Three BJP allies — LJP (Ram Vilas), TDP and RLM — on Friday (September 25) pressed the Election Commission for a clearer explanation on concerns raised by two Election Commissioners over the voter list revision. Union Minister Chirag Paswan warned that the controversy risked undermining public faith in the electoral process.

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Paswan, who heads the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), stressed that he was neither speaking for the poll panel nor endorsing the Opposition’s allegations. But with questions now being raised in public, he said the Commission needed to address them with a clear and credible response.

Paswan flags public trust concerns

“Let me make it clear that as part of the government, I do not intend to defend what is a constitutional body. I am also not much worried about the allegations made by the opposition, which will always take a stand that suits it politically,” Paswan told reporters.

“If people start losing trust in the electoral system, that will not augur well for democracy and, therefore, I think the Election Commission must come out with its clarification more forcefully. It need not respond to what Rahul Gandhi and his associates are saying. But it must dispel misgivings in the minds of the people,” he said.

TDP’s Devarayalu said that while SIR was conducted transparently in Andhra Pradesh, a clarification from the Election Commission would be beneficial.

“From the perspective of Andhra Pradesh, having closely observed the SIR exercise, I can say that the process was conducted in a transparent manner. Adequate opportunities and sufficient time were provided to every voter to participate and raise concerns,” he said.

RLM seeks EC clarification

Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha also called for an immediate clarification. He said the controversy had caused confusion among people. Tagging the Election Commission in an X post, he wrote, “The controversy regarding the SIR has created a situation of significant confusion among the public. The matter needs to be addressed. The Election Commission should immediately issue a clarification regarding the actual situation to clear up this confusion.”

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Their remarks followed a report published by The Indian Expresswhich said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation.

The objections covered changes to the statutory voter registration Form 6, the handling of additions and deletions from electoral rolls, and centralised control over the electoral roll database.

The report has prompted Opposition demands for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s removal and the halting of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

(With agency inputs)