The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is in a situation of mounting controversy with the poll panel maintaining that key decisions were unanimous in the first place and opposition parties are questioning the process and calling for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. T
he situation has also brought the three-member Election Commission, voter verification procedures, Form 6, and access to electoral roll data into greater focus.
The latest turn of the drama emerged following the Election Commission's statement on September 26, when it said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections on several issues including SIR and other electoral processes. The EC said decisions on SIR and other matters were unanimous among the three commissioners.
At the same time the Commission announced a number of measures to make the SIR process easier for voters. Booth-level officers or BLOs will visit voters at their homes in cases of notices related to unmapped records or logical discrepancies and collect the necessary documents. The EC has also provided for online hearings where required.
Special enrolment drives and help for voters whose names may have been left out of the electoral rolls are also part of the EC’s efforts.
What is the dispute over Form 6?
Form 6, which is used by eligible citizens seeking inclusion in electoral rolls, has emerged as one of the key points of disagreement. The Commission reports on objections raised in the Commission focused on an additional SIR-related declaration appearing in the online registration process.
According to the local media, Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi questioned whether a statutory form prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, could be altered without amendment to the rules. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had also raised objections, as reported in the internal conversations.
The Election Commission has maintained that Form 6 was not changed and that the additional declaration was an SIR-specific requirement.
The dispute of this explanation has become part of the larger political conflict. Opposition leaders have said that the Commission has not adequately addressed the specific concerns of the two election commissioners.
Why has ECINET become an issue?
The Commission’s information technology processes have also been subject to the controversy. Questions have been raised about access to electoral roll databases and the roles available to different officials.
In its response, the EC announced a review of ECINET, its electoral technology platform. The review committee will be chaired by a senior Deputy Election Commissioner and will have an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT. It has also said that access for field officials will be based on their statutory responsibilities and will follow a role-based system.
The Commission has also said agendas for meetings should be circulated in advance and minutes should be issued. These measures came after internal objections on a number of decisions and communications during the past months. The Indian Express reported that the two election commissioners had raised objections on at least 14 occasions over a period of about 10 months.
Why is the opposition demanding action against Gyanesh Kumar?
Opposition parties have linked the reported internal objections to wider questions about the functioning of the Election Commission under Gyanesh Kumar. The Congress and several other Opposition parties have demanded his removal and have announced protests against the CEC.
The Opposition has also been preparing a parliamentary motion seeking Kumar’s removal, according to reports. The Indian Express reported on September 24 that Opposition parties were preparing notices in both Houses of Parliament with legal experts. This followed reporting about the objections made to the Election Commission.
The Congress has continued its protests even though the EC has backed down on this matter. Opposition parties have also criticized the SIR exercise itself and wondered if the procedures might result in voters being excluded from the electoral rolls.
The BJP and several NDA leaders have backed the Election Commission’s clarification and pointed out that decisions were unanimous. BJP leaders have argued that reports of a division within the Commission have been mischaracterized.
Jiji Thomson Allegation adds Another dimension.
The political controversy took a turn after former Kerala Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson alleged that Gyanesh Kumar, who was then a serving IAS officer, had asked him in 2016 whether he would contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election as a BJP candidate from Pathanamthitta.
In an interview with Onmanorama, Thomson said he declined the suggestion. He also claimed that Kumar had spoken positively about Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the conversation. These are the allegations made by Thomson and have not, based on the reporting cited here, been independently established. At the time Kumar had not publicly responded to the allegation.
First, Gyanesh Kumar - then a serving IAS officer - was used to recruit for the BJP.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 26, 2026
Then Modi and Shah made him the umpire and put him in charge of match-fixing India's elections. https://t.co/hvdhEfoVgg
The allegation has since been repeated by Opposition leaders who question Kumar’s impartiality. Kerala Congress leader VD Satheesan, for instance, has demanded Kumar’s resignation, and other Opposition figures have used the allegation as part of their wider criticism of the CEC.
What happens next?
The dispute is now evolving beyond the immediate SIR process and into a bigger political and institutional debate over the function of the Election Commission. The EC has introduced procedural changes: home visits for voters facing certain notices, online hearings, special enrolment measures and an ECINET review. Opposition parties are still waiting for answers to reported internal objections and are taking political and parliamentary action against Kumar.
The main issue is the gap between the Election Commission’s claim that its decisions were unanimously approved and the Opposition’s claim that two commissioners’ concerns need to be further explained. As the SIR exercise continues, further parliamentary discussions and any additional responses from the Election Commission will most likely shape the next stage of the dispute.
