Pakistan · World · Independent Digital Newsroom
Nearly 650 million people voted in the last national election in 2024.The opposition has long claimed that the government is trying to fix voter lists to its advantage and was quick to repeat the allegations following the Indian Express report.
Government ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and the poll body have all denied the charges.Kumar, 62, and the two other election commissioners have not commented, but the Election Commission said "differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution".The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has threatened nationwide protests on Friday demanding Kumar's ouster, calling him the "biggest anti-national".
The main opposition Congress party has said Kumar should be criminally prosecuted for treason.Kumar has defended the actions of the poll body and said at a press briefing last year: "For the Election Commission, there is neither an opposition nor a ruling side; everyone is equal."Kumar was riding high in sections of the Indian media last month when Trump praised him.
But since the Indian Express report, graffiti has appeared near his ancestral home in northern India calling him a traitor.Kumar joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1988 after completing his B.Tech in civil engineering from an elite government college in his home state of Uttar Pradesh.
He previously worked in the ministries of defence and interior affairs, and retired in January 2024.He was appointed as an election commissioner two months later, before becoming the chief.Kumar has had a troubled relationship with opposition parties from the very start of his tenure atop the election body.
Opposition lawmakers tabled a motion to have him removed earlier this year but it was rejected by parliament.
India poll chief Gyanesh Kumar under pressure over alleged manipulation of electoral rolls Election chief should be criminally prosecuted for treason, urges opposition parties.
