The receipts: the Commission, itemised
Six public controversies, summarised from widely reported record. Each slip carries what critics say and what the Commission or government says back. Check the details yourself; reporting moves fast and so do press notes.
The selection panel
2023 to 2025
Critics say: In 2023 the Supreme Court said that, until Parliament passed a law, election commissioners should be chosen by the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice. Parliament then passed a law swapping the Chief Justice for a Union Cabinet minister. Critics say that hands the government a standing majority on the committee that picks its own referee. When the current Chief Election Commissioner was chosen, the Leader of the Opposition recorded a dissent and was outvoted.
The other side: The government says Parliament is entitled to decide how appointments are made, and that the Court’s panel was only a stopgap until it did.
Your verdict: ______________
The great roll revision
2025
Critics say: The Special Intensive Revision of Bihar’s voter rolls asked millions of people to re-establish their eligibility on a compressed timeline, in a state where paperwork is unevenly held. They feared that real voters, especially migrants, the poor and women, would quietly fall off the list, and that the fine print kept shifting about which documents counted.
The other side: The Commission says rolls carry duplicate, deceased and ineligible entries and that cleaning them is its legal duty. Courts examined which documents should be accepted.
Your verdict: ______________
“Vote chori” and the sworn declaration
August 2025
Critics say: The Leader of the Opposition alleged that the rolls for one Bengaluru constituency held duplicate and invalid entries, and asked for machine-readable rolls so that claims like his could be checked at scale. Critics say the answer to a request for data should be data, not a demand for a signed oath.
The other side: The Commission called the claims baseless, asked for a sworn declaration, and said searchable rolls would compromise voter privacy. The ruling party called it an excuse for election losses.
Your verdict: ______________
The slow numbers
2024 general election
Critics say: After several phases, final turnout figures arrived days late and were higher than the first announcement, and polling-station-wise data was not promptly published. Reform groups went to court. If the numbers are fine, they ask, why not show the working?
The other side: The Commission says early figures are provisional estimates that always change, and that the criticism aimed to manufacture doubt. The Supreme Court did not order immediate release at that stage.
Your verdict: ______________
An uneven whistle?
Every campaign season
Critics say: Opposition parties keep complaining that notices over speeches and campaign conduct arrive faster or slower depending on who made them, and that some complaints seem to vanish into a drawer. They would like the drawer to have a glass front.
The other side: The Commission says it acts on every complaint and has issued notices to leaders of all parties, including the ruling one.
Your verdict: ______________
The postcard problem
Ongoing
Critics say: Questions from opposition parties, journalists and civil society often come back as a press note, a demand for an affidavit, or silence. Citizens ask “how did you reach this?” and receive “it’s done.” The slogan is ours; the feeling is shared.
The other side: The Commission says it responds through established channels and that serious allegations need evidence behind them.
Your verdict: ______________
