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Kejriwal called for recent elections held in Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Bengal, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to be cancelled and conducted again.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal (News18 Media Gallery)
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal has demanded the arrest and prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the cancellation and re-conduct of recent elections and an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Kejriwal’s remarks came amid growing Opposition criticism of the Election Commission following a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times in 10 months to decisions they said were taken without their knowledge.
‘Arrest Gyanesh Kumar’
Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said, “We demand that Gyanesh Kumar (Chief Election Commissioner) should be arrested and prosecuted.” He also demanded that a case of treason be registered against Kumar and said he should be charged with sedition.
Kejriwal further called for recent elections held in Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Bengal, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to be cancelled and conducted again.
His three demands were to arrest Gyanesh Kumar and charge him with sedition, re-conduct elections in states that recently went to polls and scrap SIR immediately.
‘CEC is first among equals’
Kejriwal also questioned the powers of the Chief Election Commissioner and stressed that the Election Commission is a three-member body. “The Election Commission is not the name of one individual. It comprises three members… one Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners,” he said.
According to Kejriwal, all three members participate in meetings where decisions are taken either unanimously or by majority. “None of the three has the authority to take decisions individually. No single person can run the Election Commission or issue orders to its officers,” he said.
He described the Chief Election Commissioner as “First Among Equals”, adding that all three members are equal.
“The Chief Election Commissioner only chairs and presides over the meetings and does not have any additional authority,” Kejriwal said.
ECINet, voter-roll process under scrutiny
Kejriwal’s comments came after an Indian Express report highlighted alleged internal dissent within the poll panel over electoral-roll revision and the ECINet software. The report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions they said were taken without their knowledge. It also raised questions over how decisions to add or delete voters were being taken and who controlled the technology used in the electoral-roll revision process.
The report brought the functioning of the three-member Commission and the management of electoral-roll software into focus amid the ongoing SIR controversy.
Kejriwal’s demands come as Opposition leaders have stepped up their criticism of the Election Commission over the reported internal dissent and the electoral-roll revision process.
About the Author
Shuddhanta Patra is an Indian journalist with about nine years of experience in covering national politics, geopolitics, defence, diplomacy and international affairs. Her reporting focuses on South As…Read More
Delhi, India, India
September 23, 2026, 13:51 IST
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