We had never seen this in our lives. This Election Commissioner must be arrested.

He has no moral authority to continue, and the BJP must see that they cannot destroy our Constitution. They cannot demolish democracy,” Banerjee said.

Fresh polls demanded in Bihar, West BengalThe Opposition's demands also extended to fresh elections in states where polls have already taken place. “The opposition did not lose elections on the ground; the results were orchestrated by PM Modi and Amit Shah.

In 2020, we were defeated through manipulation, and the same script was executed in 2025. Voter lists were purged, money was distributed, and counting was manipulated.

The electoral outcomes in Bihar and Bengal are fraudulent, and we demand that fresh, transparent elections be held,” he said. Yadav also questioned changes to the rules governing the preservation of voting and counting records, alleging that the period had been reduced from one year to 45 days.

He said this could make it difficult for parties to approach courts without access to election-related evidence. DMK president M K Stalin demanded Kumar's resignation and an immediate halt to the SIR exercise.

“This means that the governments which have been formed during this period are unconstitutional governments,” Yadav said. He alleged that interference in the poll panel amounted to “trampling” democracy and urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter.

“Corrective action needs to be taken somewhere. Otherwise, if people lose faith in elections, what remains of a democracy?

Elections are the very foundations of a democracy. If people lose faith in elections, why would they even participate in them?

I feel the Election Commission and the government of India need to reflect on this,” Abdullah said. He also said the report raised questions about the functioning of the poll panel and referred to his earlier concerns over the electoral process.

BJP says EC differences show ‘pure democracy’The BJP rejected the Opposition's allegations and defended the reported differences between the Election Commissioners. “If there is no communication and exchange of views among the election commissioners who conduct polls, the opposition parties would allege 'dictatorship' and call them 'yes men' of the government,” he said.

“This shows that the Election Commission (EC) and all other constitutional bodies are functioning in a democratic manner and upholding the democracy of the country,” he said. “The ECI is a constitutional body that functions under the strict mandate of Article 324 of the Constitution, statutory rules and established institutional conventions.

The Commission operates as a multi-member constitutional body. Written notes, observations, technical suggestions and internal checks-and-balances are standard, ongoing practices designed to ensure complete transparency, legal compliance and operational rigour,” it said.

The commission said all official orders, decisions and administrative directions carried full legal sanction and followed established statutory procedures. It added that operational queries or inputs raised by members during the drafting stage were part of standard administrative practice aimed at safeguarding voter rights and improving electoral processes.

“Not only the three Commissioners, but every officer of the Commission is fully authorised to give his suggestions to the Commission for improving the electoral system,” it said. The commission said focusing on specific internal notes and observations over 10 months while overlooking its wider body of approvals, decisions, instructions and initiatives presented only one part of the picture.

“All these decisions are an outcome of the unanimous decisions of the full Commission in the past one year,” the EC said. The commission also pointed to the conduct of elections in Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal during the period and said it remained committed to carrying out its constitutional duties.

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