'Who's Protecting Gyanesh Kumar's Monopoly?' Yogendra Yadav Talks CEC's Ties With BJP, Impact & More

Yogendra Yadav, political analyst and co-founder of Swaraj India, speaks to The Quint about the controversy surrounding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission of India (ECI) following The Indian Express investigation into internal objections within the poll panel. The Indian Express investigation published in September 2026 reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and processes within the Election Commission, including issues related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, voter deletions and additions, changes to Form 6, access to electoral-roll databases and the centralisation of election-related technology. The objections were also sent to CEC Gyanesh Kumar. The Election Commission subsequently responded that differing views are part of its decision-making process and said its decisions were unanimous. In this interview, Yogendra Yadav discusses the functioning and independence of the Election Commission, the role and powers of the Chief Election Commissioner, the reported differences between Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the controversy surrounding SIR and electoral rolls, and what the developments mean for India's electoral process and democratic institutions. The conversation also comes amid growing political and public scrutiny of the Election Commission, calls for accountability over the functioning of the poll panel, and discussions around the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Watch the full interview with Yogendra Yadav on The Quint. #YogendraYadav #GyaneshKumar #ElectionCommission #ElectionCommissionOfIndia #ECI #ChiefElectionCommissioner #CEC #IndianExpress #IndianExpressInvestigation #SIR #SpecialIntensiveRevision #ElectoralRolls #VoterList #ElectionCommissionControversy #IndianElections #IndianDemocracy #ElectionReforms #SukhbirSinghSandhu #VivekJoshi #TheQuint #IndiaPolitics #IndianPolitics From exposing misinformation to delivering impactful human rights reporting, our newsroom has relentlessly pursued stories that drive change. We remain committed to asking the tough questions — and we'd love for you to be a part of our journey. Become The Quint’s member and make your support count: https://bit.ly/4j8x6uy For more videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/4gIyCln --------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website for more stories: https://www.thequint.com Check out our Special Projects: https://www.thequint.com/special-proj... Subscribe to The Quint’s exclusive newsletters: https://thequint.substack.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------- Follow elsewhere: » Join us on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va5y... » Instagram:   / thequint   » LinkedIn:   / thequint   » Twitter: https://x.com/TheQuint » Facebook:   / quintillion   --------------------------------------------------------------- Video: The Quint