India’s election commission is facing mounting pressure after a newspaper investigation alleged misconduct during a nationwide voter-roll revision.
asserted
investigation → face → revision
The Indian Express alleged last month that key decisions linked to the large-scale revision exercise — which has seen millions of names removed from draft voter rolls — were likely taken without the approval of two of the three election commissioners.
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millions → allege → commissioners
The Election Commission of India (ECI), a constitutional body, has rejected the allegations.
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Commission → reject → allegations
It says all its decisions were unanimous and legally valid.
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decisions → say → ?
Opposition parties say legitimate voters are being struck off to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party.
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voters → say → party
Protests demanding that commission chief Gyanesh Kumar step down have grown since the report, with a demonstration in the capital New Delhi on Saturday expected to draw large crowds.
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Kumar → demand → crowds
The allegations are a fresh challenge for 76-year-old Modi, in his third term in office, following student protests in July that forced the education minister to resign.
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that → follow → minister
What’s the controversy?
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controversy → ’ → ?
The Indian Express reported that the poll body has been riven by internal disagreements since the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter lists began in 2025.
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Revision → report → 2025
It said two of the ECI’s three commissioners formally lodged objections more than a dozen times in the last 10 months over key SIR decisions.
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two → say → decisions
Decisions by the three-member poll body should be taken by consensus or a majority.
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Decisions → take → consensus
Why has it sparked anger?
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it → spark → anger
The poll body says the exercise identifies fraudulently registered voters and aims to prevent “foreign illegal immigrants” from casting ballots.
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exercise → say → ballots
Critics say the drive has disproportionately affected marginalised and minority communities.
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drive → say → communities
Members of Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have long alleged that large numbers of undocumented Muslim migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh have fraudulently entered India’s electoral rolls.
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numbers → allege → rolls
How many are excluded?
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many → exclude → ?
According to election commission data cited by Indian media, more than 133 million names have been excluded from draft rolls.
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names → accord → rolls
That’s roughly the population of Mexico and, in the world’s most populous nation, adds up to about 15 per cent of the electorate.
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That → ’ → electorate
The exclusions include duplicate entries and people found to have died.
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exclusions → include → entries
The final count of excluded voters, however, will only be clear after claims and objections are processed and final rolls are published.
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rolls → exclude → voters
Thousands have taken to the streets in protest, and the youth-led online Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement launched fresh demonstrations on October 2 in Mumbai.
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movement → take → Mumbai
The opposition Congress Party has rallied in New Delhi, with key leader Rahul Gandhi briefly detained on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Gandhi → rally → Tuesday
The CJP, which has millions of followers on social media, succeeded in its campaign to oust the education minister in July over irregularities in exam systems.
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which → have → systems
The movement has called for another “mass mobilisation” on Saturday, supported by student groups aligned with left-wing parties.
“Last time when we got together, it was a cabinet minister who had to resign,” said Neha Bora, a student leader who has emerged as one of the faces of the latest protests.
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who → call → protests
“This time, we will see the CEC (chief election commissioner) being ousted.”
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CEC → see → ?
Kumar, 62, is a retired civil servant from the elite Indian Administrative Service.
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Kumar → retire → Service
He took charge as election commission chief in February last year and is due to remain in office until January 2029.
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He → take → January
Kumar’s civil services journey began in the southern state of Kerala, whose government launched a probe this month into corruption allegations involving him dating back to 2006.
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government → begin → 2006
What do the courts say?
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courts → say → What
The Supreme Court has ordered the government and election body to explain decisions linked to the voter-roll revision.
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Court → order → revision
The legality of the revision exercise has also been examined by the court.
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legality → examine → court
In May, it allowed the election commission to proceed with the nationwide exercise, while calling for safeguards to protect eligible voters.
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commission → allow → voters
The Aporia
