Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 18: Amid its face-off with the Election Commission with the opposition leaders claiming that the statements made by the chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in reply to “vote chori” allegations had raised more questions than providing answers, the INDIA Opposition bloc is considering bringing an impeachment motion against the CEC.
According to the sources, Opposition parties discussed bringing the motion to remove the poll body chief during a meeting of their leaders at Parliament on Monday morning. The process to remove a Chief Election Commissioner is similar to that of a Supreme Court Judge. Such a motion requires to be passed by a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament and the grounds of removal are “proved misbehaviour or incapacity.”
The opposition parties, led by the Congress, said the Election Commission (EC) was not acting like an unbiased entity and was in the hands of officers who are taking sides. The BJP, meanwhile, criticised the opposition’s disregard of the EC’s comments on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s vote theft allegations.
“The EC is in the hands of officers who are taking sides; it is not probing any charges made by the opposition,” said Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi during a press conference held by the INDIA bloc in response to the EC’s presser.
“…In its press conference yesterday, the EC raised questions about the political parties when they had to explain why they were conducting SIR (special intensive revision) in a hurry. The EC was silent on SIR in Bihar. They were also silent on how new 70 lakh voters were added between Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly elections…it is clear that EC is under such officials who are not unbiased,” Gogoi said.
Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting, representatives of eight prominent opposition parties like the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK and RJD hit out at the chief election commissioner (CEC), alleging that instead of responding to questions raised by them, he chose to attack them during his presser on Sunday (August 17).
Accusing CEC Gyanesh Kumar of acting like a BJP spokesperson, the opposition parties said he failed to answer their questions on the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and issues related to voter list irregularities. During the press conference, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra termed the EC’s presser as a “shameful display of puppetry” and said there should be action against the EC over “fraudulent” voter lists.
The Opposition parties’ plans on this subject follow the poll body chief’s strong remarks targeting the INDIA bloc’s allegations of vote fraud. Hitting back at senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” offensive, Mr Kumar on Sunday had said using such “improper words” amounts to insulting the Constitution.
At a press meet last afternoon, the Chief Election Commissioner said the poll body was being used as a launchpad to target India’s voters for political motives and that the poll body stands firmly with the voters. He said every party was the same for the Election Commission and that it did not discriminate between the ruling party and the Opposition.
Earlier this month, Mr Gandhi had alleged vote fraud in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment in Karnataka during the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha has now launched the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar. This Yatra will cover 1,300 km across 20 districts of the poll-bound state. The Congress and its ally RJD have challenged the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists in Bihar, alleging that the poll body was colluding with the BJP to tinker with the voter rolls and give an advantage to the ruling party.
Countering such allegations, the poll body chief yesterday said, “More than 1 crore officials, over 10 lakh booth-level agents and over 20 lakh polling agents work for a Lok Sabha election. Can anyone steal votes in front of so many people and with such a transparent process? Some allegations of double voting were made, but when we asked for proof, we got nothing. Such allegations scare neither the Election Commission nor any voter.”
Following Mr Gandhi’s allegations regarding Mahadevapura, the Karnataka poll body had asked him to take an oath and submit a declaration that he had irregularities in the voter list. Mr Gandhi has refused and said the data he cited was the poll body’s, not his. Stressing that the Congress leader must submit an affidavit, Mr Kumar said. “Affidavit has to be given or (he) must apologise to the nation. There is no third option. If we don’t receive an affidavit within seven days, it means these allegations are baseless.”
Later, Rahul Gandhi hit back at the CEC, alleging that the Election Commission was asking for an affidavit from him but doesn’t from BJP MP Anurag Thakur when he makes the same allegations. “The Election Commission asks for an affidavit from me. But when Anurag Thakur says the same thing that I am saying, the poll body does not ask for an affidavit from him,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Indicating that he would not submit a signed affidavit as sought by the Election Commission, Gandhi asserted that the data analysed by the Congress to provide “proof” of “vote theft” is taken from the Election Commission’s website.
Earlier, Gandhi had cited data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to claim that over 1 lakh votes were “stolen” through five types of manipulation in the Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka. He alleged there were 11,965 duplicate voters, 40,009 with fake and invalid addresses, 10,452 bulk voters or single-address voters, 4,132 voters with invalid photos and 33,692 voters misusing Form 6 of new voters.
Asked about the plan to push for the poll body chief’s removal, Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain said, “The Chief Election Commissioner spoke like a BJP spokesperson. We will use every option available to us in a parliamentary democracy including an impeachment motion if needed, though no formal discussions have been held so far. “If there is a need, we will use all the weapons of democracy under the rules. We have not had any discussions (about impeachment) as of now, but if needed, we can do anything,” Hussain said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin said the CEC’s press statement had given rise to more questions than answer to its allegations. “The following questions arise: How can there be so many deletions of eligible voters when house-to-house enumeration was undertaken?” he asked in a post on X. “The enrolment of new voters is abnormally low. Were these young voters enumerated? Has any database been compiled to show how many youngsters who turned 18 on the qualifying date were included?” Mr Stalin questioned.
The Chief Minister said the procedure for enquiry and two appeals, along with their timelines as contemplated under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, may exclude a huge number of voters in the forthcoming elections in Bihar. “Is the Election Commission of India (ECI) going to address this issue?” he further asked.
Mr Stalin went on to question if the ECI will take these practical difficulties into account while conducting Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in other States. “On 17/07/2025, we requested the ECI to delete the names of deceased voters from the rolls by undertaking the exercise contemplated in its 01/05/2025 notification. When will this be done? What prevents the ECI from enlisting Aadhaar as one of the acceptable documents to prove a voter’s claim? If ‘Fair Elections’ is truly the aim of the ECI, why can’t it be more transparent and voter-friendly?” he posed.
The TMC MP Mahua Moitra said, “West Bengal CM raised issue of duplicate EPIC voter cards, but issue not resolved,” Moitra said. “…Absolutely shameful display of puppetry by the Chief Election Commissioner at the press conference yesterday (August 17). The job of the Election Commission is not to attack the opposition. Mr Chief Election Commissioner, I would urge you to go back to your political masters….”
Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav said it is wrong of the EC to claim that the opposition levels charges without facts, and that no affidavits have been given.
“SP leaders gave an affidavit on removal of 18,000 voters from electoral rolls in 2022 but no action by EC,” Yadav said. “Election Commission saying that baseless complaints being made is wrong…In UP (Uttar Pradesh), the process to cut votes has already started…all this is done in a calculated way, and EC ignores our complaints. This is a serious issue.”
Gogoi said the EC was silent on the issue of voter additions in Maharashtra, discrepancies in rolls in Mahadevapura (assembly segment under Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat), and video data deletion. “The right to vote is the most important right given by the Constitution to a common citizen. Democracy depends on it. EC is the body meant to protect it… But we can see that the CEC did not reply to the important questions being raised by the political parties, and is running away from its responsibility,” he said.
He reminded the EC that its constitutional duty was to ensure free and fair elections and claimed that the officials at the helm were not allowing an inquiry into the opposition’s allegations. He said the CEC should have answered valid questions asked by the opposition.
“On the contrary, he raised questions on political parties and attacked them. It would have been better if they had told why SIR was done in such a hurry, when elections are just three months away, without discussing with political parties; why are they in a rush to announce SIR?” he asked.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha attacked the CEC, saying: “Yesterday we were looking for our CEC, we found a new BJP spokesperson,” while Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena (UBT) also accused the CEC of “behaving like a BJP spokesperson.”
The BJP has slammed the Opposition parties over these reports and said the opposition had been triggered by the EC’s press conference. “The entire opposition ecosystem is buzzing like a bee in a bonnet after the Election Commission’s press conference. Pure schadenfreude,” said BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya before the opposition’s press conference. Rajya Sabha MP Radha Mohan Das Agarwal said, “What can we expect from fools? I am surprised they have not brought impeachment motions against the Supreme Court and high courts.”
BJP MP Kangana Ranaut accused Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of insulting voters. She said despite being reprimanded by the EC, the opposition was creating a ruckus in Parliament over the Bihar special intensive revision (SIR) exercise.
“Election Commission has reprimanded Rahul Gandhi, that he insulted people and voters. Rahul Gandhi has dishonoured the voters he named. Despite such reprimanding, they (INDIA bloc MPs) did drama here today. So, you can understand that if they don’t get power, they would not let any work be done. When they had the opportunity, they did corruption. Now, when the country is progressing, they are sad. So, public is watching this and that is the reason they won’t be able to win any election…” Ranaut said.
Union Minister SP Singh Baghel said it was an insult to the Constitution that the opposition wanted to bring an impeachment notice against the CEC. “Several important bills were supposed to be introduced in monsoon session. But all of that fell victim to the ruckus. This happened due to the opposition… No Election Commission can ever delete the name of a valid voter… Opposition wants to make them citizens of India by turning them into voters. If this happens, the elections in democracy will get affected. If those who do not have the right to vote become voters it will affect social harmony as well as the internal security of the country,” he said.
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said: “Rahul Gandhi and Congress have repeatedly tried to defame democracy by lying. Rahul Gandhi is constantly pushing the limits of lying. The Election Commission’s clarification and facts have exposed Congress’s conspiracy. The truth has come to light…”
The Opposition does not have the requisite numbers to get the impeachment motion against the CEC passed if moved, but a senior Opposition leader said the motion was to underline their protest at the conduct of the CEC.