ECI Takes Voters’ Sheild against Opposition Questions

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Kumar also accused the Opposition of sharing voters’ details without their consents and thus compromising on their privacy

By TRH Political Desk

NEW DELHI, August 17, 2025 — The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday claimed that the video footage of polling booths cannot be shared due to potential privacy violations. The ECI also asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to give an affidavit of allegations of “vote chori (theft)” or apologise. There is no third option, said the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at the press conference held in New Delhi on Sunday.

The ECI press conference coincided with the launch of Bihar yatra by Gandhi against alleged “vote chori.” Kumar took selective questions, ducked some others, and launched counter offensives against the Opposition allegations.

Kumar also accused the Opposition of sharing voters’ details without their consents and thus compromising on their privacy. He also claimed that there are voters without homes, which explain why their addresses have zero against house details.

On alleged abnormal spike in number of voters in Maharashtra during the period of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 and the Assembly polls held six months afterwards; the CEC questioned the lack of objections from the Opposition parties to the draft electoral roll. “Only after the results were out for the Assembly polls did the Opposition begin questioning the electoral roll,” said Kumar.

Gandhi had been accusing that there were significant rise in number of voters after the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. The Congress-led Opposition had humbled the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. But the Mahayuti humbled the Opposition with an astonishing strike rate in winning the Assembly polls, with the BJP achieving a strike rate of 89%.

The Congress asked the ECI to not try to “intimidate” the Opposition. “Today’s press conference also came three days after the Supreme Court had rejected every single one of the arguments made by the ECI to prevent the publication of the 65 lakh deleted voters during the Bihar SIR. Despite the vehement and documented objections of the ECI, the Supreme Court directed the publication, in a searchable format, of these 65 lakh voters with all their details. It had also allowed the use of AADHAR ID’s to be proof of voter identity. The ECI had opposed every single one of these instructions of the Supreme Court,” said Jairam Ramesh, the Congress communication department chief, in a media statement.

He also stated that “the CEC and his two ECs began by saying they make no distinction between the ruling party and the opposition. This is laughable, to put it very mildly, in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary. Notably, the CEC answered none of the pointed questions raised by Gandhi meaningfully.”