BJP and Congress Clash Over Reported Dissent Within Election Commission

A fresh dispute has erupted between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress over the functioning of the Election Commission of India, following reports that two election commissioners recorded objections to multiple decisions taken by the poll body.

According to media reports, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected on record to several decisions made without their knowledge, with the objections raised 14 times over a span of ten months.

The Congress seized on the reports to accuse Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of acting like a "dictator" and engaging in "vote theft" to benefit the ruling party. Party leader Rahul Gandhi described vote theft as a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on the Constitution, alleging that the BJP, the RSS and the Election Commission had committed an act of treason.

The BJP, however, rejected the allegations. Party spokesperson Sambit Patra argued that deliberations among the three election commissioners are a sign of a healthy democracy rather than evidence of bias. He noted that the Election Commission has stated its commissioners were on the same page regarding the Special Intensive Revision exercise and that there was no difference of opinion.

Patra also cited the reported data on voter deletions during the SIR in West Bengal, pointing out that of the 20 assembly seats with the highest deletions, the Trinamool Congress won 13, the Congress one and the BJP six. He questioned how vote theft could be alleged when other parties won in those constituencies.

The exchange highlights the continuing friction between the government and the opposition over the credibility of the electoral process and the internal workings of the poll body.