Opinion | India’s Election Commission faces credibility challenges
Summary
India’s Election Commission is facing fresh credibility questions after internal emails suggested Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was sidelining other commissioners and centralising control. The controversy has deepened amid opposition allegations of bias, disputed voter-roll revisions, and mass deletions in states including Bihar and West Bengal.
Key Points
- Internal emails reported by The Indian Express suggest Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was running the Election Commission largely alone while sidelining the other two commissioners.
- Opposition parties have long accused the commission of bias toward the ruling BJP, citing its handling of speeches by Narendra Modi and recognition of breakaway party factions.
- The special intensive revision of electoral rolls has triggered the biggest controversy, with millions of deletions in states such as Bihar and West Bengal and Supreme Court scrutiny.
- The opposition wants Gyanesh Kumar removed and the SIR rolled back, while the government defends the exercise as a way to remove undocumented migrants.
