Opposition parties have raised questions over the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) after a report by The Indian Express revealed that two Election Commissioners had formally objected to several decisions taken by the poll panel over a 10-month period.
According to the report, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections on at least 14 occasions between November 2025 and August 2026. The objections reportedly concerned issues including voter registration, deletion and restoration of names from electoral rolls, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and the management of the Election Commission’s voter database.
The report said some of the concerns were directed to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. In one case, the two commissioners reportedly questioned changes connected with Form 6, which is used by citizens to apply for inclusion in the electoral roll. They reportedly argued that certain changes linked the application process with information from earlier SIR exercises and described the changes as unauthorised.
Another major concern reported by The Indian Express involved the management and access of electoral-roll data. The two commissioners reportedly raised questions about the increasing centralisation of the Election Commission’s digital systems and whether this could reduce the role of Electoral Registration Officers at the state and constituency levels.
The report has added to the political debate surrounding the SIR exercise, which has already faced criticism from several opposition parties. Opposition leaders have cited the reported disagreements within the three-member Election Commission while questioning how important decisions concerning electoral rolls were made.
However, the Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that its decisions were taken without proper institutional approval. In its response to the report, the ECI said differing views and observations are a normal part of internal deliberations. It stated that decisions taken by the Commission over the past year, including those related to electoral-roll revision and SIR, were unanimous decisions of the full Commission.
Opposition leaders, including Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, have continued to demand greater transparency regarding the reported differences within the poll panel. They have argued that the concerns raised by the two commissioners require a clear explanation, particularly because electoral rolls directly affect citizens’ ability to exercise their voting rights.
The controversy has also renewed wider discussions about the independence, transparency and decision-making process of the Election Commission. The reported objections do not by themselves establish that any election process was unlawful, but they have raised questions about how disagreements within the constitutional body are handled and documented.
The Election Commission has maintained that its decisions are taken through the institutional process and that differences during deliberations should not be treated as evidence that the final decisions were not properly authorised. The debate is likely to continue as political parties and other stakeholders seek further clarification about the issues raised in the report.