Protesters from various groups gathered in Delhi on Friday demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, amid a growing controversy over reported differences within the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The protest followed an investigation published by The Indian Express on September 23, which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over a 10-month period to decisions concerning electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The report said some of the decisions had been taken without their knowledge.
The Election Commission, however, has rejected the suggestion of an internal breakdown, saying that differences expressed through internal notes are part of the normal decision-making process and that the final decisions of the three-member Commission were unanimous.
On Thursday, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) gave Gyanesh Kumar 48 hours to resign and warned that it would launch a nationwide agitation, including a second protest at Jantar Mantar, if he did not step down.
On Friday, CPI(ML) Liberation leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, AISA leader Neha Bora — who had gone on hunger strike during the first Jantar Mantar protest — senior advocate Prashant Bhushan and activist Yogendra Yadav joined the demonstration.
The Delhi Police had heavily barricaded the area around Jantar Mantar and did not allow protesters to enter the designated protest site. Several activists were detained within minutes of arriving at the spot.
Speaking to DW, Neha Bora accused the Election Commission of “stealing votes” and acting against democracy. She demanded Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and said the protesters would continue their movement.
Dipankar Bhattacharya told DW that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) should be scrapped and that fresh elections should be held in several states.
A protest called by left-wing student group All India Students' Association (AISA) and others at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Friday against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was met with a heavy police presence.
Reports said several protesters, including AISA president Neha Bora, were detained.
Earlier, Bora had said the protest would demand the resignation of Kumar and will be "defending our democracy."
Police heavily cordoned off the protest site, preventing people from entering and barring protesters from approaching within about 100 meters, according to a DW correspondent.
Kumar has faced criticism over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. The Election Commission says the exercise aims to remove deceased, relocated and duplicate voters and prevent the inclusion of "foreign illegal immigrants."
Critics allege it has also removed eligible voters and benefited the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Election Commission of India (ECI) introduced a "Mark VIP" feature in an app used by local election officials during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.
VIP denotes a Very Important Person.
The feature was added to the BLO App on July 30, according to officials in Delhi's chief electoral officer's office, the newspaper reported. Apple's App Store records described the update as "mark VIP elector related changes."
The ECI did not respond to questions about the feature or the legal basis for its introduction, the report said.
A separate investigation by The Reporters' Collective found that election officials had been instructed to mark ministers, judges, bureaucrats, celebrities and other prominent figures as VIPs during the revision. It reported that such voters could receive preferential treatment, including avoiding hearings required of ordinary voters.
In recent days, Delhi's chief electoral officer has issued notices to nearly 3.3 million voters during the SIR exercise, which included Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday called on India's opposition parties to stop participating in India's "rigged" elections, as it threatened to launch protests across the country on October 2.
"For opposition: Yes, elections are being rigged," Dipke posted on social media, arguing that if the opposition continues to contest such elections, it legitimizes them and "maintain the illusion that they are free and fair."
"If elections are being rigged, it should matter regardless of the state or which party is affected," Dipke wrote, calling on opposition parties to prioritize democracy over political survival. "You cannot keep saying the game is rigged while continuing to play it. Your participation is the only thing that gives these rigged elections legitimacy."
On Thursday, the CJP accused India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of undermining the country's democracy and demanded his resignation within 48 hours.
CJP alleged that the Election Commission's voter-roll revision is being used to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The CJP's demands include:
Criminal proceedings against Kumar
All upcoming elections put on hold, freeze Special Intensive Revision (SIR)
Repeal the 2023 law on the appointment of the Election Commissioners of India
Meanwhile, two petitions were filed in the Bombay High Court on Thursday challenging the SIR process in Maharashtra.
Both the opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and the Cockroach Party political movement called India’s elections "rigged," as the uproar over the Election Commission of India's (ECI) handling of the voter-list revision shows no sign of abating.
On Thursday, Congress Party leader Gandhi alleged that elections in India were being "rigged," and called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. It followed a report by Indian Express on objections raised by two election commissioners to decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.
The report said that Kumar's fellow Election Commissioners had raised at least 14 objections over 10 months to decisions on voter registrations and electoral data. In one instance, one of the complaints said the ECI acted against the written advice of two commissioners and claimed its action was "unauthorized and illegal."
The three commissioners are overseeing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which the ECI says aims to remove deceased, relocated and duplicate voters and prevent the inclusion of "foreign illegal immigrants." Critics say the exercise has gone beyond that remit and removed millions of eligible voters, which has benefitted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"If the vote has been destroyed, then our Constitution has been destroyed. It no longer has power," Gandhi said during a press conference.
Gandhi also alleged that Kumar was elevated to Election Commission head by Prime Minster Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, despite his opposition to the appointment. He went on to accuse them of being "at the top of the conspiracy," and called for them to be investigated.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi defended the ECI, saying on Thursday that the SIR process was legally sound and that the commission’s decisions were based on majority consensus. He said the law empowers the ECI to conduct an SIR at its discretion.
