The Election Commission of India (EC) is once again in the spotlight as disagreements over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls have resurfaced. The current dispute, involving incumbents Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, has highlighted a history of public clashes among commissioners that have previously come to light.
In 2009, then Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N. Gopalaswami sought the removal of fellow commissioner Navin Chawla over alleged partisan conduct, a recommendation that the government rejected and that led to Chawla’s later appointment as CEC. Earlier, between 1993 and 1995, CEC T. N. Seshan challenged the creation of a multi‑member Commission in court, sparking a legal battle with commissioners M. S. Gill and G. V. G. Krishnamurthy. After his term, Gill joined the Congress party and was appointed a Union minister.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, commissioner Ashok Lavasa issued dissent notes on clean chit allegations against top BJP leaders, insisting that they be recorded in the final order. The EC, headed by Sunil Arora, declined to include the notes, after which Lavasa resigned and joined the Asian Development Bank. In May 2021, commissioner Rajiv Kumar, who later became CEC, attempted to file a separate affidavit with the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court to defend the EC against a court observation that the body was “singularly responsible” for the COVID‑19 second wave due to its handling of assembly elections. CEC Sushil Chandra opposed the affidavit, and the disagreement was reported publicly.
The EC has defended the disagreements as a normal part of institutional deliberation, asserting that all its orders are the result of unanimous decisions made by the full Commission over the past year. Opposition parties, critical of the EC’s handling of the SIR, have called for immediate impeachment proceedings against CEC Gyanesh Kumar in Parliament.
