{
  "id": 9427670,
  "title": "EC faultlines have a long history, dating back to 1989",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/ec-faultlines-have-a-long-history-dating-back-to-1989",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-23T22:19:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/ec-faultlines-have-a-long-history-dating-back-to-1989/articleshow/134446008.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Faultlines within the Election Commission have a long history, with the trend beginning in 1989 when the body became a multi-member organization. Initially, the appointment of two election commissioners, S S Dhanoa and V S Seigell, led to Chief Election Commissioner R V S Peri Sastri rescinding their appointments by January 1990, reverting the EC to a single-member body. In 1993, under the leadership of Chief Election Commissioner T N Seshan, the EC was reinstated as a multi-member body with the appointments of M S Gill and G V G Krishnamurthy. This period was marked by a contentious rivalry between Seshan and the two election commissioners, which culminated in the Supreme Court ruling in 1995 that election commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner were equal in status, power, and decision-making authority. In 2006, another internal discord within the EC arose between then Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami and Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, who were in office from 2006 to 2009. Gopalaswami had written to the President recommending Chawla's removal due to alleged pro-Congress bias before Chawla's resignation. Finally, in 2019, differences emerged between then Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, both appointed by the Modi government, during the Lok Sabha elections. Lavasa resigned on August 18, 2020, two years prior to his term's end.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}