Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday, 18 October 2026, launched a sharp attack on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his resignation and calling for a comprehensive overhaul of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and its IT infrastructure, alleging that the poll body had deliberately withheld searchable electoral rolls from political parties for eight years to enable what he termed 'vote chori' (vote theft).

The Core Allegation: Eight Years of Withheld Voter Rolls

Ramesh alleged that the ECI had stopped providing searchable voter rolls in 2018, shortly after the Congress reportedly identified lakhs of bogus voters in Madhya Pradesh. He claimed that despite repeated demands from both the Congress and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over the past two years, the poll body had consistently refused to restore searchable access to electoral rolls.

According to Ramesh, the ECI issued an order on 15 October permitting political parties to access electoral rolls in searchable format for the Special Summary Revision (SSR) — a process that has resumed after a gap of two years across 17 states and Union Territories. He attributed this reversal to sustained pressure from Opposition parties protesting alleged electoral irregularities.

What Ramesh Said on X

In a post on the social media platform X, Ramesh alleged a pattern of shifting tactics by the ruling dispensation whenever electoral irregularities were flagged. 'Every time Vote Chori is caught, the Modi Govt adopts a new tactic: stopping readable voter rolls, fake voter additions, SIR. But not this time,' he said.

On the Chief Election Commissioner directly, Ramesh was unequivocal: 'Nothing can save the CEC Gyanesh Kumar who, acting on the instructions of the PM and the HM, has destroyed public trust and confidence in the ECI. He simply has to go. But that alone will not be enough. The ECI itself along with its IT system has to be thoroughly revamped,' he added.

The SIR Controversy and What the Opposition Wants

The broader dispute centres on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which Opposition parties — including those in the INDIA bloc — allege puts the Constitutional right to vote of over 13 crore Indians at risk. Ramesh specifically demanded that the SIR be 'suspended forthwith.'

The ECI, for its part, has maintained that the revision exercise is intended to update and clean electoral rolls — a standard administrative process. The poll body has not publicly addressed the specific allegation regarding the eight-year withholding of searchable voter data.

Broader Opposition Mobilisation

The Congress is not alone in its protest. Multiple Opposition parties have joined demonstrations against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, with the INDIA bloc formally demanding his resignation. Critics argue that the confluence of the SIR rollout, the earlier denial of searchable rolls, and the poll body's perceived proximity to the ruling establishment amount to a structural erosion of electoral credibility.

Notably, this is not the first time the ECI's independence has come under scrutiny — similar allegations of partisan functioning were raised during state elections in 2022 and 2023. The current controversy, however, is broader in scope, targeting the commission's core voter-roll management systems.

What Happens Next

The demand for CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation is unlikely to be acted upon immediately, given that the appointment process for the Chief Election Commissioner is governed by statute and does not provide for executive removal on the basis of Opposition demands alone. However, the political pressure could intensify ahead of upcoming state assembly elections, with voter-roll integrity set to remain a flashpoint between the treasury benches and the Opposition through the electoral calendar.