‘Problematic if people doubt poll process, CEC should clarify’: NDA ally Chirag Paswan

Union minister Chirag Paswan has urged the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to clarify his stance in light of The Indian Express investigation. The report exposed a significant internal division within the three-member Election Commission of India (ECI). Paswan emphasized that the CEC bears the responsibility of reassuring the Indian people about the fairness and freedom of the electoral process.

If doubts arise regarding the impartiality of the Election Commission, which is an independent constitutional body, it is the CEC's duty to present his position transparently. He stressed that it would be problematic if people started doubting the electoral process itself. According to Paswan, the EC needs to take the initiative to address these concerns, not the Opposition or even Rahul Gandhi.

The investigation, based on internal documents and correspondence from October 2025 to August 2026, revealed that the other two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, formally objected to major decisions at least 14 times over a period of 10 months, under the leadership of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.