DK Shivakumar Seeks CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s Resignation, Calls for Fresh SIR

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and called for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka to be scrapped and conducted afresh.

Shivakumar was responding to a report by The Indian Express which said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over the past 10 months regarding decisions and orders related to electoral rolls. The reported objections included changes to Form 6, access to electoral roll databases, deletion and restoration of voter names and appeals in West Bengal.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said the reported differences within the three member Election Commission raised questions about the manner in which the electoral roll revision was being conducted.

He questioned whether decisions could be imposed when members of the Commission had expressed disagreement and called on Gyanesh Kumar to step down.

Shivakumar also demanded that the ongoing SIR exercise be discontinued and a fresh revision of electoral rolls be conducted.

“We want a new SIR to be conducted. We want everyone to have their rights,” he said, adding that the issue should be discussed on a wider platform, including Parliament.

The Chief Minister said he had already requested additional time from the Election Commission for the revision process and wanted Karnataka’s electoral rolls to be finalised before further steps were taken.

Concerns Over Voter Rights

Shivakumar also raised questions over the use of Forms 6, 7 and 8 during the revision exercise. He alleged that the process could particularly affect illiterate and economically disadvantaged citizens.

He further claimed that more than one crore names had been removed from Karnataka’s electoral rolls for various reasons. The Indian Express has reported that the SIR exercise in Karnataka has categorised around 1.08 crore voters under the categories of absent, shifted, dead, duplicate and other flagged entries.

Shivakumar said the issue was not about protecting the electoral interests of any particular political party but about ensuring that every eligible citizen retains the opportunity to vote.

“The right to vote is the right to live,” he said, referring to concerns raised by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

He also alleged that similar concerns had emerged during electoral roll revision exercises in West Bengal, Bihar and other states.

Election Commission Maintains Decisions Were Unanimous

The Election Commission has rejected suggestions that the reported objections indicate a split within the poll panel.

The Commission said differences of opinion, observations and objections are part of institutional deliberations and maintained that its orders over the past year were the outcome of unanimous decisions by the full Commission.

EC officials have specifically maintained that decisions concerning the nationwide SIR were also taken unanimously.

The controversy therefore remains centred on the reported internal objections and the manner in which the SIR process is being implemented. Shivakumar is seeking a fresh exercise and wider parliamentary discussion, while the Election Commission maintains that its decision making has followed the established institutional process.