Jagan Mohan Reddy Seeks Review of EC Appointment Law After Poll Panel Rift
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has urged a review of the 2023 law governing Election Commissioner appointments, citing concerns over internal dissent in the poll body.
YSR Congress Party founder-president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has raised concerns about internal differences within the Election Commission, calling for greater transparency in how the poll body functions and how its members are appointed.
In a statement posted on X, Reddy said democracy can endure only when citizens retain complete confidence in constitutional institutions such as the Election Commission. He pointed to media reports indicating that two Election Commissioners had repeatedly recorded objections to decisions, electoral roll management and the handling of ECINet, saying these had generated serious questions and doubts among the public.
Rather than allowing an exchange of allegations, Reddy said the public needs clarity on what objections were recorded, what action followed, and how transparently the system operated — whether names were being added to, deleted from or restored to electoral rolls. He stressed that steps are needed to rebuild public confidence in these matters.
Appointment law should be revisited
Reddy argued that the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 — which his party supported at the time — should now be revisited in light of the current situation. He urged the Central government to come forward and set things right, suggesting an amendment that restores appointment of the Election Commissioner to a three-member committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India.
Drawing an analogy, he said a student appointing the examiner is always prone to allegations, even when the examiner is thoroughly honest, and that a neutral process would be preferable. Such a move, he said, would help regain esteem and confidence in the Election Commission.
Allegations of misuse during SIR
Reddy also alleged that during the Special Intensive Revision process in Andhra Pradesh, the party in power misused its authority, and that his party's appeals went unheard on many occasions. He made similar claims about the local body election process, saying the Opposition's objections to the manner in which divisions were redrawn were brushed aside. Such actions, he said, weaken public confidence in the electoral process.
He concluded that transparency and accountability are the true measures of how any institution functions in a democracy, and that safeguarding them is the institution's primary duty.