Three BJP allies — Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) (Ram Vilas), Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) — on Friday sought a clearer explanation from the Election Commission regarding concerns raised by two Election Commissioners over the voter list revision, with Union Minister Chirag Paswan warning that public faith in elections was at stake.
Paswan, who heads the LJP (Ram Vilas), said he was neither speaking for the poll panel nor endorsing the Opposition’s allegations. But the questions now before the public required a clearer response from the Commission, he said.
RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha also called for an immediate clarification, while TDP Lok Sabha floor leader Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu said transparency would help strengthen confidence in the constitutional institution.
Their remarks followed a report published by The Indian Express, which said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation.
The objections covered changes to the statutory voter registration Form 6, the handling of additions and deletions from electoral rolls, and centralised control over the electoral roll database.
The report has prompted Opposition demands for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s removal and the halting of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Meanwhile, a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking criminal prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged violations of statutory duties in connection with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The plea, filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi through advocate Chand Qureshi, seeks that decisions, guidelines and software modifications allegedly undertaken by Kumar without the concurrence of the two Election Commissioners be declared unconstitutional and void.
It also seeks a declaration that all such decisions relating to the SIR are illegal and restoration of the original Form 6.
It further seeks an inquiry by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the alleged deletion of around 130 million voters from electoral rolls during the revision exercise.
The petitioner has sought criminal prosecution of Kumar, Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg and Seema Khanna, IT head of the Election Commission (EC), alleging violation of their statutory duties under the Representation of the People Act.
The petition comes amid a row over the Election Commission adding a declaration to the form for new voters seeking to enrol in the electoral rolls and making the registration process difficult.
In another development, an unnamed poll panel official claimed on Friday that as many as 32.7 million electors in the 18-28 years age bracket were added since the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise was rolled out in Bihar last June.
The official said that since June 24, 2025, 32.6 million new voters in the 18 to 28 age category have been added to the voter list across India.
