India’s election commissioners meet amid dispute over voter-roll revision

India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi met in New Delhi on Saturday amid controversy over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The Election Commission said the meeting addressed the revision exercise, the enrolment of new voters through Form 6 and issues concerning the institution’s internal functioning. It also clarified matters related to a letter Sandhu and Joshi had sent to the Cabinet Secretary.

The commission’s press note, dated September 26, included a photograph of all three commissioners and dealt with three main subjects: the addition of new voters, extensions to the timetable for the ongoing revision and concerns raised in a September 23 report by The Indian Express. The meeting came after media reports said Sandhu and Joshi had objected on several occasions to decisions and orders connected with the revision of voter lists. Those reports have contributed to a wider political and legal dispute over how the poll panel is operating.

The Special Intensive Revision is the commission’s exercise to review electoral rolls. The statement also referred to Form 6, the application used for the enrolment of new voters, but the supplied material does not provide further details of any decisions concerning individual applications. The commission’s note outlined decisions and clarifications rather than announcing a final resolution of the broader controversy.

It specifically addressed the Cabinet Secretary letter and the reports concerning the two election commissioners’ objections. India Today described the matter as developing and said the report would be updated. The material supplied does not include responses from political parties, courts or the Cabinet Secretary, nor does it specify the revised timetable or the precise content of the commissioners’ disagreements.