- Opposition leaders called for Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation.
The Election Commission of India has indefinitely postponed two youth-focused voter awareness programmes in Uttar Pradesh that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was scheduled to address, officials said on Friday.
The programmes were planned in Meerut and Varanasi, with the postponement coming amid reports of differences within the three-member poll panel over several decisions linked to electoral roll management and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The ECI, however, said the decision was taken on September 21 and was unrelated to the controversy.
Two CEC Events Called Off
One of the programmes was a regional conference on Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELCs) in Meerut. Kumar was also scheduled to interact with young voters in Varanasi on September 28.
Sources said both programmes have been postponed indefinitely, with no fresh dates announced so far.
The ECI said such changes were part of the normal scheduling process and could be prompted by venue availability, the schedules of senior officials and natural factors. The official also pointed to earlier postponements or date changes involving ELC conferences in Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Uttarakhand.
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ECI Row
The postponement comes amid reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded at least 14 formal objections over 10 months to various decisions within the poll panel.
The objections reportedly covered voter additions, deletions and restoration, changes to Form 6 and concerns over access to electoral-roll databases. The Indian Express reported that the objections were made on record and copied to CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The ECI has maintained that decisions of the full Commission were taken unanimously, despite the reported differences during internal deliberations.
Political Reaction
The reported differences have also triggered political reactions. On Thursday, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi called for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
The Cockroach Janta Party also demanded Kumar’s resignation and said it would launch protests if he did not step down within 48 hours, according to reports.
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ELC 2.0
Electoral Literacy Clubs are part of the ECI’s voter-awareness programme for students and young people. The initiative seeks to familiarise school and college students, particularly first-time voters, with electoral registration, polling, counting and other aspects of the electoral process.
The Commission has been conducting regional conferences under its revamped ELC 2.0 programme, alongside outreach related to ECINET, its voter-services platform.
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