September 26, 2026

India clinch double gold as men’s and women’s kabaddi teams triumph at Asian Games; TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh’s car attacked with eggs and stones during Mamata Banerjee rally Election Commission said SIR decisions were unanimous and eased notice procedures, allowing BLO home visits and online hearings. It also extended claims deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra.At least 11 people were killed and around 30 injured after a suicide bomber targeted a police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. TTP claimed responsibility.India completed a golden double at the Asian Games as the men defeated Iran 40-34 in the final, hours after the women beat Iran 37-34 to retain gold.TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh’s car was pelted with eggs and stones in Uttarpara while he travelled to Serampore for Mamata Banerjee’s rally. Ghosh alleged police were absent.Relics of medieval Russian warrior saints are being taken to troops in occupied Ukraine, as the Russian Orthodox Church uses religious symbolism to provide spiritual support and reinforce wartime narratives.Here are the top 5 stories from the day:EC holds key meeting, announces crucial decisions amid SIR rowThe Election Commission said decisions on the nationwide Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls were unanimously approved, rejecting reports of internal differences. It simplified procedures for voters facing notices, allowing booth-level officers to collect documents from homes and hearings to be held online in exceptional cases. The EC also announced help desks and enrolment drives, while extending claims deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra.Read the full story11 dead, 30 injured in suicide bomb blast near police post in northwestern PakistanAt least 11 people were killed and around 30 injured when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a roadside police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Saturday. Some injured people were reportedly in critical condition. The Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, claimed responsibility. Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks, including those claimed by TTP and the Baloch Liberation Army.Read the full storyIndia’s kabaddi double! Men beat Iran to defend gold after women’s triumph at Asian GamesIndia completed a kabaddi golden double at the Asian Games 2026 after the men’s team defeated Iran 40-34 in a closely fought final on Saturday. Earlier, the women’s team had beaten Iran 37-34 to retain their title. The men secured India’s ninth Asian Games gold in men’s kabaddi and defended their Hangzhou crown. The two golds took India’s tally to 28 medals.Read the full storyEggs hurled, car window smashed as Kunal Ghosh heads to Mamata rally – videoTMC MLA Kunal Ghosh’s car was pelted with eggs and stones in Uttarpara, Hooghly, on Saturday as he travelled to Serampore for Mamata Banerjee’s rally. His vehicle’s rear windshield was damaged. Ghosh alleged police were absent and said he would file a complaint. TMC leaders blamed the BJP for the attack. Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe incident came amid tensions between the party and police ahead of the rally.Read the full story’Mobilizing myth’: Why is Russia sending dead princes, saints into Ukraine battleRelics of medieval Russian rulers and warrior saints are being taken to Russian troops in occupied Ukraine as the war enters another winter. A fragment of Dmitry Donskoy’s remains has been moved among military bases, with the Orthodox Church portraying him as a defender of the homeland. Experts say the practice links Russia’s medieval military history with its current war narrative, while some clergy criticise it.Read the full storyGet the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorVijaya SrivastavaVijaya Srivastava is a journalist and feature writer whose expertise lies in covering human-centred developments. Her stories explore how policy, technology, economic shifts and social change influence people’s everyday lives. Her work also focuses on bringing depth, context and a human perspective to complex issues. Her reports primarily cover society, healthcare, safety, public policy and emerging trends, alongside other political developments.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosDelhi Skeleton Mystery: Skeleton-Like Structure Found During BJP Cleanliness Drive | Watch‘Padma Bhushan Is Small, Make Him PM’: Pawan Khera Mocks BJP’s Praise For Gyanesh KumarSkyStriker, HIMARS, Apache: India, US Showcase Firepower At Yudh Abhyas 2026 | WatchTibet Govt-in-Exile Reprimands Activist Sonam Wangchuk, Calls Comparison ‘Misplaced and Inaccurate’India’s Savage ‘Osama’ Reply To Pak PM’s UN Bluster; ‘Repeating Lies Won’t Make It True’‘A Terrorist Country Asking Me That Question’: Jaishankar’s Sharp Reply To Pak Journalist At UN’SIR’ Under Fire? IIT-Bombay, Election Commission Face Accountability Questions | PrasangMassive Protest Erupts At Delhi’s Jantar Mantar Against Gyanesh Kumar Over EC-SIR RowUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMos123Hot PicksMandeep K BhandariBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysOdisha school textbooksPunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingNorma DumontRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

Vamsikrishna03 mins mins
India clinch double gold as men’s and women’s kabaddi teams triumph at Asian Games; TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh’s car attacked with eggs and stones during Mamata Banerjee rally Election Commission said SIR decisions were unanimous and eased notice procedures, allowing BLO home visits and online hearings. It also extended claims deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra.At least 11 people were killed and around 30 injured after a suicide bomber targeted a police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. TTP claimed responsibility.India completed a golden double at the Asian Games as the men defeated Iran 40-34 in the final, hours after the women beat Iran 37-34 to retain gold.TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh’s car was pelted with eggs and stones in Uttarpara while he travelled to Serampore for Mamata Banerjee’s rally. Ghosh alleged police were absent.Relics of medieval Russian warrior saints are being taken to troops in occupied Ukraine, as the Russian Orthodox Church uses religious symbolism to provide spiritual support and reinforce wartime narratives.Here are the top 5 stories from the day:EC holds key meeting, announces crucial decisions amid SIR rowThe Election Commission said decisions on the nationwide Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls were unanimously approved, rejecting reports of internal differences. It simplified procedures for voters facing notices, allowing booth-level officers to collect documents from homes and hearings to be held online in exceptional cases. The EC also announced help desks and enrolment drives, while extending claims deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra.Read the full story11 dead, 30 injured in suicide bomb blast near police post in northwestern PakistanAt least 11 people were killed and around 30 injured when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a roadside police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Saturday. Some injured people were reportedly in critical condition. The Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, claimed responsibility. Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks, including those claimed by TTP and the Baloch Liberation Army.Read the full storyIndia’s kabaddi double! Men beat Iran to defend gold after women’s triumph at Asian GamesIndia completed a kabaddi golden double at the Asian Games 2026 after the men’s team defeated Iran 40-34 in a closely fought final on Saturday. Earlier, the women’s team had beaten Iran 37-34 to retain their title. The men secured India’s ninth Asian Games gold in men’s kabaddi and defended their Hangzhou crown. The two golds took India’s tally to 28 medals.Read the full storyEggs hurled, car window smashed as Kunal Ghosh heads to Mamata rally – videoTMC MLA Kunal Ghosh’s car was pelted with eggs and stones in Uttarpara, Hooghly, on Saturday as he travelled to Serampore for Mamata Banerjee’s rally. His vehicle’s rear windshield was damaged. Ghosh alleged police were absent and said he would file a complaint. TMC leaders blamed the BJP for the attack. Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe incident came amid tensions between the party and police ahead of the rally.Read the full story’Mobilizing myth’: Why is Russia sending dead princes, saints into Ukraine battleRelics of medieval Russian rulers and warrior saints are being taken to Russian troops in occupied Ukraine as the war enters another winter. A fragment of Dmitry Donskoy’s remains has been moved among military bases, with the Orthodox Church portraying him as a defender of the homeland. Experts say the practice links Russia’s medieval military history with its current war narrative, while some clergy criticise it.Read the full storyGet the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorVijaya SrivastavaVijaya Srivastava is a journalist and feature writer whose expertise lies in covering human-centred developments. Her stories explore how policy, technology, economic shifts and social change influence people’s everyday lives. Her work also focuses on bringing depth, context and a human perspective to complex issues. Her reports primarily cover society, healthcare, safety, public policy and emerging trends, alongside other political developments.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosDelhi Skeleton Mystery: Skeleton-Like Structure Found During BJP Cleanliness Drive | Watch‘Padma Bhushan Is Small, Make Him PM’: Pawan Khera Mocks BJP’s Praise For Gyanesh KumarSkyStriker, HIMARS, Apache: India, US Showcase Firepower At Yudh Abhyas 2026 | WatchTibet Govt-in-Exile Reprimands Activist Sonam Wangchuk, Calls Comparison ‘Misplaced and Inaccurate’India’s Savage ‘Osama’ Reply To Pak PM’s UN Bluster; ‘Repeating Lies Won’t Make It True’‘A Terrorist Country Asking Me That Question’: Jaishankar’s Sharp Reply To Pak Journalist At UN’SIR’ Under Fire? IIT-Bombay, Election Commission Face Accountability Questions | PrasangMassive Protest Erupts At Delhi’s Jantar Mantar Against Gyanesh Kumar Over EC-SIR RowUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMos123Hot PicksMandeep K BhandariBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysOdisha school textbooksPunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingNorma DumontRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court


Evening newswrap: EC holds key meeting amid SIR row; 11 killed in Pak suicide blast & more
India clinch double gold as men’s and women’s kabaddi teams triumph at Asian Games; TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh’s car attacked with eggs and stones during Mamata Banerjee rally
  • Election Commission said SIR decisions were unanimous and eased notice procedures, allowing BLO home visits and online hearings. It also extended claims deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra.
  • At least 11 people were killed and around 30 injured after a suicide bomber targeted a police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. TTP claimed responsibility.
  • India completed a golden double at the Asian Games as the men defeated Iran 40-34 in the final, hours after the women beat Iran 37-34 to retain gold.
  • TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh’s car was pelted with eggs and stones in Uttarpara while he travelled to Serampore for Mamata Banerjee’s rally. Ghosh alleged police were absent.
  • Relics of medieval Russian warrior saints are being taken to troops in occupied Ukraine, as the Russian Orthodox Church uses religious symbolism to provide spiritual support and reinforce wartime narratives.

Here are the top 5 stories from the day:

EC holds key meeting, announces crucial decisions amid SIR row

The Election Commission said decisions on the nationwide Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls were unanimously approved, rejecting reports of internal differences. It simplified procedures for voters facing notices, allowing booth-level officers to collect documents from homes and hearings to be held online in exceptional cases. The EC also announced help desks and enrolment drives, while extending claims deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra.Read the full story

11 dead, 30 injured in suicide bomb blast near police post in northwestern Pakistan

At least 11 people were killed and around 30 injured when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a roadside police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Saturday. Some injured people were reportedly in critical condition. The Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, claimed responsibility. Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks, including those claimed by TTP and the Baloch Liberation Army.Read the full story

India’s kabaddi double! Men beat Iran to defend gold after women’s triumph at Asian Games

India completed a kabaddi golden double at the Asian Games 2026 after the men’s team defeated Iran 40-34 in a closely fought final on Saturday. Earlier, the women’s team had beaten Iran 37-34 to retain their title. The men secured India’s ninth Asian Games gold in men’s kabaddi and defended their Hangzhou crown. The two golds took India’s tally to 28 medals.Read the full story

Eggs hurled, car window smashed as Kunal Ghosh heads to Mamata rally – video

TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh’s car was pelted with eggs and stones in Uttarpara, Hooghly, on Saturday as he travelled to Serampore for Mamata Banerjee’s rally. His vehicle’s rear windshield was damaged. Ghosh alleged police were absent and said he would file a complaint. TMC leaders blamed the BJP for the attack.

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The CEC can have a distinct role within the institution, but the law does not provide for a system in which the CEC’s view automatically prevails over the other two commissioners. NEW DELHI: Elections are, by their very nature, a contest.Political parties fight for ground, candidates wage fierce campaigns and voters ultimately decide whom to trust with their mandate.Through it all, the Election Commission is meant to stand apart and monitor the process. Its role is to frame the rules, enforce them fairly and ensure that the contest remains even-handed.Yet, in recent days, the spotlight has moved away from those fighting the election and towards the institution meant to referee it.The players are no longer the only ones under scrutiny. Increasingly, the referee itself has become the subject of the debate.A report in The Indian Express claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi repeatedly raised objections with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over decisions and communications that they said were issued without their knowledge or approval.The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the episode points to a breakdown in its functioning. It has maintained that differences of opinion are a normal part of institutional deliberation and that all final decisions of the Commission have been unanimous.That leaves a larger constitutional question at the heart of the controversy: how is India’s election watchdog actually supposed to function?Is the Chief Election Commissioner the boss of the Election Commission, or simply the first among three equals? What happens when the three commissioners disagree? And why has the law governing their appointment become a subject of such intense controversy?What triggered the latest EC controversy?On September 23, The Indian Express reported that Sandhu and Joshi had, on multiple occasions, objected to decisions and communications they said were taken or issued without their prior knowledge.According to the report, the two commissioners recorded such objections on at least 14 occasions over the past 10 months.The issues reportedly ranged from changes to electoral forms and access to the voter database to the allocation of work within the Commission and the filing of appeals involving electoral rolls.The report has since triggered a wider debate over whether the Election Commission’s three members are exercising their powers collectively, as the law envisages, or whether the CEC has acquired a greater role in practice.What did the two ECs object to?According to the Indian Express report, the concerns raised by Sandhu and Joshi covered several aspects of the Commission’s functioning.Changes to Form 6: The two commissioners reportedly objected to changes made to Form 6, the application citizens use to register as new electors, without following due process. In May, Joshi warned that the form could not be altered without an amendment to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. On August 13, Sandhu reportedly described the change as “unauthorised and illegal” and called for its immediate removal.Access to electoral roll data: The commissioners also reportedly raised concerns about whether statutory authorities responsible for maintaining electoral rolls had complete access to voter data on the ERONet portal. Joshi flagged what he described as the “gradual centralisation of the electoral roll database” and proposed an audit to establish that only authorised officials had credentials to modify voter data. Sandhu, separately, recorded that state-level election officials had complained of not having “proper and complete access” to ERONet. He also questioned whether the Commission’s director general of IT, Seema Khanna, had the legal authority to restrict access for statutory officials such as Electoral Registration Officers.Reasons for objection by the other two election commissioners over the decision taken by CEC Gyanesh KumarChanges in work allocation: Joshi and Sandhu reportedly wrote separately to the cabinet secretary objecting to changes in the allocation of work that removed a layer of oversight over the Commission’s IT infrastructure. They said the changes had been made without their knowledge.West Bengal SIR appeals: During the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal, the Election Commission filed around 16.10 lakh appeals involving voters whose names judicial officers had added. The appeals were heard by tribunals headed by retired high court judges appointed by the Supreme Court. According to the report, neither the two election commissioners nor West Bengal’s chief electoral officer were informed about the basis or process for filing these appeals.Restoration of voters in Goa: Another concern reportedly involved 97 eligible voters whose names had to be restored to Goa’s electoral rolls. Despite repeated requests from Electoral Registration Officers, the voters could not initially be restored because the ECI’s software did not have an option for reinstatement.Communications issued in the ECI’s name: The two commissioners also reportedly objected to communications being issued in the Election Commission’s name without what they considered to be the Commission’s full approval. They cited Article 324 of the Constitution as well as the 2023 law governing the poll panel.Taken together, the reported objections raise a question that goes beyond any individual decision: how does a three-member constitutional body exercise collective authority when its members do not initially agree?What did the Election Commission say?The Election Commission strongly rejected the suggestion that its internal differences amount to a breakdown in decision-making, and added that all official orders and administrative directions had been issued unanimously.”Differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution. They are a part of the decision-making process before a final decision is taken. Not only the three Commissioners, but every officer of the Commission is fully authorised to give his suggestions to the Commission for improving the electoral system,” the ECI said in a statement.”In recent months, the Commission has taken numerous decisions, issued instructions, introduced around 40 new initiatives and undertaken many electoral reforms, including the conduct of electoral roll revision (including SIR) across the country. All these decisions are an outcome of the unanimous decisions of the full Commission in the past one year,” the poll body added.It also criticised the media report, saying that highlighting specific internal notes over a period of 10 months gives only one part of the picture.”Highlighting certain specific internal notes/observations spread over the period of 10 months while overlooking the much larger body of approvals, decisions, instructions and initiatives give only one part of the picture,” it said.The Election Commission stated that internal disagreements and suggestions from officers were a routine part of its decision-making process before reaching a final verdict.The disagreement, therefore, is not simply over whether commissioners have expressed reservations. It is over what those reservations mean for the functioning of the institution as a whole.CEC or ECs: Who has the final say?This is where the 2023 law becomes important.Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, provides that the Commission may, by unanimous decision, regulate how its business is conducted and allocate work among the CEC and the other Election Commissioners.It also says that, as far as possible, the Commission’s business should be transacted unanimously.But it makes an important provision for situations in which consensus is not possible.The opposition objected over the 2023 EC law alleging that the panel arrangement is made to ‘favour’ the government in powerIf the CEC and the other Election Commissioners differ on a matter, the issue is to be decided according to the opinion of the majority.In other words, the statutory framework does not make the CEC an executive superior to the other two commissioners. The three constitute the Commission collectively, while the CEC is the “first among equals”.The CEC can have a distinct role within the institution, but the law does not provide for a system in which the CEC’s view automatically prevails over the other two commissioners.Where the three disagree, the majority view is the deciding view.The controversy now centres on whether some of the decisions cited in the recent report were, in practice, implemented despite objections from the other two commissioners, and if so, how that squares with the statutory scheme governing the Commission’s decision-making.Why is the 2023 EC law controversial?The current controversy also brings back an older and deeper question: Who should appoint the people who conduct India’s elections?In March 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that Parliament had not yet enacted a law governing appointments to the Election Commission, despite Article 324 of the Constitution envisaging such a framework.Until Parliament enacted such a law, a Constitution bench prescribed an interim selection mechanism comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.The court stressed that an independent Election Commission was essential for democracy and observed that those entrusted with conducting elections must be insulated from executive influence.The Constitution outlines the removal guidelines for the CEC and details about the conditions of service as a CECParliament subsequently enacted the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.But the new law changed the composition of the selection committee.Instead of the Chief Justice of India, it provided for a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister. The committee therefore consists of the Prime Minister, a Union minister nominated by him and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.The opposition has alleged that the 2023 Act gives the executive “overwhelming” control over the appointment of Election Commissioners. The government, meanwhile, has defended the law and its institutional framework.Matter in Supreme CourtThe dispute has now reached the Supreme Court, where a challenge to the validity of the appointment law produced a split verdict.A two-judge SC bench differed over whether the matter should immediately be referred to a Constitution bench. Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma disagreed on that question, although both agreed that the matter should ultimately be placed before the Chief Justice of India for consideration by a larger bench.Section 18 of the CEC and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, outlines that the EC should ideally conduct business unanimously, but allows a majority opinion to decide matters when members disagree.They also agreed that sending the case first to a three-judge bench would be of “little worth” and could further delay a final determination of the constitutional questions involved. The matter is likely to be heard by a 5-judge bench soon.The issue is vital as it extends beyond the current dispute inside the Election Commission. It touches a larger institutional question: How independent should the body conducting India’s elections be from the executive, and what safeguards should govern the appointment of those who head it?Can a CEC actually be removed?The latest controversy has also acquired a political dimension, with opposition parties preparing fresh notices seeking the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.According to media reports, the notices, being drafted and vetted by experts, are expected to be submitted in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha next week. The proposed notices are expected to include issues raised in the Indian Express report.This would not be the opposition’s first attempt.On April 7, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairperson CP Radhakrishnan rejected an earlier notice seeking Kumar’s removal. That notice had been signed by 130 Lok Sabha members and 63 Rajya Sabha members and alleged partisanship and arbitrariness in the conduct of the SIR exercise.The CEC can be removed by the same procedure as a Supreme Court judge and requires a majority vote from both the Houses.Separately, a notice submitted by 73 opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha on April 24 seeking Kumar’s removal remains pending in the Upper House.But removing a CEC is deliberately difficult.Article 324(5) of the Constitution provides that the Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only “in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court”.The same protection is incorporated into Section 11(2) of the 2023 Act.The other Election Commissioners enjoy a different safeguard: they cannot be removed from office except on the recommendation of the CEC.The higher threshold for removing a CEC is intended to protect the office from arbitrary or politically motivated removal.What does it take to remove a CEC?The removal process is rooted in the constitutional procedure applicable to Supreme Court judges.Article 124(4) of the Constitution, which lays down the procedure for removing a Supreme Court judge, states that a judge can be removed only by an order of the President following an address by each House of Parliament.Such an address must be supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of at least two-thirds of members present and voting, in the same session, on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.The process begins with a notice of motion in either House of Parliament alleging misbehaviour or incapacity. The notice must be signed by at least 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha or 50 MPs in the Rajya Sabha.The presiding officer of the concerned House can admit or refuse the motion after considering the material and information available. If the motion is admitted, an inquiry is conducted into the charges by a committee constituted for the purpose.If the charges are established, the motion must be passed by a majority of the total membership of each House and by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting in both Houses.Once both Houses pass the motion in accordance with these requirements, an address is made to the President, who then issues the order removing the CEC.The President’s role at this stage is constitutional and formal once Parliament has passed the required address.How the EC evolvedThe current structure of the Election Commission is itself the product of an institutional evolution.When the ECI was established in 1950, it was a single-member body, with the Chief Election Commissioner as its sole member.It became a three-member body for the first time in 1989, but that arrangement was short-lived. In January 1990, the VP Singh government reverted the Commission to a single-member structure.The system changed again in October 1993, when the PV Narasimha Rao government appointed MS Gill and GVG Krishnamurthy as Election Commissioners alongside CEC TN Seshan.Seshan challenged the appointments in the Supreme Court, arguing that the addition of commissioners diluted the authority of the CEC.In its 1995 judgment, a Constitution bench upheld the multi-member structure.The court made clear that the CEC was not institutionally superior to the other Election Commissioners. The three were intended to function collectively, with differences being resolved through the decision-making mechanism of the Commission.That judgment established the broad institutional framework that exists today.The big pictureThe Election Commission is not designed as a hierarchy in which one person commands and two others merely assist. Nor is it simply three independent offices operating in parallel. It is a constitutional body meant to function collectively.The law provides for unanimity where possible and a majority where consensus fails.The CEC occupies the position of first among equals, rather than that of a superior authority.The significance of the current controversy, therefore, lies not merely in the existence of disagreements within the Commission. Differences are inevitable in any institution exercising such enormous constitutional responsibility.The larger question is what happens after those differences arise: whether they remain part of an internal deliberative process, as the ECI maintains, or whether they reflect a deeper dispute over how collective authority is being exercised.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe credibility of an election does not rest only on the final tally of votes.It also rests on whether voters believe that the rules were applied fairly, the institutions enforcing them remained above the contest and the process was conducted without favour or hidden influence.The Election Commission, therefore, carries a burden that goes beyond administering polls: it must command confidence across the political spectrum and among voters themselves. Any perception that the referee is divided, opaque or partisan can cast a shadow over the process, even when the electoral machinery continues to function formally within the law.In the end, public trust is not built merely by declaring an election free and fair; it is built by ensuring that voters have little reason to doubt that verdict.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorRohitashwa RanjanRohitashwa Ranjan is a digital journalist with The Times of India, where he decodes Indian politics as a carefully staged production with scripts, subtext and everything behind. His stories track elections, party dynamics and the things that often are buried beneath the headlines. When not parsing vote shares or alliances, he is usually reading between the lines, where the real story tends to reside.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosDelhi Skeleton Mystery: Skeleton-Like Structure Found During BJP Cleanliness Drive | Watch‘Padma Bhushan Is Small, Make Him PM’: Pawan Khera Mocks BJP’s Praise For Gyanesh KumarSkyStriker, HIMARS, Apache: India, US Showcase Firepower At Yudh Abhyas 2026 | WatchTibet Govt-in-Exile Reprimands Activist Sonam Wangchuk, Calls Comparison ‘Misplaced and Inaccurate’India’s Savage ‘Osama’ Reply To Pak PM’s UN Bluster; ‘Repeating Lies Won’t Make It True’‘A Terrorist Country Asking Me That Question’: Jaishankar’s Sharp Reply To Pak Journalist At UN’SIR’ Under Fire? IIT-Bombay, Election Commission Face Accountability Questions | PrasangMassive Protest Erupts At Delhi’s Jantar Mantar Against Gyanesh Kumar Over EC-SIR RowUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMos123Hot PicksMandeep K BhandariBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysOdisha school textbooksPunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingNorma DumontRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

The CEC can have a distinct role within the institution, but the law does not provide for a system in which the CEC’s view automatically prevails over the other two commissioners. NEW DELHI: Elections are, by their very nature, a contest.Political parties fight for ground, candidates wage fierce campaigns and voters ultimately decide whom to trust with their mandate.Through it all, the Election Commission is meant to stand apart and monitor the process. Its role is to frame the rules, enforce them fairly and ensure that the contest remains even-handed.Yet, in recent days, the spotlight has moved away from those fighting the election and towards the institution meant to referee it.The players are no longer the only ones under scrutiny. Increasingly, the referee itself has become the subject of the debate.A report in The Indian Express claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi repeatedly raised objections with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over decisions and communications that they said were issued without their knowledge or approval.The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the episode points to a breakdown in its functioning. It has maintained that differences of opinion are a normal part of institutional deliberation and that all final decisions of the Commission have been unanimous.That leaves a larger constitutional question at the heart of the controversy: how is India’s election watchdog actually supposed to function?Is the Chief Election Commissioner the boss of the Election Commission, or simply the first among three equals? What happens when the three commissioners disagree? And why has the law governing their appointment become a subject of such intense controversy?What triggered the latest EC controversy?On September 23, The Indian Express reported that Sandhu and Joshi had, on multiple occasions, objected to decisions and communications they said were taken or issued without their prior knowledge.According to the report, the two commissioners recorded such objections on at least 14 occasions over the past 10 months.The issues reportedly ranged from changes to electoral forms and access to the voter database to the allocation of work within the Commission and the filing of appeals involving electoral rolls.The report has since triggered a wider debate over whether the Election Commission’s three members are exercising their powers collectively, as the law envisages, or whether the CEC has acquired a greater role in practice.What did the two ECs object to?According to the Indian Express report, the concerns raised by Sandhu and Joshi covered several aspects of the Commission’s functioning.Changes to Form 6: The two commissioners reportedly objected to changes made to Form 6, the application citizens use to register as new electors, without following due process. In May, Joshi warned that the form could not be altered without an amendment to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. On August 13, Sandhu reportedly described the change as “unauthorised and illegal” and called for its immediate removal.Access to electoral roll data: The commissioners also reportedly raised concerns about whether statutory authorities responsible for maintaining electoral rolls had complete access to voter data on the ERONet portal. Joshi flagged what he described as the “gradual centralisation of the electoral roll database” and proposed an audit to establish that only authorised officials had credentials to modify voter data. Sandhu, separately, recorded that state-level election officials had complained of not having “proper and complete access” to ERONet. He also questioned whether the Commission’s director general of IT, Seema Khanna, had the legal authority to restrict access for statutory officials such as Electoral Registration Officers.Reasons for objection by the other two election commissioners over the decision taken by CEC Gyanesh KumarChanges in work allocation: Joshi and Sandhu reportedly wrote separately to the cabinet secretary objecting to changes in the allocation of work that removed a layer of oversight over the Commission’s IT infrastructure. They said the changes had been made without their knowledge.West Bengal SIR appeals: During the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal, the Election Commission filed around 16.10 lakh appeals involving voters whose names judicial officers had added. The appeals were heard by tribunals headed by retired high court judges appointed by the Supreme Court. According to the report, neither the two election commissioners nor West Bengal’s chief electoral officer were informed about the basis or process for filing these appeals.Restoration of voters in Goa: Another concern reportedly involved 97 eligible voters whose names had to be restored to Goa’s electoral rolls. Despite repeated requests from Electoral Registration Officers, the voters could not initially be restored because the ECI’s software did not have an option for reinstatement.Communications issued in the ECI’s name: The two commissioners also reportedly objected to communications being issued in the Election Commission’s name without what they considered to be the Commission’s full approval. They cited Article 324 of the Constitution as well as the 2023 law governing the poll panel.Taken together, the reported objections raise a question that goes beyond any individual decision: how does a three-member constitutional body exercise collective authority when its members do not initially agree?What did the Election Commission say?The Election Commission strongly rejected the suggestion that its internal differences amount to a breakdown in decision-making, and added that all official orders and administrative directions had been issued unanimously.”Differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution. They are a part of the decision-making process before a final decision is taken. Not only the three Commissioners, but every officer of the Commission is fully authorised to give his suggestions to the Commission for improving the electoral system,” the ECI said in a statement.”In recent months, the Commission has taken numerous decisions, issued instructions, introduced around 40 new initiatives and undertaken many electoral reforms, including the conduct of electoral roll revision (including SIR) across the country. All these decisions are an outcome of the unanimous decisions of the full Commission in the past one year,” the poll body added.It also criticised the media report, saying that highlighting specific internal notes over a period of 10 months gives only one part of the picture.”Highlighting certain specific internal notes/observations spread over the period of 10 months while overlooking the much larger body of approvals, decisions, instructions and initiatives give only one part of the picture,” it said.The Election Commission stated that internal disagreements and suggestions from officers were a routine part of its decision-making process before reaching a final verdict.The disagreement, therefore, is not simply over whether commissioners have expressed reservations. It is over what those reservations mean for the functioning of the institution as a whole.CEC or ECs: Who has the final say?This is where the 2023 law becomes important.Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, provides that the Commission may, by unanimous decision, regulate how its business is conducted and allocate work among the CEC and the other Election Commissioners.It also says that, as far as possible, the Commission’s business should be transacted unanimously.But it makes an important provision for situations in which consensus is not possible.The opposition objected over the 2023 EC law alleging that the panel arrangement is made to ‘favour’ the government in powerIf the CEC and the other Election Commissioners differ on a matter, the issue is to be decided according to the opinion of the majority.In other words, the statutory framework does not make the CEC an executive superior to the other two commissioners. The three constitute the Commission collectively, while the CEC is the “first among equals”.The CEC can have a distinct role within the institution, but the law does not provide for a system in which the CEC’s view automatically prevails over the other two commissioners.Where the three disagree, the majority view is the deciding view.The controversy now centres on whether some of the decisions cited in the recent report were, in practice, implemented despite objections from the other two commissioners, and if so, how that squares with the statutory scheme governing the Commission’s decision-making.Why is the 2023 EC law controversial?The current controversy also brings back an older and deeper question: Who should appoint the people who conduct India’s elections?In March 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that Parliament had not yet enacted a law governing appointments to the Election Commission, despite Article 324 of the Constitution envisaging such a framework.Until Parliament enacted such a law, a Constitution bench prescribed an interim selection mechanism comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.The court stressed that an independent Election Commission was essential for democracy and observed that those entrusted with conducting elections must be insulated from executive influence.The Constitution outlines the removal guidelines for the CEC and details about the conditions of service as a CECParliament subsequently enacted the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.But the new law changed the composition of the selection committee.Instead of the Chief Justice of India, it provided for a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister. The committee therefore consists of the Prime Minister, a Union minister nominated by him and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.The opposition has alleged that the 2023 Act gives the executive “overwhelming” control over the appointment of Election Commissioners. The government, meanwhile, has defended the law and its institutional framework.Matter in Supreme CourtThe dispute has now reached the Supreme Court, where a challenge to the validity of the appointment law produced a split verdict.A two-judge SC bench differed over whether the matter should immediately be referred to a Constitution bench. Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma disagreed on that question, although both agreed that the matter should ultimately be placed before the Chief Justice of India for consideration by a larger bench.Section 18 of the CEC and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, outlines that the EC should ideally conduct business unanimously, but allows a majority opinion to decide matters when members disagree.They also agreed that sending the case first to a three-judge bench would be of “little worth” and could further delay a final determination of the constitutional questions involved. The matter is likely to be heard by a 5-judge bench soon.The issue is vital as it extends beyond the current dispute inside the Election Commission. It touches a larger institutional question: How independent should the body conducting India’s elections be from the executive, and what safeguards should govern the appointment of those who head it?Can a CEC actually be removed?The latest controversy has also acquired a political dimension, with opposition parties preparing fresh notices seeking the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.According to media reports, the notices, being drafted and vetted by experts, are expected to be submitted in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha next week. The proposed notices are expected to include issues raised in the Indian Express report.This would not be the opposition’s first attempt.On April 7, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairperson CP Radhakrishnan rejected an earlier notice seeking Kumar’s removal. That notice had been signed by 130 Lok Sabha members and 63 Rajya Sabha members and alleged partisanship and arbitrariness in the conduct of the SIR exercise.The CEC can be removed by the same procedure as a Supreme Court judge and requires a majority vote from both the Houses.Separately, a notice submitted by 73 opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha on April 24 seeking Kumar’s removal remains pending in the Upper House.But removing a CEC is deliberately difficult.Article 324(5) of the Constitution provides that the Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only “in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court”.The same protection is incorporated into Section 11(2) of the 2023 Act.The other Election Commissioners enjoy a different safeguard: they cannot be removed from office except on the recommendation of the CEC.The higher threshold for removing a CEC is intended to protect the office from arbitrary or politically motivated removal.What does it take to remove a CEC?The removal process is rooted in the constitutional procedure applicable to Supreme Court judges.Article 124(4) of the Constitution, which lays down the procedure for removing a Supreme Court judge, states that a judge can be removed only by an order of the President following an address by each House of Parliament.Such an address must be supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of at least two-thirds of members present and voting, in the same session, on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.The process begins with a notice of motion in either House of Parliament alleging misbehaviour or incapacity. The notice must be signed by at least 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha or 50 MPs in the Rajya Sabha.The presiding officer of the concerned House can admit or refuse the motion after considering the material and information available. If the motion is admitted, an inquiry is conducted into the charges by a committee constituted for the purpose.If the charges are established, the motion must be passed by a majority of the total membership of each House and by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting in both Houses.Once both Houses pass the motion in accordance with these requirements, an address is made to the President, who then issues the order removing the CEC.The President’s role at this stage is constitutional and formal once Parliament has passed the required address.How the EC evolvedThe current structure of the Election Commission is itself the product of an institutional evolution.When the ECI was established in 1950, it was a single-member body, with the Chief Election Commissioner as its sole member.It became a three-member body for the first time in 1989, but that arrangement was short-lived. In January 1990, the VP Singh government reverted the Commission to a single-member structure.The system changed again in October 1993, when the PV Narasimha Rao government appointed MS Gill and GVG Krishnamurthy as Election Commissioners alongside CEC TN Seshan.Seshan challenged the appointments in the Supreme Court, arguing that the addition of commissioners diluted the authority of the CEC.In its 1995 judgment, a Constitution bench upheld the multi-member structure.The court made clear that the CEC was not institutionally superior to the other Election Commissioners. The three were intended to function collectively, with differences being resolved through the decision-making mechanism of the Commission.That judgment established the broad institutional framework that exists today.The big pictureThe Election Commission is not designed as a hierarchy in which one person commands and two others merely assist. Nor is it simply three independent offices operating in parallel. It is a constitutional body meant to function collectively.The law provides for unanimity where possible and a majority where consensus fails.The CEC occupies the position of first among equals, rather than that of a superior authority.The significance of the current controversy, therefore, lies not merely in the existence of disagreements within the Commission. Differences are inevitable in any institution exercising such enormous constitutional responsibility.The larger question is what happens after those differences arise: whether they remain part of an internal deliberative process, as the ECI maintains, or whether they reflect a deeper dispute over how collective authority is being exercised.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe credibility of an election does not rest only on the final tally of votes.It also rests on whether voters believe that the rules were applied fairly, the institutions enforcing them remained above the contest and the process was conducted without favour or hidden influence.The Election Commission, therefore, carries a burden that goes beyond administering polls: it must command confidence across the political spectrum and among voters themselves. Any perception that the referee is divided, opaque or partisan can cast a shadow over the process, even when the electoral machinery continues to function formally within the law.In the end, public trust is not built merely by declaring an election free and fair; it is built by ensuring that voters have little reason to doubt that verdict.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorRohitashwa RanjanRohitashwa Ranjan is a digital journalist with The Times of India, where he decodes Indian politics as a carefully staged production with scripts, subtext and everything behind. His stories track elections, party dynamics and the things that often are buried beneath the headlines. When not parsing vote shares or alliances, he is usually reading between the lines, where the real story tends to reside.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosDelhi Skeleton Mystery: Skeleton-Like Structure Found During BJP Cleanliness Drive | Watch‘Padma Bhushan Is Small, Make Him PM’: Pawan Khera Mocks BJP’s Praise For Gyanesh KumarSkyStriker, HIMARS, Apache: India, US Showcase Firepower At Yudh Abhyas 2026 | WatchTibet Govt-in-Exile Reprimands Activist Sonam Wangchuk, Calls Comparison ‘Misplaced and Inaccurate’India’s Savage ‘Osama’ Reply To Pak PM’s UN Bluster; ‘Repeating Lies Won’t Make It True’‘A Terrorist Country Asking Me That Question’: Jaishankar’s Sharp Reply To Pak Journalist At UN’SIR’ Under Fire? IIT-Bombay, Election Commission Face Accountability Questions | PrasangMassive Protest Erupts At Delhi’s Jantar Mantar Against Gyanesh Kumar Over EC-SIR RowUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMos123Hot PicksMandeep K BhandariBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysOdisha school textbooksPunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingNorma DumontRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

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The CJP has said it will launch a nationwide agitation from October 2 against CEC Gyanesh Kumar NEW DELHI: Only the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) can force Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to resign, senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee said on Saturday.According to Kalyan Banerjee, who is from the Mamata Banerjee faction of the TMC, no political party can force Kumar to step down.“If the CJP gives a real challenge, they can remove Kumar; no other political party can. If the CJP does it, there will be quick disposal. They stick to one issue and pursue it with all their heart and soul,” he told a vernacular news channel.The CJP, a youth pressure group that led student protests that resulted in Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as Union education minister over the NEET paper leak issue, has warned that it will launch a nationwide agitation in Mumbai from October 2, Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, if the CEC does not resign by Saturday.CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday demanded Kumar’s resignation and threatened to launch a “Jantar Mantar 2.0” agitation if the poll body chief does not step down, referring to the designated protest venue in Delhi where the group held its sit-in demanding Pradhan’s resignation.Dipke’s remarks came a day after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders of the Election Commission, including those concerning the addition, deletion and restoration of voters and changes to the voter registration process.Following the report, poll panel officials said the two commissioners had raised objections to decisions taken during the electoral roll clean-up and the handling of voter databases in various states.Election Commission sources, however, maintained that all decisions of the commission, including the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), had been unanimous and approved by both election commissioners and the chief election commissioner.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesKumar, who became an election commissioner in 2024 and the CEC the following year, has repeatedly faced allegations of favouring the ruling BJP.Meanwhile, the Congress-led opposition INDIA bloc is expected to meet in Delhi on September 30 to discuss the Election Commission issue and decide its future course of action. The bloc is also expected to revive an impeachment motion against Kumar after an earlier motion, signed by nearly 200 opposition MPs, was not accepted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan.(With PTI inputs)Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorKaran ManralKaran Manral is a journalist at the Times of India. He covers politics, social issues, and international affairs, exploring stories that affect people’s everyday lives. He also writes explainers to make these stories easier for readers to follow.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosSkyStriker, HIMARS, Apache: India, US Showcase Firepower At Yudh Abhyas 2026 | WatchTibet Govt-in-Exile Reprimands Activist Sonam Wangchuk, Calls Comparison ‘Misplaced and Inaccurate’India’s Savage ‘Osama’ Reply To Pak PM’s UN Bluster; ‘Repeating Lies Won’t Make It True’‘A Terrorist Country Asking Me That Question’: Jaishankar’s Sharp Reply To Pak Journalist At UN’SIR’ Under Fire? IIT-Bombay, Election Commission Face Accountability Questions | PrasangMassive Protest Erupts At Delhi’s Jantar Mantar Against Gyanesh Kumar Over EC-SIR RowUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces123Hot PicksMandeep K BhandariBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingNorma DumontRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

The CJP has said it will launch a nationwide agitation from October 2 against CEC Gyanesh Kumar NEW DELHI: Only the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) can force Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to resign, senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee said on Saturday.According to Kalyan Banerjee, who is from the Mamata Banerjee faction of the TMC, no political party can force Kumar to step down.“If the CJP gives a real challenge, they can remove Kumar; no other political party can. If the CJP does it, there will be quick disposal. They stick to one issue and pursue it with all their heart and soul,” he told a vernacular news channel.The CJP, a youth pressure group that led student protests that resulted in Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as Union education minister over the NEET paper leak issue, has warned that it will launch a nationwide agitation in Mumbai from October 2, Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, if the CEC does not resign by Saturday.CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday demanded Kumar’s resignation and threatened to launch a “Jantar Mantar 2.0” agitation if the poll body chief does not step down, referring to the designated protest venue in Delhi where the group held its sit-in demanding Pradhan’s resignation.Dipke’s remarks came a day after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders of the Election Commission, including those concerning the addition, deletion and restoration of voters and changes to the voter registration process.Following the report, poll panel officials said the two commissioners had raised objections to decisions taken during the electoral roll clean-up and the handling of voter databases in various states.Election Commission sources, however, maintained that all decisions of the commission, including the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), had been unanimous and approved by both election commissioners and the chief election commissioner.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesKumar, who became an election commissioner in 2024 and the CEC the following year, has repeatedly faced allegations of favouring the ruling BJP.Meanwhile, the Congress-led opposition INDIA bloc is expected to meet in Delhi on September 30 to discuss the Election Commission issue and decide its future course of action. The bloc is also expected to revive an impeachment motion against Kumar after an earlier motion, signed by nearly 200 opposition MPs, was not accepted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan.(With PTI inputs)Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorKaran ManralKaran Manral is a journalist at the Times of India. He covers politics, social issues, and international affairs, exploring stories that affect people’s everyday lives. He also writes explainers to make these stories easier for readers to follow.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosSkyStriker, HIMARS, Apache: India, US Showcase Firepower At Yudh Abhyas 2026 | WatchTibet Govt-in-Exile Reprimands Activist Sonam Wangchuk, Calls Comparison ‘Misplaced and Inaccurate’India’s Savage ‘Osama’ Reply To Pak PM’s UN Bluster; ‘Repeating Lies Won’t Make It True’‘A Terrorist Country Asking Me That Question’: Jaishankar’s Sharp Reply To Pak Journalist At UN’SIR’ Under Fire? IIT-Bombay, Election Commission Face Accountability Questions | PrasangMassive Protest Erupts At Delhi’s Jantar Mantar Against Gyanesh Kumar Over EC-SIR RowUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces123Hot PicksMandeep K BhandariBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingNorma DumontRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

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The proposed meeting comes amid opposition parties’ growing coordination over the Election Commission’s electoral roll revision exercise. NEW DELHI: Opposition INDIA bloc parties are set to meet at the Constitution Club in New Delhi on September 30, with top leaders expected to attend amid growing concerns over the Election Commission and its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are also expected to attend the meeting.The meeting comes amid efforts by opposition parties to coordinate their response after reports of differences within the poll panel over aspects of the electoral roll revision. The parties have been in touch with each other and are discussing a joint response, sources said, as quoted by PTI.The opposition bloc also includes, the CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML)-Liberation, who have demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and an immediate halt to the SIR exercise. The Congress has also stepped up its criticism of Kumar, with its Working Committee scheduled to meet on September 29 to discuss its strategy on the issue.The developments have also brought the TMC and CPI(M), political rivals in West Bengal, together on the issue. CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby wrote to INDIA bloc and other opposition leaders seeking a meeting and subsequently spoke to Mamata Banerjee.Also read: Mamata guns for CEC, says protest will go on till he resignsThe opposition is also working on a fresh removal notice against Kumar, which is likely to be submitted in both Houses of Parliament after legal vetting. It would be the third such attempt by opposition parties.The latest mobilisation followed an Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over decisions and orders relating to the SIR exercise. The report triggered a wider political row over the functioning of the poll panel.The Election Commission, however, has rejected the suggestion that its decisions on SIR were divided. In the latest statement on Saturday, the poll body reiterated all decisions taken on the exercise had been approved unanimously.”In the recent months, the Commission has taken numerous decisions including SIR across the country. The order for the SIR issued on 24.6.2025 for all the States/UTs, starting with Bihar, followed by West Bengal and 30 other States/UTs was issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission,” it said.The EC also said the Supreme Court had upheld the SIR order on May 27, 2026. It added that schedules for subsequent phases covering 12 and 19 states and Union territories were also issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission. Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesEC also announced measures to simplify the SIR process, saying voters receiving notices over unmapped records or logical discrepancies would ordinarily not need to appear before the ERO, with booth-level officers collecting documents from their homes. Hearings will be held only in exceptional cases, preferably online. The EC said SIR had been completed in 20 states and UTs and extended deadlines for claims and objections in Delhi and Maharashtra. It also denied differences over SIR decisions, saying all such decisions had been taken unanimously, and clarified that a separate controversy involving an officer on deputation concerned administrative functioning, not any policy decision or the IT division.Read more: Election Commission holds crucial meeting amid SIR row, announces key decisionsGet the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorTrisha MahajanTrisha Mahajan is a journalist with The Times of India digital, with keen interest in covering business and corporate affairs. She also reports on key national and world developments and global news trends. A keen reader with a strong interest in storytelling that adds context, clarity, and depth to complex issues.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosDelhi Skeleton Mystery: Skeleton-Like Structure Found During BJP Cleanliness Drive | Watch‘Padma Bhushan Is Small, Make Him PM’: Pawan Khera Mocks BJP’s Praise For Gyanesh KumarSkyStriker, HIMARS, Apache: India, US Showcase Firepower At Yudh Abhyas 2026 | WatchTibet Govt-in-Exile Reprimands Activist Sonam Wangchuk, Calls Comparison ‘Misplaced and Inaccurate’India’s Savage ‘Osama’ Reply To Pak PM’s UN Bluster; ‘Repeating Lies Won’t Make It True’‘A Terrorist Country Asking Me That Question’: Jaishankar’s Sharp Reply To Pak Journalist At UN’SIR’ Under Fire? IIT-Bombay, Election Commission Face Accountability Questions | PrasangMassive Protest Erupts At Delhi’s Jantar Mantar Against Gyanesh Kumar Over EC-SIR RowUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMos123Hot PicksMandeep K BhandariBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysOdisha school textbooksPunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingNorma DumontRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

The proposed meeting comes amid opposition parties’ growing coordination over the Election Commission’s electoral roll revision exercise. NEW DELHI: Opposition INDIA bloc parties are set to meet at the Constitution Club in New Delhi on September 30, with top leaders expected to attend amid growing concerns over the Election Commission and its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are also expected to attend the meeting.The meeting comes amid efforts by opposition parties to coordinate their response after reports of differences within the poll panel over aspects of the electoral roll revision. The parties have been in touch with each other and are discussing a joint response, sources said, as quoted by PTI.The opposition bloc also includes, the CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML)-Liberation, who have demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and an immediate halt to the SIR exercise. The Congress has also stepped up its criticism of Kumar, with its Working Committee scheduled to meet on September 29 to discuss its strategy on the issue.The developments have also brought the TMC and CPI(M), political rivals in West Bengal, together on the issue. CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby wrote to INDIA bloc and other opposition leaders seeking a meeting and subsequently spoke to Mamata Banerjee.Also read: Mamata guns for CEC, says protest will go on till he resignsThe opposition is also working on a fresh removal notice against Kumar, which is likely to be submitted in both Houses of Parliament after legal vetting. It would be the third such attempt by opposition parties.The latest mobilisation followed an Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over decisions and orders relating to the SIR exercise. The report triggered a wider political row over the functioning of the poll panel.The Election Commission, however, has rejected the suggestion that its decisions on SIR were divided. In the latest statement on Saturday, the poll body reiterated all decisions taken on the exercise had been approved unanimously.”In the recent months, the Commission has taken numerous decisions including SIR across the country. The order for the SIR issued on 24.6.2025 for all the States/UTs, starting with Bihar, followed by West Bengal and 30 other States/UTs was issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission,” it said.The EC also said the Supreme Court had upheld the SIR order on May 27, 2026. It added that schedules for subsequent phases covering 12 and 19 states and Union territories were also issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission. Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesEC also announced measures to simplify the SIR process, saying voters receiving notices over unmapped records or logical discrepancies would ordinarily not need to appear before the ERO, with booth-level officers collecting documents from their homes. Hearings will be held only in exceptional cases, preferably online. The EC said SIR had been completed in 20 states and UTs and extended deadlines for claims and objections in Delhi and Maharashtra. It also denied differences over SIR decisions, saying all such decisions had been taken unanimously, and clarified that a separate controversy involving an officer on deputation concerned administrative functioning, not any policy decision or the IT division.Read more: Election Commission holds crucial meeting amid SIR row, announces key decisionsGet the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorTrisha MahajanTrisha Mahajan is a journalist with The Times of India digital, with keen interest in covering business and corporate affairs. She also reports on key national and world developments and global news trends. A keen reader with a strong interest in storytelling that adds context, clarity, and depth to complex issues.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosDelhi Skeleton Mystery: Skeleton-Like Structure Found During BJP Cleanliness Drive | Watch‘Padma Bhushan Is Small, Make Him PM’: Pawan Khera Mocks BJP’s Praise For Gyanesh KumarSkyStriker, HIMARS, Apache: India, US Showcase Firepower At Yudh Abhyas 2026 | WatchTibet Govt-in-Exile Reprimands Activist Sonam Wangchuk, Calls Comparison ‘Misplaced and Inaccurate’India’s Savage ‘Osama’ Reply To Pak PM’s UN Bluster; ‘Repeating Lies Won’t Make It True’‘A Terrorist Country Asking Me That Question’: Jaishankar’s Sharp Reply To Pak Journalist At UN’SIR’ Under Fire? IIT-Bombay, Election Commission Face Accountability Questions | PrasangMassive Protest Erupts At Delhi’s Jantar Mantar Against Gyanesh Kumar Over EC-SIR RowUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? 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Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar NEW DELHI: Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that the Election Commission conducted the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to “help the BJP capture Bengal” by deleting names of valid voters. She further demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.“The truth is now out about how BJP used EC,” Banerjee said, in an apparent reference to a recent report on differences within the poll panel over the SIR exercise.Speaking at a rally in Serampore, Banerjee said protests would continue until Kumar stepped down.“Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar must resign, otherwise protests will continue,” news agency PTI quoted her as saying.Moreover, Mamata confirmed that INDIA bloc meeting was likely to be held in Delhi’s Constitution Club on September 30.The proposed meeting comes amid closer coordination among the parties following reports of differences within the poll panel over aspects of the SIR exercise. The parties have been consulting each other on the issue and are working on a possible joint response.Earlier, Banerjee had alleged that leaders and workers of her faction of the Trinamool Congress had been kept under house arrest to prevent them from attending the rally, while BJP workers had “taken over the route” to the venue.“We have been kept under house arrest. I am not allowed to go to the venue of the rally. But I will go and address the rally. Stop me if you can,” she said before leaving for the venue.Banerjee took an alternative route through Dankuni and Delhi Road to reach Serampore instead of Uttarpara. A police vehicle accompanied her convoy.“BJP goons have taken over the route to the rally venue. There are no police personnel,” she alleged, referring to an alleged attack on TMC leaders travelling to the rally.Stones and eggs were allegedly thrown at TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh’s car in Uttarpara as he travelled to the rally. A group carrying black flags reportedly surrounded his vehicle and shouted the “go black” slogan. Central forces were subsequently deployed in the area.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesBanerjee accused the police and administration of failing to act against those responsible.“Such atrocities are seen in African countries. Such atrocities are not even happening in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which are also BJP-ruled. Then why has the ruling BJP unleashed so much terror on the streets (here)?” she said.The West Bengal BJP rejected Banerjee’s allegations as baseless.“When the people of the state have already rejected Mamata Banerjee and TMC in assembly elections, why would BJP attack them? No BJP workers was involved in the attack on Ghosh,” West Bengal BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorAastha JhaAastha Jha is a writer at The Times of India, covering politics. She also writes on business, global affairs, social issues, with a focus on policy, governance and their impact on everyday lives. Her work brings together reportage and analysis, tracking developments in India and abroad while examining the broader social and economic currents shaping public discourse.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosSkyStriker, HIMARS, Apache: India, US Showcase Firepower At Yudh Abhyas 2026 | WatchTibet Govt-in-Exile Reprimands Activist Sonam Wangchuk, Calls Comparison ‘Misplaced and Inaccurate’India’s Savage ‘Osama’ Reply To Pak PM’s UN Bluster; ‘Repeating Lies Won’t Make It True’‘A Terrorist Country Asking Me That Question’: Jaishankar’s Sharp Reply To Pak Journalist At UN’SIR’ Under Fire? IIT-Bombay, Election Commission Face Accountability Questions | PrasangMassive Protest Erupts At Delhi’s Jantar Mantar Against Gyanesh Kumar Over EC-SIR RowUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces123Hot PicksMandeep K BhandariBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingNorma DumontRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar NEW DELHI: Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that the Election Commission conducted the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to “help the BJP capture Bengal” by deleting names of valid voters. She further demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.“The truth is now out about how BJP used EC,” Banerjee said, in an apparent reference to a recent report on differences within the poll panel over the SIR exercise.Speaking at a rally in Serampore, Banerjee said protests would continue until Kumar stepped down.“Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar must resign, otherwise protests will continue,” news agency PTI quoted her as saying.Moreover, Mamata confirmed that INDIA bloc meeting was likely to be held in Delhi’s Constitution Club on September 30.The proposed meeting comes amid closer coordination among the parties following reports of differences within the poll panel over aspects of the SIR exercise. The parties have been consulting each other on the issue and are working on a possible joint response.Earlier, Banerjee had alleged that leaders and workers of her faction of the Trinamool Congress had been kept under house arrest to prevent them from attending the rally, while BJP workers had “taken over the route” to the venue.“We have been kept under house arrest. I am not allowed to go to the venue of the rally. But I will go and address the rally. Stop me if you can,” she said before leaving for the venue.Banerjee took an alternative route through Dankuni and Delhi Road to reach Serampore instead of Uttarpara. A police vehicle accompanied her convoy.“BJP goons have taken over the route to the rally venue. There are no police personnel,” she alleged, referring to an alleged attack on TMC leaders travelling to the rally.Stones and eggs were allegedly thrown at TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh’s car in Uttarpara as he travelled to the rally. A group carrying black flags reportedly surrounded his vehicle and shouted the “go black” slogan. Central forces were subsequently deployed in the area.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesBanerjee accused the police and administration of failing to act against those responsible.“Such atrocities are seen in African countries. Such atrocities are not even happening in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which are also BJP-ruled. Then why has the ruling BJP unleashed so much terror on the streets (here)?” she said.The West Bengal BJP rejected Banerjee’s allegations as baseless.“When the people of the state have already rejected Mamata Banerjee and TMC in assembly elections, why would BJP attack them? No BJP workers was involved in the attack on Ghosh,” West Bengal BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorAastha JhaAastha Jha is a writer at The Times of India, covering politics. She also writes on business, global affairs, social issues, with a focus on policy, governance and their impact on everyday lives. Her work brings together reportage and analysis, tracking developments in India and abroad while examining the broader social and economic currents shaping public discourse.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosSkyStriker, HIMARS, Apache: India, US Showcase Firepower At Yudh Abhyas 2026 | WatchTibet Govt-in-Exile Reprimands Activist Sonam Wangchuk, Calls Comparison ‘Misplaced and Inaccurate’India’s Savage ‘Osama’ Reply To Pak PM’s UN Bluster; ‘Repeating Lies Won’t Make It True’‘A Terrorist Country Asking Me That Question’: Jaishankar’s Sharp Reply To Pak Journalist At UN’SIR’ Under Fire? IIT-Bombay, Election Commission Face Accountability Questions | PrasangMassive Protest Erupts At Delhi’s Jantar Mantar Against Gyanesh Kumar Over EC-SIR RowUAPA ‘Missing’: What Allowed VanDyke, 6 Ukrainians To Leave India? The Legal Gap Explained‘Made In UP’ Missiles Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights: Amit Shah On BrahMosOmar Abdullah Moves Full Statehood Resolution In J&K Assembly, BJP Protest Sparks House UproarThird Bihar Harassment Case In A Week: Minor Girl Targeted In Banka, Video Surfaces123Hot PicksMandeep K BhandariBank strikeNEET PG ResultGold Rate TodayOctober 2026 School HolidaysTN programmePunjab school holidayMadurantakam bypollDr MonishCBSE Date SheetTop TrendingNorma DumontRahul GandhiPowerball JackpotDelhi Hit and RunUP EncounterDonald TrumpPM ModiNaomi OsakaJoe ThomasSupreme Court

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