BJD Joins Opposition in Demanding Gyanesh Kumar's Resignation Amid Election Commission Allegations

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is facing mounting pressure to resign after the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and opposition parties joined forces to demand his ouster amid allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision of state/UT voter rolls. BJD spokesperson Lenin, Mohanty said.

Kumar "has no option but to resign (and) take moral responsibility" due to his alleged lies about changes to Form 6, which were approved by the Supreme Court.

According to the BJD, Kumar had "lied" about the alterations during the SIR, which had been approved by the Supreme Court. The court this week shared it had not approved any modifications to Form 6 and sought a response from the EC and the government.

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The two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had objected to the changes in Form 6 on 14 occasions in 10 months, citing "unauthorised, illegal" moves.

According to an Express investigation, the two Election Commissioners had objected to the manner in which decisions were taken regarding the SIR. This includes the allegedly illegal modification of Form 6 to include questions about the voter's parents or grandparents.

The BJD has also accused the Election Commission of tampering with EVMs to make a particular party win the election in Odisha during the 2024 Assembly elections.

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BJD lawmakers Manas Mangraj and Sulata Deo have arrived in central Delhi to join a protest led by Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. There, security has been heightened across the New Delhi district.

The opposition MPs were intercepted en route, prompting them to stage a sit-in protest. Meanwhile, Gandhi was spotted using Gen-Z slang at the rally, with a poster bearing the phrase "Gyanesh, it's done bro!"

The protests come amidst a growing rift within the Election Commission. The BJD has demanded Kumar's resignation, citing his alleged lies about the changes to Form 6.