97 Goa voters, 8 emails, ECINet row: Why Rahul Gandhi wants CEC to resign | DNA

Rahul Gandhi accused Kumar of overriding concerns within the Election Commission and offered him the chance to become an "approver", or government witness, if an investigation is launched into the alleged irregularities.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and escalated his "vote chori" charge against the Election Commission, after fresh reporting raised questions over the exclusion of 97 voters from Goa's final electoral roll despite local election officials finding them eligible. The controversy has opened another political row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Rahul Gandhi accused Kumar of overriding concerns within the Election Commission and offered him the chance to become an "approver", or government witness, if an investigation is launched into the alleged irregularities. The allegations have been rejected by the BJP.

Watch video: #DNAमित्रों | ज्ञानेश कुमार इस्तीफा देंगे या CEC बने रहेंगे? चुनाव आयोग में 'SIR-कलह' पर खुलासा पार्ट-2

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What happened to the 97 voters in Goa?

The latest flashpoint comes from Goa's SIR exercise.

According to an Indian Express investigation, Goa election officials had examined 97 voters whose names had earlier been flagged and found them eligible for inclusion. But Electoral Registration Officers were unable to reverse the earlier decisions through ECINet because the required software permission was controlled centrally.

The report said the Goa Chief Electoral Officer's office sent eight emails between February 11 and February 17 seeking the necessary rollback facility.

On February 18, an Election Commission official instructed the IT division that the system could not prevent action required under Supreme Court directions and asked that the necessary facility be provided. The final electoral roll was published on February 21. The Indian Express said its check found all 97 names absent from that roll.

The Goa CEO's office issued a clarification on Thursday, saying the 97 cases were subsequently taken up separately through house-to-house visits and Form 6 applications. It said many of the voters had since been enrolled and the remaining cases were being processed, adding that no eligible voter would be left out.

Rahul Gandhi puts Gyanesh Kumar at centre of attack

Rahul Gandhi used the disclosures to mount a wider attack on the Election Commission.

He argued that the vote forms the foundation of India's constitutional system and alleged that manipulation of electoral rolls undermines the legitimacy of institutions and laws.

The Congress leader directly targeted Kumar, demanded his resignation and accused him of involvement in electoral irregularities. 

Rahul Gandhi also referred to another Indian Express investigation which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had put objections on record at least 14 times over 10 months on issues linked to electoral rolls and the SIR process under Kumar.

Those objections reportedly included concerns over centralised control of ECINet and the ability of Electoral Registration Officers to make changes to voter lists.

'Become an approver': Rahul Gandhi's offer to CEC

Rahul Gandhi went a step further during the press conference, saying Kumar should resign and become an approver if an investigation into the alleged electoral manipulation takes place.

He also questioned the process through which election commissioners are appointed and referred to his own dissent when Kumar was elevated to the post of CEC in February 2025.

The Congress leader claimed his party possessed evidence concerning electoral irregularities and said further action would follow in the coming months.

BJP hits back at Rahul Gandhi

The BJP rejected Rahul Gandhi's charges. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi questioned the basis of the newspaper reports cited by Rahul Gandhi, arguing that they did not quote any of the three election commissioners. He also challenged Gandhi's argument about the apparent absence of anti-incumbency in recent elections.

The BJP maintained that Rahul Gandhi was using a media report to attack the Election Commission without establishing that elections had been manipulated.

The political confrontation now has two separate questions at its centre: what happened inside the Election Commission during the SIR process, and why voters cleared by local officials in Goa could not immediately be restored through ECINet.

The Goa CEO's clarification answers part of the second question by saying many of the affected voters have since been enrolled. The dispute over how the original exclusions occurred and the opposition's wider allegations against the Election Commission remain politically contested.

Also Read: Inside Election Commission fight - Why opposition wants to remove poll chief Gyanesh Kumar

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