Gyanesh must go: Congress protest in New Delhi on November 1

Former Union Minister and ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ campaign observer JD Seelam at a press conference in Kalaburagi on October 26, 2026. He shared details of the protest rally to be held at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on November 1. Photo credit: ARUN KULKARNI

The Congress party will stage a protest in New Delhi on November 1 demanding the withdrawal of the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, former Union Minister JD Seelam has announced. Mr. Seelam is an observer of the ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ campaign.

Addressing a press conference at the district congress office in Kalaburagi on October 26, Mr. Seelam said that names of eligible voters were being deleted from electoral rolls and voters were being moved from one polling station to another during the revision process. He said there were concerns in several parts of the country about the erasure of names, but the authorities could not provide a satisfactory explanation.

On the question of the autonomy and impartiality of the Election Commission of India (ECI), he criticized the changes in the process of appointing election commissioners and argued that the existing legal framework made it difficult to initiate proceedings against them for wrongdoing.

The Congress party was running a ‘Save Democracy’ campaign from October 2 to 8, extending its agitation demanding Mr. Kumar’s resignation to villages across the country, he said.

Mr. Seelam called for the use of ballot papers in Assembly and Lok Sabha elections and pointed out that they continue to be used in local body elections. According to him, this step would help ensure the transparency of the electoral process.

AICC secretary Gopinath Palaniappan alleged that Mr. Kumar and other ECI officials were working in favor of the BJP. He accused the authorities of facilitating erasure of voters’ names and their movement between polling stations as part of the SIR exercise.

Mr. Palaniappan also alleged lack of transparency in handling voter data. He alleged that the district level authorities were not allowed to scrutinize the forms filled by the booth level officers (BLOs) and alleged that political influence was used to remove the names from the electoral rolls. He urged the ECI to respond to the allegations.

Referring to the elections conducted using ballot papers in Rajasthan, Mr. Palaniappan urged the BJP to support the system across the country and said its electoral performance under such a system would be evident.

KPCC Working President and MLC Vasanth Kumar, District Congress Committee President Dr. Kiran Deshmukh and MLA Allamprabhu Patil and MY Patil; MLC Thippannappa Kamaknoor and Jagadev Guttedar were present.

Published – 27 Oct 2026 10:30 AM IST