ECI Records 14 Internal Objections Despite Joint Public Briefings
The three-member Election Commission of India (ECI) maintained a united public front over the past 10 months despite Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recording 14 objections to various decisions of the poll panel, according to an investigation by The Indian Express.
Between October 2025 and August 2026, the commissioners appeared together at four major election-related briefings and also participated jointly in the International Conference on Democracy and Election Management (IICDEM). However, the two commissioners did not publicly raise their disagreements during these appearances.
According to the investigation, the objections covered issues including the addition of new voters, deletion and restoration of names from electoral rolls, appeals against voter-related decisions and access to the ECI’s electoral-roll software.
Concerns over electoral-roll software
One of the key areas of disagreement involved ERONet, the Election Commission’s electoral-roll database. The system has traditionally allowed Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) at the state level to add, delete and restore voter names.
In November 2025, Deputy Election Commissioner Sanjay Kumar reportedly raised concerns about restrictions on EROs’ access to the system. A subsequent communication in January 2026 urged that the IT system should not restrict the statutory powers of EROs.
The concerns emerged shortly before the launch of ECINet, a revamped platform intended to bring several election-related portals under one system. The platform was launched in January 2026 at the IICDEM in Delhi, with all three election commissioners present.
The Indian Express investigation later reported that Sandhu and Joshi raised concerns about what they described as increasing centralisation of the electoral-roll database. Sandhu also questioned his lack of information about new modules and portals being developed by the ECI’s IT division.
Joint appearances continued despite differences
The three commissioners appeared together at several important briefings during this period.
They met the media on February 18 in Guwahati after visiting Assam to observe the preparedness for the poll and to interact with political parties. On March 10 they briefed in Kolkata amidst controversy regarding the electoral rolls in West Bengal. The report said that over 60 lakh voters had been removed from the final list.
At the Kolkata briefing, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said the ECI would ensure the purity of the electoral roll and that no eligible voter would be excluded.
Later, Sandhu reportedly raised questions about the filing of around 16 lakh appeals before tribunals concerning voter-list decisions in West Bengal and sought clarification over who had authorised the appeals to be filed on behalf of the ECI.
The commissioners’ last reported joint media briefing during this period was held in New Delhi on March 15, when the ECI announced the schedules for Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry.
ECI calls objections part of normal decision-making
The Election Commission has not disputed the existence, dates or contents of the 14 internal notes cited in the investigation. However, it described the observations as part of the normal decision-making process and maintained that decisions taken by the commission during the period were unanimous.
The ECI said focusing on specific internal notes while overlooking the larger body of approvals, decisions, instructions and initiatives presented only one part of the overall picture.
The statement was signed by all three members of the Election Commission.