Three BJP allies seek EC clarity over report on voter roll decisions

Three BJP allies in the National Democratic Alliance have urged the Election Commission to provide greater clarity on its handling of the ongoing voter list revision, with LJP (Ram Vilas) chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha and TDP Lok Sabha floor leader Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu calling for greater transparency.

Their remarks came after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over the past 10 months to certain decisions and orders that they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation, Maktoob Media reported.

The reported objections related to changes to statutory voter registration Form 6, procedures concerning additions and deletions from electoral rolls, and the centralised management of the electoral roll database.

The report prompted Opposition parties to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Against this backdrop, the three NDA partners sought a detailed response from the poll panel, with Paswan warning that public confidence in the electoral process could be affected.

Paswan clarified that he was neither speaking on behalf of the Election Commission nor endorsing the allegations raised by the Opposition. However, he said the poll panel should respond more forcefully to the questions being raised publicly and take steps to address doubts among voters about the electoral system.

Devarayalu said the SIR exercise in Andhra Pradesh had been conducted transparently and claimed that the Opposition had not been able to substantiate its concerns about the process there. At the same time, he stressed that the Election Commission, being a constitutional institution with an important role in democracy, should provide appropriate explanations whenever questions are raised about its functioning.

According to Devarayalu, greater transparency and clarification from the poll panel would help strengthen public confidence in the institution.

Kushwaha, a Rajya Sabha member, also said the controversy surrounding the SIR had created considerable confusion among the public. In a post on X tagging the Election Commission, he urged the poll panel to immediately explain the situation and clear the doubts surrounding the exercise.

Meanwhile, responding to The Indian Express report, the Election Commission maintained that all its decisions over the past year had been unanimous. The poll panel also said that differences in views and observations were a normal part of deliberations within any institution.