New Delhi, September 23, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday demanded the arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and fresh elections in several states, following a report alleging differences within the Election Commission.
Kejriwal’s remarks came after a report claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected to several decisions concerning electoral-roll revision and other matters. The Election Commission has rejected the report’s portrayal of internal differences, saying that differing views can form part of deliberations while final decisions of the full Commission have been unanimous.
Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal alleged that the SIR process, which he claimed had resulted in more than 13 crore names being removed from electoral rolls across 30 states and Union Territories, was conducted without proper approval of the full Commission.
He demanded that the entire SIR exercise and the orders and circulars issued in connection with it be cancelled.
“Special Intensive Revision (SIR), through which names of over 13 crore people across 30 states were deleted, that entire SIR process is illegal because the Election Commission had not officially passed it. All orders related to it are also illegal,” Kejriwal said.
He further alleged that Election Commission meetings had not been held for months and that the CEC was issuing directions independently. These allegations have not been established as facts.
Referring to reported objections over access to the ERONET portal used for electoral-roll management, Kejriwal alleged that powers constitutionally assigned to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) had been curtailed.
“The power of the EROs, granted by the Constitution, has been snatched away…there cannot be a bigger scam than this,” he said.
Kejriwal also demanded that Gyanesh Kumar be arrested and prosecuted, and called for elections held in Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Haryana in recent years, as well as in Madhya Pradesh, to be cancelled and conducted again.
He argued that the Election Commission is a three-member constitutional body comprising the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners, and that decisions are taken collectively either unanimously or by majority.
“None of the three have the authority to take decisions individually. No single person can run the Election Commission or issue orders to its officers,” Kejriwal said.
He added that the Chief Election Commissioner chairs and presides over meetings but does not have additional authority to take decisions independently.
The Election Commission, meanwhile, has maintained that its final decisions, including those related to the SIR exercise, were unanimous.
The controversy follows a report stating that Sandhu and Joshi had raised objections on multiple occasions over issues including voter additions and deletions, changes to Form 6 and the management of electoral-roll systems.
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