Opposition Rallies Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar as Congress, INDIA Bloc Plan Meetings

Pressure is mounting on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with opposition parties preparing a coordinated response that includes high-level meetings, a Supreme Court petition, and calls for his removal.

The Congress has convened a meeting of its Working Committee on September 29 to discuss the issue, to be followed by a gathering of the INDIA alliance on September 30. If parties such as the DMK, Aam Aadmi Party, BRS, and Biju Janata Dal join, the meeting could take on the character of a full-fledged opposition conclave, similar to those held during parliamentary sessions.

The controversy has also prompted an unusual outreach between erstwhile rivals. CPM General Secretary MA Baby wrote to INDIA alliance leaders, describing the conflict between the Chief Election Commissioner and the other two commissioners as unprecedented and calling for an immediate meeting. Mamata Banerjee responded personally, telling MA Baby that the entire opposition needed to unite and draw up a common strategy against Gyanesh Kumar. The CPM has also written to the DMK, which had earlier left the coalition, as well as to the Biju Janata Dal, Aam Aadmi Party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, YSR Congress, TVK, and the Cockroach Janata Party.

In the Supreme Court, a petition has been filed seeking the annulment of all Election Commission decisions taken without a majority consensus. Reports indicate that the two other Election Commissioners have raised objections on 14 occasions over the past 10 months.

The opposition is also preparing to initiate criminal proceedings against the Chief Election Commissioner, with a complaint already lodged in Delhi demanding that a police case be registered. The INDIA bloc may discuss filing similar cases across the country. Other possible demands include conducting the 2029 Lok Sabha elections on the existing voter lists and addressing the number of Bangladeshi nationals apprehended and repatriated following the SIR exercise.

The Congress is taking the issue to the public through nationwide protests, and is seeking to link it to young voters. The party contends that changes to Form 6 have made it nearly impossible for first-time voters to register, pointing to a new mandatory section asking whether an applicant's parents or grandparents were included in the previous electoral roll.

Significantly, the Chief Election Commissioner also faces questions from the government's own allies. Three BJP allies - the TDP and the parties led by Chirag Paswan and Upendra Kushwaha - have said public trust in elections is at stake and have called on the Commission to respond clearly.

The threat of impeachment continues to hang over the Chief Election Commissioner. Although a motion was previously rejected in both Houses, a notice for impeachment remains under consideration in the Rajya Sabha. If more parties join the INDIA alliance, the government could find it harder to block the process.