Nationwide Protests Intensify as Opposition and Youth Groups Demand Action Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar
Protests demanding action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar spread across several parts of India on Friday, September 25, with Congress and youth organisations targeting the Election Commission over the controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Demonstrations were reported in Delhi, Bihar, Assam, Punjab, Chandigarh, Manipur, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Telangana and other states.
The protests followed an investigation by The Indian Express reporting that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions between November 2025 and August 2026 over decisions and orders related to the electoral-roll revision exercise. The report said the objections included concerns over changes to Form 6, voter additions and deletions, and the centralised handling of electoral-roll data.
Congress organised demonstrations outside Election Commission offices and other locations, with protesters demanding Kumar’s resignation and, in several places, his removal or arrest. In Patna and Chandigarh, police used water cannons, while tear gas was reported during a protest in Manipur. In Assam, Congress leader and MP Gaurav Gogoi was among those detained after protesters attempted to cross police barricades.
The agitation also involved student and youth organisations. The National Students’ Union of India had protested in Delhi and demanded an investigation into concerns surrounding electoral rolls. The Students’ Federation of India and Democratic Youth Federation of India separately condemned the detention of their activists during a demonstration outside the Election Commission and called for greater accountability in the SIR process.
A separate youth group, the Cockroach Janta Party, has issued a 48-hour ultimatum for Kumar to resign and said it would begin a nationwide protest campaign from Mumbai on October 2 if he remains in office. The group has linked its demand to reports concerning internal disagreements within the Election Commission over voter-list changes.
The dispute has now reached the Supreme Court. A petition filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi seeks criminal prosecution of Kumar, a judicial or special investigation into alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise, and the quashing of decisions and software modifications that the petitioner alleges were made without concurrence of the other Election Commissioners. These are allegations contained in the petition and have not been established by a court.
The Election Commission has rejected the characterization of the reported disagreements as an institutional breakdown. In a statement issued on September 23, the Commission said that internal notes, observations, technical suggestions and differing views are normal parts of decision-making and maintained that its orders and reforms had legal sanction and followed established procedures.
The Commission has also defended the security of its digital systems, saying that platforms such as ECINet operate with safeguards against unauthorised access and manipulation. It has maintained that statutory officials, including Electoral Registration Officers and District Election Officers, exercise their powers over voter registration and deletion according to law.
The controversy has simultaneously produced political pressure inside the ruling coalition. Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan said the Election Commission should clearly explain its position when questions are raised about its functioning. The Opposition, meanwhile, is preparing further parliamentary action concerning Kumar’s continuation in office.
The issue has also affected the Election Commission’s planned youth outreach. Two programmes involving Kumar in Meerut and Varanasi were postponed, although an Election Commission official attributed the scheduling changes to logistical and other factors and said similar events had been postponed previously.
At the centre of the escalating confrontation is the SIR exercise and the broader question of how electoral-roll changes are being implemented and overseen. With street protests, parliamentary action, legal petitions and competing explanations from the Election Commission now developing simultaneously, the dispute over Gyanesh Kumar has moved beyond a political disagreement into a wider institutional and legal controversy.
