India’s Election Commission is facing heightened scrutiny amid a large-scale voter verification drive encompassing nearly one billion registered voters across the country. The process, initiated last year ahead of elections in the eastern state of Bihar, has now been extended to most Indian states, prompting allegations from opposition parties of mishandling, manipulation, and exclusion of millions of voters.

The opposition Congress party and the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have criticized the Election Commission of India (ECI) and its chief, Gyanesh Kumar, accusing them of bias that allegedly favors Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These accusations surfaced following discoveries that significant numbers of voters in states such as Bihar and West Bengal found their names missing from the electoral rolls, rendering them unable to participate in elections. The Congress party held nationwide protests last Friday demanding Kumar’s resignation, with CJP, which commands a sizable grassroots following, threatening further demonstrations on October 2 if its demands are not met.

A report published recently cited internal disagreements within the ECI, revealing that two senior election commissioners expressed concerns over the integrity of the verification procedures at least 14 times over a 10-month period. These concerns reportedly were not acted upon by Kumar, intensifying suspicions about the commission’s neutrality. The ECI, however, has maintained that all decisions were made within the bounds of law and stated that differing opinions within the commission are commonplace.

Local media reports indicate that the ongoing verification drive has led to approximately 130 million voters being omitted from the initial draft lists and required to validate their eligibility through additional documentation. During Bihar’s revision phase in 2025, about 6.5 million names were removed from the rolls. Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh—which began verification in late 2025—local reports suggest that around 13% of registered voters were deleted from the rolls. The Supreme Court of India has also expressed concerns over the process, particularly highlighting that notices requesting voter eligibility proof appeared to be generated automatically by machines without adequate human oversight.

The Election Commission states that names are only removed when voters have died, appear multiple times on the rolls, relocated to another area, or cannot be traced. Officials conducting verifications must document the reasons for any deletions. Voters who find themselves excluded can either appeal successfully or apply for fresh registration before future elections.

Opposition leaders argue that the deletions and the resultant protracted appeals process disenfranchised millions, particularly in key states like Bihar and West Bengal. They warn that similar exclusions could be strategically used to influence upcoming elections, including those scheduled next year in at least seven states, among them Uttar Pradesh, a politically significant region.

In response to the criticism, the ECI has recently amended its procedures to include home visits by officials to aid voters in submitting verification documents and extended deadlines for final verification in some areas. Kumar has also publicly challenged opposition parties to substantiate their claims under oath, defending the commission against accusations of political partiality.