Tejaswi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah had ‘flouted all the rules’ and claimed the CEC had acted according to their wishes.

NEW DELHI: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday accused the Election Commission of being misused to benefit the BJP and alleged that election rules had been changed to weaken the Opposition’s ability to challenge poll results.At a press conference, Tejashwi questioned the functioning of the poll panel, raised concerns over changes to the retention period for voting and counting records, and demanded fresh elections in Bihar and Bengal. He also called for the removal of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.“Whether it is the results in Bihar or Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, or Bengal—the opposition has not lost. Rather, in these states, the EC has been misused to ensure that the BJP wins,” he said.He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah had “flouted all the rules” and claimed the CEC had acted according to their wishes.“And this process is still continuing. It is going on in several states, and it is being carried out arbitrarily. There are objections from two Election Commissioners as well. Even then, neither Modi ji nor Amit Shah ji is coming forward and saying anything about it,” he said.He also questioned the change in the period for retaining voting and counting records. He said the earlier period of up to one year had been reduced to 45 days.“That means, when there is no evidence left, what can the opposition do? When they go to court, there will be no evidence, so there will be no benefit,” he said.On the appointment of the CEC, Tejashwi said the earlier selection panel included the Chief Justice of India, while a Union minister is now part of the panel.“This means that, as Modi ji wishes, one Gyanesh ji may be removed, but the BJP can bring in another Gyanesh Kumar,” he said.He also alleged that elections in Bihar and Bengal had been illegal and demanded fresh polls in both states.

MK Stalin demands Gyanesh Kumar’s removal

DMK supremo and former Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin also demanded the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. He cited allegations over the functioning of the EC during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.Stalin said the DMK and other opposition parties had opposed the deletion of voters from electoral rolls under the SIR exercise. He said the process, carried out months before elections in different states, had faced allegations of irregularities, particularly in West Bengal.Stalin said the reported objections by election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over decisions related to SIR raised questions about the functioning of the three-member poll panel.Responding to a report by the Indian Express, he claimed the two commissioners had been kept unaware of key decisions and that their objections had been brushed aside on 14 occasions in 10 months.Stalin said the EC’s decisions should follow the majority view when its members disagree. He argued that concerns raised by two serving commissioners could not be treated merely as an internal or procedural issue.The DMK chief also raised questions over electoral-roll appeals filed even after courts had directed that certain voters be added to the rolls. He questioned who authorised and filed such appeals.Stalin said the party had earlier moved an impeachment motion against Gyanesh Kumar and demanded that he step down.“Gyanesh Kumar must go immediately. The SIR exercise must be halted,” Stalin said, while calling for a “fair and thorough investigation” into the functioning of the Election Commission.

Mamata Banerjee calls report ‘scandalous’

Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also attacked the Election Commission over the reported objections by the two commissioners to decisions linked to the SIR process.Reacting to the Indian Express report, Mamata alleged that the poll panel had been misused and demanded action against Gyanesh Kumar.“This is such a scandalous story. We had never seen this in our lives. This election commissioner must be arrested. He has no moral authority to continue, and BJP must see that they cannot destroy our Constitution. They cannot demolish democracy,” she said.Mamata also alleged that people linked to the BJP had been deployed in the electoral-roll process and accused the CEC of misusing the police.“They cannot depute their own EROs in the name of BJP IT Team. What we said earlier has now been exposed,” she said.She further said, “Gyanesh Kumar has misused Police and with BJP they have deputed their own BJP-minded people. Such a scandal has never happened. If you have any honour, you yourself would ask to be arrested. You should be arrested.”

Akhilesh Yadav questions poll panel’s functioning

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also questioned the functioning of the Election Commission, saying the reported objections by two election commissioners had raised serious concerns over the poll panel’s impartiality.Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Akhilesh referred to reports that Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders concerning SIR and electoral-roll procedures.“This is dangerous for our democracy. This is an attempt to weaken our democracy,” he said.Akhilesh questioned whether elections held during a period when the Election Commission was allegedly not acting impartially could be considered fair.“This means that the governments which have been formed during this period are unconstitutional governments,” he said.In an earlier post on X, he described the reported objections by the two commissioners as “extremely serious news” and urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter.He also alleged that voters supporting the Samajwadi Party had been systematically removed from electoral rolls and claimed that no action was taken despite the party bringing the matter to the Election Commission’s notice.“Samajwadi Party voters were systematically deleted from the Election Commission’s voters list. We brought this to the notice of the Election Commission, but no action was taken against anyone. Rampant malpractice was committed on a massive scale in the by-elections,” he said.