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India's Election Commission (ECI) is facing yet another crisis of credibility after a series of fresh allegations of irregularities against its chief.

One of the most trusted public institutions in the world's largest democracy, the three-member commission is headed by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and includes Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as commissioners.

The latest row broke out after a report in the Indian Express newspaper said that in the past few months, CEC Kumar had been repeatedly questioned by his two colleagues over the integrity of the voter database, changes to the way new voters are enrolled and the security of the electoral rolls itself.

The report said that Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi objected to several decisions which were taken without their knowledge. There were at least 14 times in the past 10 months when Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi were kept in the dark, it added.

In one instance, the report says, the two commissioners even wrote a letter complaining to the chief secretary, the top bureaucrat in the Indian government.

The revelations have created a furore, with opposition leaders demanding Kumar's resignation. Sandhu and Joshi have not publicly commented on the report but the ECI said in a statement that "differing views" were part of the "decision-making process".

The report comes at a time when the commission is carrying out a controversial country-wide revision of the electoral database.

The Election Commission says the aim of this Special Intensive Revision - better known by its acronym SIR - is to ensure that no ineligible name remains on the rolls.

It says the last revision was done nearly a quarter of a century ago and the voters' list needs to be updated to account for those who have died, left the country or are registered in more than one place as they've moved to a new address.

But the exercise has been mired in controversy from the start with the opposition parties accusing CEC Kumar of manipulating voters' list to favour Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during elections. Both the BJP and the Election Commission have rejected the accusations.

But the latest revelations are being seen as much more serious as they are about questions being raised from within the Election Commission about the way its chief is functioning.

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From the start, questions have lingered over the robustness of the revision, which has seen 130 million names from across India struck off the voters' list.

Millions of voters have also complained to the authorities that their names are missing, saying the new process set by SIR to register as voters is too cumbersome and involves furnishing documents that many don't have.

Former CEC SY Quraishi, who says he has "been a critic of the SIR from the beginning", told news agency PTI that he always wondered why Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi had been "keeping quiet".

"[Now] I realised that very silently and quietly they were protesting, they were writing notes. That is a good thing, they have gone up in my esteem," he said.

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The revelations have also provided fresh ammunition to the opposition parties and critics who have repeatedly claimed that SIR is being used to exclude their voters for the BJP's benefit and that elections in India are no longer free and fair.

On Wednesday, angry opposition politicians once again questioned the sanctity of India's election process and demanded that CEC Kumar resign, saying he had no right to continue in office, with some even calling for his arrest.

The charge was led by MP and senior Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi who has repeatedly accused the Commission of "stealing votes from the opposition". On Wednesday, he also accused the Commission and its officers of "treason".

"Vote chori [theft] is a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on our constitution. The BJP, RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] and EC who organised it have committed an act of treason. Justice will be served," he posted on X. He also shared a 15-second video telling the commission and its officers that "your time will come. You cannot get away".

Mamata Banerjee, leader of the regional Mamata All India Trinamool Congress, called for Kumar's arrest and demanded fresh polls with the pre-SIR voters' list in the state of West Bengal which she lost to the BJP in the recent elections. At least 2.7million voters were removed in the state during SIR - Banerjee and her supporters say that cost them dozens of seats and the election win.

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Within hours of the Indian Express report and statements from opposition leaders, the Election Commission put out a statement defending its way of working.

"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 statement said.

The note said that highlighting "certain specific internal notes and observations spread over the period of 10 months while overlooking the much larger body of approvals, decisions, instructions and initiatives" give only part of the picture.

And that in recent months, the commission has "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 BJP has also defended CEC Kumar, calling the opposition criticism a "smear campaign" and that dissent was "a sign of a vibrant democracy".

Party spokesperson Sambit Patra told a press conference that "ever since the Modi government came to power in 2014, opposition parties have been collapsing one after the other". And because they cannot win elections, they are trying to "undermine the institutions of the country", he said.

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But the row over the election database is likely to intensify. Banerjee has already said opposition parties will hold protests until Kumar remains CEC.

And India's influential Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which recently forced the education minister to resign, has also said it will protest against the "hijacking of India's democracy".

Analysts say the defence of the Election Commission is unlikely to satisfy many, with some pointing out that its statement doesn't address all the issues raised in the newspaper report and that "CEC Kumar needs to clear the air if we are to view the Commission as an impartial body".

 

SOURCE/AUTHOR : BBC NEWS/Geeta Pandey, Social Affairs Editor, India