International media eyes alleged differences in Election Commission of India and SIR process

The report of alleged differences within the Election Commission in India is also being discussed in the foreign media.

India's leading English newspaper Indian Express reported that two Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections 14 times on the decisions taken by the Commission in the last ten months.

According to the newspaper report, both the election commissioners said that they were not included in the important decisions taken during this period.

After this report of 'Indian Express', Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is in the news all over the country.

At the same time, comments are being published on this in the international media.

'Indications of serious objections within the election system'

The American newspaper 'New York Times', while referring to this report of 'Indian Express', has written, "The Election Commission of India implemented such things rapidly, due to which there was a danger of crores of people being deprived of voting. Meanwhile, two of the three election commissioners had raised objections regarding the legality of these steps. This has come to light in a sensational report published in a leading Indian newspaper on Wednesday.

The New York Times has written, "Opposition parties in India have often accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using his influence on the voting process to strengthen the power of his Bharatiya Janata Party. But this report, for the first time, is indicating serious objections being raised from within the election system.

The New York Times writes, "The main focus of the newspaper's investigation was on a process called Special Intensive Review (SIR). This process started last year. It was presented as an attempt to correct the voter lists of the world's largest democracy. But it faced serious challenges from the very beginning.

''This process has not been completed yet. There has been a lot of chaos in this and the poorest people of the country have been burdened with the burden of submitting documents whose requirements sometimes do not match each other. Earlier this year, names of lakhs of people were removed during the revision of voter lists in West Bengal, ahead of a hotly contested election in which Modi's party defeated the ruling party.

'SIR became a big political issue'

Commenting on this issue, American media outlet 'Bloomberg' has written, "The fear of removing the names of eligible voters in the SIR and this affecting the election results has made this process a political issue."

Bloomberg wrote, "Questions on this issue were raised again in late September, when the newspaper 'Indian Express' reported that two of the three election commissioners had raised concerns about the process to the Chief Election Commissioner at least 14 times over a ten-month period." The Election Commission has denied this news.

"Recent reports of alleged disagreements within the Election Commission have raised further questions on this election monitoring body. After the consecutive victories of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party in the state assembly elections in the last one year, the issue of cleaning the voter list has become very politically sensitive.

''Around 90 lakh names were removed from the voter list before the West Bengal elections in April. After this, BJP achieved a big victory in West Bengal for the first time. Last year also in Bihar, the voter list was revised in a similar manner before the assembly elections. There also BJP and its regional allies won.

''BJP has denied these allegations. There is disagreement among political analysts as to how much impact SIR had on the election results of West Bengal.

"The Indian Express' report was based on internal records of the Commission and interviews with officials, whose identities the newspaper did not disclose. According to the report, both the election commissioners lodged objections at least 14 times in 10 months. These included concerns about the increasing centralization of the system that manages voter lists, including the addition and deletion of voters' names.

Bloomberg wrote, "Both commissioners also said that some decisions were taken and orders were issued, but they were not aware of this." Senior opposition Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, "This is a very serious issue. It is fatal for our democracy."

'Modi's popularity will be tested in the assembly elections'

British newspaper 'Financial Times' has reported the protests against Gyanesh Kumar and the government after the report of 'Indian Express'.

The newspaper writes, "Police in India released tear gas shells and used water cannon in many cities. The police also detained dozens of protesters. These people are demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner of the country. It is alleged that the Election Commission has wrongly removed the names of lakhs of people from the voter list.

The Financial Times wrote, "These demonstrations were called by the opposition Congress Party and civil rights activists." They allege that due to large-scale deletion of names from voter lists in the last one year, the balance of political competition has tilted in favor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has denied any wrongdoing.

"Today citizens and Congress workers took to the streets demanding snatching of their fundamental right to vote and accountability for the systematic actions of the Chief Election Commissioner," the Congress party said in a statement.

FT has written, "During the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that started in June 2025, the names of about 13 crore people have been removed from the primary voter list. Many of these people appealed against the deletion of names, after which their names were again included in the voter list. However, the final figures have not yet been released as to how many people's names have actually been removed from the voter list.

The newspaper wrote, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not have to face the voters who will vote in the Lok Sabha elections till 2029." But next year, assembly elections are to be held in India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh. Along with this, the assembly elections to be held in Prime Minister Modi's home state Gujarat will be an important political test for his popularity.

"The government says that revision of voter list is a normal process. Its purpose is to keep the voter list updated and to remove names of people who have died from it.

'Cockroach Janata Party's warning'

Qatar's news outlet 'Al Jazeera', while referring to the protests of the Cockroach Janata Party after publishing the news related to the Election Commission, has written that the youth agitators of the 'Cockroach' Party have warned that if the Chief Election Commissioner of the country does not resign by Saturday, then he will start protests across the country.

"After the protests led by the Cockroach Janata Party in July, Modi government's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had resigned in connection with the question paper leak. This was one of the biggest political setbacks for Modi after becoming Prime Minister in 2014.

The main opposition Congress on Friday announced protest marches outside state election offices across the country. The party demanded the arrest of Gyanesh Kumar, his removal from the post and an independent review of the decisions taken during his tenure and the changes made in the voter list.

'Al Jazeera' wrote, "Opposition parties have long accused the Election Commission of removing the names of millions of voters from the voter list without any notice and adding the names of new voters without proper verification to benefit the BJP."

BJP, while defending the Election Commission, accused the opposition of continuously running a campaign to defame the Commission due to its losing elections. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said on Wednesday that the Election Commission of India or any constitutional institution of India is not under any dictatorial regime."

German broadcaster DW has also mentioned the growing controversy over reports of differences within the Election Commission of India.

DW has written that on Friday, protesters from various organizations gathered in Delhi and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

On Thursday, Cockroach Janata Party had given 48 hours time to Gyanesh Kumar to resign. The party had warned that if he did not resign, it would start a movement across the country, including another demonstration at Jantar Mantar.

On Friday, CPI(ML) Liberation leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, AISA leader Neha Bora (who was on hunger strike during the first protest at Jantar Mantar), senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan and social activist Yogendra Yadav also joined the protest.

Delhi Police had set up heavy barricades around Jantar Mantar and did not allow the protesters to enter the designated protest site. Within minutes of reaching the spot, many activists were taken into custody.

Speaking to DW, Neha Bora accused the Election Commission of "stealing votes" and working against democracy.