Leftist parties seek to eliminate CEC, stop SIR

Members of the CPI(M), SUCI (Communists) and CPI stage a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Dharwad on Friday. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Members of the CPI(M), SUCI (Communists) and CPI staged a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Dharwad on Friday, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and an immediate stop to the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The parties submitted a memorandum to the President through the Deputy Commissioner demanding the restoration of voting rights of those allegedly wrongfully excluded from the electoral rolls and seeking measures to restore public confidence in the Election Commission of India.

The protest followed a media report on September 23 that two election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had registered 14 objections in 10 months against decisions on voter registration, erasure and restoration of names and aspects of the SIR exercise.

Left parties said the reported objections raised questions about the functioning and transparency of the election commission. They also argued that the increasing centralization of electoral data and restrictions on access by officials at the state and constituency levels could affect the transparency of the electoral roll management process.

The parties cited a report regarding 97 voters in Goa whose eligibility was allegedly determined by election officials but whose decisions could not be recorded in the system due to software-related limitations.

They demanded Mr. Kumar’s removal from office, stoppage of the SIR process and restoration of voting rights of eligible persons wrongfully excluded from the list.

They also sought measures to ensure the independent functioning of the election commission and demanded changes in the existing mechanism for appointing election commissioners. They proposed a selection process involving the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India.

CPI(M) district secretary Mahesh Pattar, SUCI (Communist) leader Gangadhar Badiger, CPI leader Bashir Mudhol, social activists Rajendra Poddar and Basavaraj Sulibhavi and other leaders of Left parties participated in the protest.

Published – 25 Sep 2026 20:54 IST