Khera Alleges ‘Extraordinary Control’ by CEC Over Election Commission

New Delhi, Sept 23 : Congress leader Pawan Khera has alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar exercised “extraordinary control” over the Election Commission of India (ECI), raising questions about the functioning of the poll panel and the integrity of the electoral process.

Khera’s remarks came after an investigation by The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised formal objections on several occasions over decisions concerning electoral rolls, voter registration and the Commission’s technology systems.

According to the report, Sandhu and Joshi recorded objections at least 14 times over a 10-month period. The issues reportedly included changes to Form 6, which is used for registering new voters, as well as the centralisation of access to voter data and electoral databases.

In a post on X, Khera sharply criticised Kumar and alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner had exercised disproportionate control over an institution that is constitutionally structured to function collectively through the Chief Election Commissioner and the other Election Commissioners.

Khera further alleged that decisions taken under Kumar’s leadership had undermined the electoral process and called for legal accountability. These allegations have not been independently established.

The Indian Express investigation also reported that the two Election Commissioners had raised concerns over the functioning of ECINet, the ECI’s centralised technology platform, and the concentration of control over electoral databases at the Commission’s headquarters in New Delhi.

In one instance cited in the report, 97 voters in Goa were said to have met the requirements laid down by the Electoral Registration Officer, but the officer was reportedly unable to record the decisions because of a software-related issue controlled from the Commission’s headquarters.

The report further stated that Sandhu and Joshi had approached Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan over concerns relating to the administration and integrity of voter-related software.

It also reported that the three-member Commission did not hold a full meeting for four months between May and August, with the first such meeting during that period taking place on September 9. The two Election Commissioners were also reported to have objected to certain decisions and orders that they said had been issued without their knowledge.

The Election Commission has, according to the report, not yet responded to The Indian Express’s questions regarding the issues raised by the two Commissioners.

The controversy comes amid heightened political scrutiny of the ECI’s handling of electoral-roll revisions and voter registration. The Congress has repeatedly raised concerns over aspects of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, while the Election Commission has maintained that such exercises are intended to ensure accurate and legally compliant voter lists.

The developments have renewed scrutiny not only of the Commission’s electoral-roll procedures but also of its internal decision-making and the functioning of its three-member constitutional body.