Various media outlets reported that Congress workers staged protests across several states on Friday, September 25, 2026, as part of a nationwide programme demanding the resignation and removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, exposed for taking non-consultative decisions regarding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that has disenfranchised 13 crore Indian Voters. The conception of the SIR process, substantively and procedurally, has not followed statutory requirements under the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 and the Election Manuals, an issue that has drawn independent investigations by citizen’s collectives and media establishments. The political opposition has so far also sporadically raised the issue yet gone along with state elections in Bihar (2025), West Bengal (2026), Kerala (2026) and Tamil Nadu (2026) using the hastily constructed electoral rolls that are under contestation.
Articles exposing the non-transparency in functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) may be read here, here and here.
Today, two days after the expose by The Indian Express that exposed serious fissures within the Election Commission, with two Commissioners disagreeing or dissenting with CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s decision 14 times in ten months since October 2025.
Protests were seen in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Manipur, among other states, with party workers marching towards Election Commission offices and raising slogans against the CEC.In Dehradun, Uttarakhand Congress leaders and workers, led by state in-charge Kumari Selja and Pradesh Congress Committee president Ganesh Godiyal, marched from the PCC headquarters towards the Election Office at the state Secretariat to gherao the office (as reported by ANI)
The Indian Youth Congress also held a protest march on Friday from 5, Raisina Road, to Jantar Mantar, with Kumar’s removal among its key demands. The demonstrations come as political parties intensify their criticism of the Election Commission’s functioning and the SIR exercise.
The protests have also spread to several other states. The Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress held a protest outside the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer in Bhopal on Thursday, raising slogans against the CEC and demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the poll panel’s functioning and the revision process.
Protesters carried posters bearing messages such as “arrest Gyanesh Kumar for treason” and “Vote-Chori magic trick exposed”. Bhopal district Youth Congress president Ankit Dubey alleged that no proper inquiry had been conducted despite objections by two Election Commissioners over the deletion of voters’ names and access to the voter database.
The Indian Youth Congress also launched a nationwide online citizens’ petition titled “Gyanesh, It’s Done Bro”. Through the campaign, it sought action against Kumar and urged citizens, especially young people, to support electoral transparency and accountability.
In Punjab, too the Congress protested.
🔥 Massive protest erupt across various cities against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, with Congress workers demanding his resignation.
📍Chandigarh : Police use water cannons on Congress workers.
Gyanesh Kumar Gupta’s “Gupt Yojana” exposed. pic.twitter.com/aAjipYReAS
— Priya Purohit (@Priyaa_Purohit) September 25, 2026
Uttarakhand PCC president Ganesh Godiyal told ANI, “Rahul Gandhi has been saying this for the past three years that under vote theft, the Election Commission is getting BJP governments installed, and this fact has been proven true today. I salute Rahul Gandhi for his steadfastness… Certainly, this will benefit the nation. We want neutral and clean elections. If clean and neutral elections are held, it will have its own impact.
“Leader of Opposition in the Uttarakhand Assembly, Yashpal Arya said, “For three years, Rahul Gandhi has been highlighting the conduct of the Chief Election Commissioner, specifically how rules regarding ‘Form 6’ were disregarded and how votes were deleted or added via the SIR process. Although the other two Election Commissioners raised objections 14 times over a ten-month period, the Chief Election Commissioner ignored them. It has now come to light that 13 crore votes were deleted over the past few years, and the BJP central government manipulated the electoral process… a criminal case for sedition should be registered against him, and he ought to be dismissed immediately.”
In Lucknow, Congress workers gathered at the party’s state office and staged a demonstration over the SIR exercise, with plans also reported to lay siege to the State Election Commission office in Hazratganj.In Manipur, Congress workers led by Pradesh Congress Committee president Okram Ibobi Singh and Congress Legislature Party leader Keisham Meghachandra Singh marched towards the Chief Electoral Office at Lamphelpat, demanding the arrest and prosecution of Kumar.The protest came with a rally carrying slogans of immediate arrest of Gyanesh Kumar and also burnt the effigy of Gyanesh Kumar. The protest became violent, and the protesters scuffled with police; later, the police personnel resorted to firing tear gas shells.Furthermore, in Jammu, heavy police deployment was made outside the Election Commission office during a Congress protest. Congress leader Chaudhary Lal Singh said demonstrations were being held across the country wherever Election Commission offices were located.”Demonstrations are taking place everywhere, statewide and nationwide, wherever there is an Election Commission office. The reason for these protests is the rigging orchestrated by the Election Commission in collusion with the government; they have misused the people’s right to vote. The manner in which the government was formed is utterly absurd; a losing government was declared the winner, while the actual winners lost. This gross injustice has now been proven,” he told ANI.
In Srinagar, Congress MLAs staged a protest inside the Legislative Assembly and raised banners demanding the immediate resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Congress leaders and workers also staged protests in Guwahati, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Lucknow and Kolkata, demanding the resignation of Kumar.
The protest was organised as part of the nationwide programme directed by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), which asked state units to hold marches to their respective Election Commission offices.The protests come amid reports that The Indian Express on Thursday said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders related to the SIR process.
In its defence, the Election Commission, however, has rejected the characterisation of these objections as evidence of institutional dissent, saying operational queries, internal feedback and administrative suggestions during the drafting process are part of the normal functioning of a multi-member constitutional body. The ECI has maintained that all final decisions, including those concerning SIR, were unanimous.The Congress has also indicated that opposition parties may move an impeachment motion against Kumar in both Houses of Parliament, as per sources.The controversy over SIR and the Election Commission’s internal functioning is expected to be taken up at the Congress Working Committee meeting scheduled for September 29 in New Delhi. (ANI)
Meanwhile, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud said the Congress would organise protests at all district headquarters across the State on Monday (September 28, 2026) against what he described as the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) mishandling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Left parties demand CEC’s removal, announce week-long protest against SIR
The CPI, CPI (M), CPI (ML)L, RSP, and All India Forward Bloc seek Gyanesh Kumar’s ouster, suspension of the SIR, and restoration of voting rights to those wrongfully excluded from electoral rolls. Left parties issued a joint statement demanding the ouster of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and a halt to the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The parties also announced a week-long protest to be held across the country from September 26 to October 2 on the issue.
The parties have demanded not only that the CEC be removed from office, but also that the SIR be halted and that voting rights be restored to all those who have been wrongfully excluded from the electoral rolls. The parties also demanded that the Election Commission’s “independent and democratic functioning” be reinstated and that the present system of appointment of Election Commissioners be replaced with a mechanism based on the Supreme Court’s proposed selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India.
The statement said the latest expose confirms concerns repeatedly raised by Opposition parties and civil society organisations and expose the hollowness of claims that the SIR and electoral roll management process are transparent and decentralised.
The issue, the Left parties said, goes far beyond the SIR. “It concerns the transparency and democratic functioning of the ECI and the protection of the fundamental democratic principle of universal adult franchise. Any system that makes the right to vote dependent on opaque, centrally controlled processes undermines public confidence in the electoral system,” the statement said.
Related:
A chargesheet against the ECI’s “All Is Well” defence
EC evades, shrugs off serious questions on fissures & divisions within the ECI