New Delhi:
The Election Commission said on Saturday, after a full-house meeting in the afternoon, that all three commissioners approved its June 24, 2025, order for a nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and that the Supreme Court has upheld the order. The official press statement came days after a media report said two election commissioners had recorded objections to some decisions taken in the commission’s name.
The ruling BJP, facing allegations of voter list manipulation, immediately pointed to this press statement and said the Congress-led Opposition’s charges now stand deflated.
The commission’s note said, “In the recent months, the Commission has taken numerous decisions including SIR across the country. The order for the SIR issued on 24.6.2025 for all the States/UTs, starting with Bihar, followed by West Bengal and 30 other States/UTs was issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission. The same has been upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India vide its order dated 27.5.2026.” It added, “The schedule for SIR for 12 States and UTs was issued on 27.10.2025 and those for 19 States/UTs was issued on 14.05.2026 with the unanimous approval of the Commission.”
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi met at Nirvachan Sadan at 3 pm on Saturday, September 26, said the note. It carried a photograph of the three and said the set of announcements “has the approval of the full Commission”.
The latest row over the EC’s functioning began after a September 23 report in The Indian Express said Sandhu and Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions between November 2025 and August 2026.
After the latest EC press note sought to address the report point by point, BJP MP Sambit Patra said in Bhubaneswar, “It had been alleged that there was a lack of consensus within the Election Commission, implying the three commissioners were not united, and that the matter had escalated to the point where the Cabinet Secretary had to intervene… Today’s statement clarifies this matter unequivocally.”
#WATCH | Bhubaneswar, Odisha: BJP MP Sambit Patra says, “Regarding the press release issued today by the Election Commission of India on a public platform, the most significant point to note addresses the allegations leveled against the Commission and political… pic.twitter.com/TdLbczhef9
— ANI (@ANI) September 26, 2026
The EC note said a letter written reportedly by Joshi and Sandhu to the Cabinet Secretary “was not related to any policy matter of the Commission or IT division but related to the working of an officer on deputation to ECI”. It said the officer’s work redistribution orders “were not actually implemented after the orders of the two Commissioners”.
The Congress has said it no longer trusts a commission led by Gyanesh Kumar and wants him removed. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi had said at a press conference, “This is treason… The time will come, we will catch you.” On the latest press note, Congress MP and spokesperson Pawan Khera said on X that it’s& “too lame, too little, too late”, and alleged that it “leaves the central questions unanswered”.
The ECI’s press note today is too lame, too little, too late.
It confirms that @IndianExpress story was indeed true, and leaves the central questions unanswered.
🔔ISSUE 1: FORM 6
Two ECs opposed the changes to Form 6. One called them “unauthorised” and “illegal”.
The ECI…
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 ಪವನ್ ಖೇರಾ (@Pawankhera) September 26, 2026
Neither Sandhu nor Joshi has spoken publicly on the matter. An earlier press note by the EC said disagreements were part of a decision-making process that’s democratic.
Saturday’s note also spoke on Form 6, the enrolment form for new voters, which is a major flashpoint in the row. The commission said the declaration attached to Form 6 for the SIR “has been upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court”. Outside the SIR, forms under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, will be used, it added.
The commission also said meeting agendas would be circulated in advance and minutes issued, and “all directions issued by the Commissioners to the officers of the Commission shall be meticulously complied with”. A committee will review the ECINET portal, access to which has been an issue as well. The committee will be headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner and will include an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT, said the note.
