Protests have spread across India as opposition parties and civil society groups demand the resignation of the country’s election chief over the alleged manipulation of voter lists. The campaign has been supported in part by India’s “Cockroach” youth movement, which previously organized street demonstrations that forced the education minister to resign in July. Protesters are calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the immediate suspension of the poll body’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Critics argue that the revision could disenfranchise millions of voters and favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Both the government and the Election Commission have denied any wrongdoing. As the world’s largest democracy, India relies on its Election Commission to determine voter eligibility and administer elections, making changes to electoral rolls politically significant. The dispute centers on the SIR process, which began last year in Bihar ahead of local elections and has since expanded to most states and federally administered territories. Under this system, voters must provide documents proving their eligibility to stay on the rolls. While the Election Commission maintains that the exercise is necessary to eliminate duplicate and ineligible entries, critics warn it could exclude legitimate voters from poorer and vulnerable communities who may lack older government records. Opposition parties accuse the independent constitutional body of favoring Modi’s party by removing demographics more likely to vote for the opposition. Meanwhile, the BJP defends the update as a necessary measure to remove infiltrators. Tensions heightened earlier this year during West Bengal’s state elections, where a voter list revision removed roughly 12% of the electorate, and Modi’s party won the state for the first time. Internal disagreements within the commission have also surfaced, with media reports indicating that some commissioners formally objected to decisions regarding registration procedures and digital systems, though the commission characterized those reports as differing views rather than formal objections. With Election Commission data showing that voter lists in certain regions could shrink by up to 30%, protest groups and opposition parties are demanding an inquiry, a halt to the revision, and a more transparent appointment process for election commissioners as a series of state elections approach early next year.
Source: npr.org
