ECs’ letter to Cabinet Secretary concerned senior election official, not ECI policy: Sources

The July 29 letter sent by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan concerned the functioning of a senior Deputy Election Commissioner, rather than any policy matter of the Election Commission of India, a person familiar with the developments told Hindustan Times on Sunday.

The communication, which was sent by the two commissioners to the Cabinet Secretary, dealt with a senior official involved in election-related work, according to the person, who declined to be identified. The contents of the letter were not disclosed, with the matter being described as classified.

The clarification comes amid a wider controversy over alleged differences within the three-member poll panel, including questions surrounding the allocation of work and oversight of the Commission’s information technology division.

Letter concerned functioning of senior official

According to the person familiar with the matter, the letter dated July 29 referred to the functioning of a senior DEC. Officials would ordinarily raise such personnel-related concerns with the Chief Election Commissioner.

Had the communication been directed against CEC Gyanesh Kumar himself, the established protocol would have required the matter to be referred to the President, the person said.

The Election Commission had already clarified on Saturday that the communication to the Cabinet Secretary was unrelated to the Commission’s policy decisions or its IT division.

In a statement issued after a full Commission meeting on Saturday, the ECI said the letter concerned “an officer on deputation to ECI”. It added that work redistribution orders issued by the officer were not implemented after objections from the two commissioners and that the DEC’s oversight of the IT division was never withdrawn.

The clarification followed reports of internal objections by Sandhu and Joshi over several decisions of the poll panel, including matters connected with the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

ECINET access at centre of controversy

The wider dispute has also focused on the centralisation of the Commission’s digital systems and the access available to election officials on the ground.

ECINET, launched in January, is the ECI’s unified digital platform bringing together more than 40 existing applications and portals used for election management. The Commission had said at its launch that the platform was developed in accordance with the law.

An Indian Express investigation reported that Sandhu and Joshi had repeatedly raised concerns over the centralisation of electoral-roll data and the access available to statutory officials such as Chief Electoral Officers, District Election Officers and Electoral Registration Officers. The report said the two commissioners had formally objected on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to various steps relating to voter registration, deletion and restoration, as well as the handling of electoral-roll data.

One of the reported concerns involved access to ERONet, the system used for electoral-roll management. Sandhu had said that some field officials did not have proper and complete access and argued that centralised control could affect their ability to discharge statutory responsibilities.

The controversy also included concerns over changes made to Form 6, the application used by new voters for enrolment. Sandhu and Joshi reportedly objected to the addition of questions linked to previous SIR exercises, describing the change as unauthorised and calling for its removal.

Poll panel orders review of digital platform

Against this backdrop, the Election Commission on Saturday announced a review of ECINET by a committee headed by a senior Deputy Election Commissioner and including an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT.

The Commission said field officers have role-based access to ECINET according to their statutory powers. It added that further flexibility would be provided if field officials required it.

The ECI also said new initiatives involving IT modules and portals would henceforth be discussed by a committee of officers before being placed before the Commission for approval.

The poll panel's Saturday statement came after the first meeting of CEC Gyanesh Kumar with Sandhu and Joshi since reports emerged of disagreements over electoral-roll decisions and software controls. The Commission said all its decisions on the SIR exercise had received unanimous approval.

The Commission also said that the redistribution orders referred to in the July 29 communication were not ultimately implemented and that oversight of the IT division by the DEC was never withdrawn.

Opposition seeks accountability amid SIR row

The developments have intensified political scrutiny of the Election Commission, with opposition parties calling for Kumar’s resignation and seeking judicial intervention over the reported differences within the poll panel.

The controversy has also raised questions about the integrity of the electoral process, particularly in the context of the ongoing SIR exercise.

The ECI has rejected suggestions of one-sided decision-making, saying that differences of opinion are part of deliberations but that final decisions of the Commission have been unanimous. The BJP has also distanced itself from the controversy.

The Commission's latest decisions include requiring agendas to be circulated before Commission meetings, issuing minutes afterwards, routing new IT modules through a committee of officers and ensuring that directions issued by commissioners to officials are complied with.

The July 29 letter, however, remains classified, and the contents have not been made public. The latest clarification from the poll panel maintains that it concerned the functioning of a deputation officer rather than an ECI policy dispute or a decision involving its IT division.