electoral-roll databases, centralisation of certain election-related software and voter deletion appeals in West Bengal.
The controversy has triggered strong reactions from Opposition parties, which have demanded Kumar's removal and, in some cases, his arrest. Congress units have also organised protests against the CEC and the functioning of the poll panel. In Thiruvananthapuram, Congress leaders and workers marched towards the Lok Bhavan on Friday as part of the party's campaign.
The Congress has argued that the reported objections raise questions about the decision-making process within the three-member constitutional body. The Election Commission, however, has rejected suggestions of a breakdown in its functioning. ECI sources have said that differing views and observations are part of institutional deliberations and maintained that decisions, including those relating to SIR, were ultimately taken unanimously by the full Commission.
The ECI's structure provides for a three-member Commission headed by the Chief Election Commissioner. Recent reports have highlighted that although Sandhu and Joshi recorded objections to several matters, the Commission continued to present a united public position at key briefings. India Today reported that the three commissioners held several joint briefings during the period in which the objections were recorded.
CPI(M) leader and former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also criticised Kumar, demanding his removal and a halt to the SIR exercise. Vijayan alleged that the CEC had overridden views recorded by the other two Election Commissioners and questioned the transparency of electoral-roll revision exercises.
He also called for the restoration of voting rights to people whom he alleged may have been unfairly excluded from electoral rolls. Vijayan urged democratic groups to participate in protests planned between September 26 and October 2, framing them as a campaign concerning constitutional and democratic institutions.
The dispute has now moved beyond demands for the CEC's resignation. A public interest litigation filed in the Supreme Court has also sought action over alleged decisions taken without the concurrence of a majority of Election Commissioners, while asking for scrutiny of the SIR process.
With the Congress preparing to take up the matter in its organisational forums and the Opposition considering coordinated action, the controversy over the ECI's functioning and electoral-roll revisions is set for further political and legal scrutiny.
