Dimple Yadav, the Samajwadi Party MP, demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and all election officials on Thursday, citing 14 objections raised by commissioners over a 10‑month period on decisions about electoral rolls.
The objections, filed by Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, challenged orders they said were taken without their knowledge, while the Election Commission defended its actions as approved by all three commissioners.
Yadav referenced the 2022 elections, when the Election Commission sent a notice to Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav over alleged irregularities in voter lists, and the party’s submission of affidavits for 3,000 voters that never received a reply.
She added that the IT cell, responsible for the system’s hacking, and officials who wrote letters to the commission’s Chief Secretary must also resign, and she urged the Home Minister to step down.
The Samajwadi Party has signed the impeachment motion initiated by the Trinamool Congress and will cooperate with the INDIA bloc, which plans to vote on the motion next week.
Meanwhile, Congress has organized protests across Delhi, Patna, Jammu, Kolkata and other capitals, with water cannons used and several workers detained, demanding the immediate arrest of Kumar and an independent review of electoral roll changes. The protests are set for September 25, and the party has called for an independent inquiry into the Election Commission’s decisions.