Gyanesh Kumar Faces Growing Criticism Over SIR as India’s Election Commission Comes Under Scrutiny

India’s Election Commission is facing renewed scrutiny over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with opposition leaders and critics raising concerns over voter deletions and the role of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The controversy has intensified after reports of internal disagreements within the Election Commission and growing criticism from political groups and young voters over the SIR process. The Election Commission has rejected reports that major decisions were taken without the approval of all three commissioners, saying its decisions were taken according to the commission’s procedures.

Congress leaders have also criticised the SIR process and raised concerns about difficulties faced by first-time and young voters. The party has accused the Election Commission of creating additional hurdles for Gen Z voters registering for the electoral rolls.

A separate preliminary report cited by Hindustan Times found that 158,677 names were removed from Manipur’s draft electoral roll during the SIR exercise. The report said hill constituencies accounted for 66.4% of the deletions, with an average of 79 deletions per booth compared with 31 in the Imphal Valley.

The findings have added to wider concerns surrounding the SIR exercise, although the deletion figures include voters classified as dead, shifted or absent and do not by themselves establish that names were removed for political reasons.

Indian economist and political commentator Prakalla Prabhakar has criticised the SIR process, arguing that it could disproportionately affect minorities. His comments form part of a broader political debate over voter-list revisions and their potential impact on India’s electoral process.

The Election Commission, meanwhile, has defended the revision exercise as a process aimed at cleaning electoral rolls by removing duplicate, deceased, shifted and otherwise ineligible entries. CEC Gyanesh Kumar has said the commission’s focus is on maintaining accurate electoral records.

The controversy continues as political parties and civil society groups debate the transparency of the SIR process and safeguards available to voters whose names have been removed from draft rolls.