Reports of internal strife are false and all decisions were taken unanimously: Election Commission

The Election Commission of India has officially denied all reports of differences and internal strife within its institution. According to a report by Amar Ujala, the Election Commission clarified on Thursday that all decisions taken by the Commission have been made through mutual agreement and consensus. For some time, discussions regarding discord within the Commission had been circulating on social media, based on which the opposition had also reacted. Citing these reports, the opposition had demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from his post. However, the Election Commission has termed all these allegations completely false and stated that there has been no disagreement of any kind in its functioning or decisions.

Shedding light on the mystery of the letters written to the Cabinet Secretary, the Election Commission stated that no policy issues were raised in the letters written to the Cabinet Secretary by two Election Commissioners. Furthermore, no complaint related to the IT department was made in these letters. According to the Commission, these letters were only regarding the functioning and behavior of an official who had come on deputation. Through this clarification, the Commission has emphasised that there is no major dispute in the internal working methodology of the institution.

Providing details of the entire sequence of events, the Commission stated that on 28 July 2026, an IAS officer on deputation, who was an official of Additional Secretary rank, had issued an office order regarding the allocation of work. The day after this order was issued, i.e., on 29 July 2026, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi wrote separate letters to the Cabinet Secretary. In their letters, both commissioners raised questions about the order issued by that official and their behavior.

The Election Commission further clarified that since both commissioners disagreed with the order of 28 July, both Election Commissioners jointly issued a new directive on 30 July 2026. As a result of this new directive, the work allocation order issued on 28 July was never implemented. The Commission stated in strong terms that the rights to oversee the IT department were never taken back from any person, and therefore, rumors regarding that are baseless.

Providing information on the current situation, the Commission stated that the issues raised by both Election Commissioners have now been completely resolved and there is no possibility of further dispute on the matter. Currently, the allocation of work in the Election Commission is proceeding as per the office order issued on 23 September 2025. The Commission reiterated that no changes have been made to the working arrangements in the institution and no changes have been made to the rights associated with the monitoring of the IT department. Thus, the Commission has denied all allegations and claimed transparency and unity in its working system.