Gonda: Left parties, including the CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(ML), staged a protest in Gonda on Wednesday over the functioning of the Election Commission of India and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The protesters submitted a memorandum through the District Magistrate addressed to the President of India, seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The memorandum referred to an investigation published by The Indian Express in September 2026, which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions concerning voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, appeals and control of the electoral-roll database.
The Election Commission, however, has maintained that its decisions, including those related to SIR, were taken unanimously and described differences during deliberations as part of the normal decision-making process.
The Gonda protesters also criticised the detention of more than 60 people during a September 25 protest at Jantar Mantar over the issue. Their memorandum sought an independent inquiry into the CEC’s functioning, a halt to the SIR process and restoration of eligible voters whose names were removed, safeguards for the Election Commission’s institutional independence, a change in the process for appointing election commissioners, and judicial review in constituencies where alleged irregularities are reported.
The programme was held as part of a nationwide call by Left parties from September 26 to October 2. CPI(M) district secretary Kaushlendra Pandey, CPI(ML) district secretary Jamal Khan, Comrades Satyanarayan Tripathi, Ishwar Sharan, Dinanath Tripathi, Rajiv Kumar, Anand Prakash Tripathi, Ravishankar Vishwakarma, Amit Shukla, Lallan, Mushtaq Ahmad, Sadanand Giri, Mohammad Ahmad, Sitaram Verma, Ramkishore Bharti, Awesh Ahmad and Abrar Sagir Ahmad were among those who participated.
