The Election Commission of India is no longer just fighting the opposition. LJP chief Chirag Paswan and RLM general secretary Upendra Kushwaha, both key NDA allies in Bihar, have publicly broken ranks to demand clarifications from the poll body. They are asking the ECI to "dispel confusion among the masses" regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. This is a significant fracture.
The political heat has turned physical. Delhi Police denied permission for a protest at Jantar Mantar and detained CPI-ML(L) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and activist Yogendra Yadav. Members of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and Indian Youth Congress were also taken away in buses after police erected barricades to block marches toward the ECI office. AISA president Neha Bora was among those detained.
The crackdown wasn't limited to the capital. Congress launched a nationwide agitation demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, citing alleged irregularities in voter registration and the deletion of names. Police deployed water cannons and tear gas in multiple states, including Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Manipur. CEC Kumar postponed his planned visits to Meerut and Varanasi.
The crisis stems from reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally raised objections over the SIR process. They cited issues with voter data control and unauthorized changes to Form 6. The ECI has dismissed these concerns, stating that differing views are part of normal institutional deliberation and that all decisions were unanimous.
Rahul Gandhi fueled the fire by accusing the CEC of "vote chori, kanun chori, sanstha chori" (stealing votes, laws, and institutions). Separately, over 2,000 citizens, including academics, lawyers, and retired civil servants, sent an open letter to Chief Justice Surya Kant. They urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the alleged irregularities.