Election Commission making a mockery of the Constitution: Dipankar

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on Thursday (October 1, 2026) slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI) over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Review (SIR).

Mr. Bhattacharya said emerging reports indicated that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was making decisions within the three-member Election Commission without the consent of the other two members.

He said this during a Jan Sunwai (public hearing) in Patna on the issue of unauthorized deletion of SIR in Bihar. The hearing was organized by the Bihar State CPI (ML) Liberation and was based on the results of a voter verification survey conducted by the party in Siwan, Gopalganj, Bhojpur, Buxar, Patna, Arwal and Jahanabad districts.

Mr. Bhattacharya mentioned that the door-to-door survey covered 102 booths in ten constituencies which include Bhore (SC), Darauli (SC), Jeeradei, Paliganj, Ara, Agiaon (SC), Tarari, Dumraon, Arwal and Ghosi.

“Survey teams physically verified the lists of deleted voters in these 102 booths, taking into account both SIR deletions and pre-SIR deletions between January 2024 and June 2025. Among the 9,288 voters deleted in 50 of these 102 booths during the SIR process, 1,550 voters were found at their addresses living and living at least 17 percent. erasure,” Mr. Bhattacharya said.

He added that the survey verified the availability of 351 voters among the 1,964 voters deleted in 24 pre-SIR booths, indicating a very high 18% pre-SIR deletion rate. Specifically, the survey found that at least 36 voters marked as “deceased” are making a living during these door-to-door verification visits, he said.

He claimed that today the Election Commission is making a mockery of the Constitution, the law and the spirit of justice.

“The country is also faced with the question, when the general public is dealing with inflation and economic crisis, why should there not be transparency about the functioning and expenditure of constitutional bodies?” he asked.

Approximately 20 voters, whose names were allegedly erased, presented their testimonies before a five-member jury composed of prof. Bharati S Kumara (Former Head, Department of History, Patna University), Prof. Ramashankar Arya (Ex-Vice Chancellor, VKSU Ara), Ex-Bihar Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary, Ex-Leader of Ahma Congress Legislature Party, Shak Liberties People’s Union (Ahm Liberals People’s Union) Vice President Pushpendra.

The panel found the deletion of the SIR completely unfair and called for a legal action against the CEC, the cancellation of the SIR and the restoration of the voting rights of all wrongfully deleted voters. The public hearing also discussed the decisions taken at the INDIA block meeting in Delhi and it was decided to launch an intensive mass campaign to defend the principle of universal franchise for adults.

Mr. Bhattacharya also said that the situation has now reached a point where the government is not chosen by the public; instead, the government decides who the public should vote for.

“The threat today is not limited to votes only, the voter base, ration claims and other civil rights of voters are also affected. On the other hand, there is an obvious lack of accountability in the behavior of public representatives. In some cases, people are slapped, while in others, instead of answering public questions, the arrogance of power is displayed,” said Mr. Bhattachary.

He also said that complaints of deletion of a large number of names from electoral rolls have also surfaced in Delhi, apart from Bihar and West Bengal.

Jury member prof. Bharti S Kumar said the results of the survey are deeply shocking and alarming, adding that the survey in 100 polling stations has revealed a large number of voters who are alive but whose names are missing from the voters’ lists. He added that this situation raises serious questions about the functioning of the electoral commission.

He added that the CEC must be held accountable for these irregularities and should immediately resign from his post.

Published – 02 Oct 2026 10:29 IST