The Election Commission of India (ECI) has spent over a year at the centre of a bitter political fight. It began with allegations of rigged polls and has now moved into courtrooms and voter lists. Here is how the ECI controversy unfolded.
July-August 2025: The allegations begin
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Madhya Pradesh election had been manipulated and claimed that Maharashtra’s poll results presented disparity, accusing the ECI of helping the BJP. Pointing duplicate voters, invalid addresses and other irregularities during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka’s Mahadevpura constituency. He further strengthened his accusations against the government. The ECI rejected the charges, but “vote chori” had become a national talking point.
October 2025: SIR goes nationwide
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR), using house-to-house enumeration, pre-filled forms and verification of old voter data. The opposition called it a backdoor attempt to strike out genuine voters. The Commission called it routine cleaning of the electoral rolls.
October 2025-April 2026: The deletions
The numbers fed the fire. Roughly 91 lakh electors were removed in West Bengal, and around 2.04 crore names were deleted in Uttar Pradesh.
May 2026: The courts step in
A two-judge bench began hearing petitions challenging the law on appointing election commissioners, with petitioners arguing that leaving out the Chief Justice weakens the Commission’s independence. Then came a major boost for the ECI: on May 27, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of SIR, finding it consistent with the Representation of the People Act.
Today: Delhi is the new battleground
The exercise continues in more states. In the capital, the last date for claims and objections falls on October 30, notices will be disposed of until November 30, and the final roll is due on December 4. More than 2.98 lakh hearings have already been held for unmapped and logical-discrepancy cases.
What happens next?
The ECI insists no eligible citizen will be left out and no ineligible name will stay on the rolls. Critics want proof, and the appointment-law petitions are still pending. With more final rolls due in the coming weeks, this row is far from over.