Opposition Seeks CEC Gyanesh Kumar's Removal Amid Election Commission Dissent Row

Opposition parties on Wednesday sought the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, following a report that two of the three Election Commissioners had formally recorded their objections at least 14 times over the past ten months.

According to the report, Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi stated that major decisions were being taken in the name of the full Election Commission without their knowledge. Several of these decisions, they said, were "unauthorised and illegal."

The objections relate to the functioning of the poll body, including the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has been a flashpoint in recent months.

The dissent within the Commission has now spilled into the open, prompting the Opposition to demand accountability at the top. The row centres on the charge that decisions attributed to the full Commission were made without the participation or awareness of all its members.

Meanwhile, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has indicated it will take up the issue of reforms in the Election Commission. Its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, is expected to address a press conference and defend voting rights amid the criticism directed at the Chief Election Commissioner.

The developments place the Election Commission's internal working and decision-making processes under renewed public and political scrutiny.