Congress veteran P. Chidambaram has sharpened his criticism of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of mishandling Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” allegations and undermining the Election Commission’s credibility. In a post on X, Chidambaram pointed to rare, public disapproval from three former Election Commissioners, who faulted Kumar’s response and said the poll body should have investigated the claims instead of demanding an affidavit or apology from the Leader of Opposition.
Chidambaram argued that the Commission’s role is to probe complaints of electoral malpractice, not to challenge complainants, especially when the charges come from a leader representing millions. He noted that the former poll chiefs—SY Quraishi, OP Rawat, and Ashok Lavasa—had unanimously condemned Kumar’s stance during a discussion at India Today’s South Conclave. All three emphasised that the Commission has historically treated even doubts expressed by ordinary voters with seriousness, conducting investigations to safeguard trust in elections.
The Congress leader posed a direct question to the CEC, asking how he would respond to the “severe criticism” from his predecessors. His remarks came against the backdrop of Rahul Gandhi’s month-long standoff with the Election Commission, which began after Gandhi accused the poll body on August 7 of colluding with the BJP to manipulate voter rolls. In response, Kumar held a press conference on August 17, dismissing the allegations and demanding either an affidavit substantiating the claims within seven days or a public apology.
The former CECs, however, viewed Kumar’s approach as unnecessarily combative. Quraishi said the Commission’s anger was misplaced, noting that Gandhi’s position as Leader of Opposition meant his concerns reflected the sentiment of millions. Rawat stressed that the ECI’s tradition had been to address such concerns immediately rather than cast doubt on the complainant. Lavasa added that no affidavit was necessary if the allegation was serious enough to warrant an inquiry.
Chidambaram’s intervention underscores growing friction between the Opposition INDIA bloc and the ruling NDA over electoral integrity. By invoking the voices of respected former officials, he sought to press the case that the current Election Commission’s credibility is at stake, and that dismissive or aggressive responses risk eroding public faith in India’s democratic processes.
