Election Commission rift: ECs Sandhu, Joshi record 14 objections over 10 months

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Sep 23, 2026: An internal rift has emerged within the Election Commission of India (ECI), with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recording formal objections at least 14 times over 10 months against decisions and directives they said were taken without their knowledge or the Commission’s concurrence.

According to an investigation by The Indian Express, the disagreements largely centre on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and issues concerning voter registration, deletion and restoration, as well as control of the electoral roll database.

The SIR exercise, which began in Bihar in June 2025, has so far resulted in more than 13 crore names being removed from draft electoral rolls across 30 states and Union Territories, according to the report.

Between November 2025 and August 2026, Sandhu and Joshi repeatedly recorded their objections to various decisions, at times submitting multiple notes on the same day. Their concerns included changes to Form 6, access to electoral-roll software, senior administrative appointments and the filing of appeals in West Bengal.

Objections over Form 6 changes

The two Election Commissioners objected to changes made to Form 6, the statutory application used by new voters to register themselves on the electoral roll.

The revised form required applicants to state whether their own name, or that of a parent or grandparent, appeared in the electoral roll from the previous SIR. Joshi had objected in May, saying the statutory form could not be changed without amendments to the relevant rules. Sandhu subsequently concurred with him.

On August 13, Sandhu described the change as “unauthorised and illegal” and called for its immediate removal.

Concerns over centralisation of voter database

Sandhu and Joshi also raised concerns over what they described as the “gradual centralisation” of the electoral-roll database.

Joshi proposed an audit to ensure that only the statutory authorities responsible for maintaining the rolls had credentials to make changes to the database.

Sandhu later flagged complaints from state-level election officials that they did not have complete access to the ERONet system. He also questioned the authority of the Election Commission’s IT division to restrict access available to statutory Electoral Registration Officers.

Goa voters affected by software restrictions

The Commissioners also raised concerns over software restrictions in Goa that prevented Electoral Registration Officers from restoring 97 eligible voters to the final electoral roll, despite the voters producing documents as directed by the Supreme Court.

According to the report, Goa’s Chief Electoral Officer’s office repeatedly sought a rollback facility that would allow the local officers to reverse the earlier deletions. The facility was not enabled before the deadline for publication of the final electoral roll.

Questions over West Bengal appeals

Sandhu also questioned the filing of around 16.1 lakh appeals in West Bengal against voters whose names had been restored by judicial officers during the SIR process.

He asked who had authorised the appeals to be filed on behalf of the ECI and who had actually filed them. According to the report, Sandhu recorded that neither he nor Joshi nor West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer had been informed about the basis or process through which the appeals were filed.

Commissioners write to Cabinet Secretary

In an unusual move, both Sandhu and Joshi separately wrote to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan over changes in the allocation of administrative responsibilities relating to the ECI’s IT infrastructure.

They argued that the changes reduced layers of oversight and had been made without their knowledge. The objections also cited Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.

Under Section 18, the Commission’s business is to be conducted, as far as possible, unanimously, and where members differ, according to the majority view.

The ECI, however, has disputed the suggestion of a rift. Sources cited by Deccan Chronicle said decisions of the Commission, including those relating to the SIR, had been taken unanimously with the approval of all three members.