Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi called for the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Thursday, September 24, 2026, by stating that PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will be "investigated" over the conspiracy to "fix" Indian elections.
Gandhi's press meet, which was held in Congress headquarters Indira Bhawan, New Delhi, followed an article published in The Indian Express on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, that revealed how two out of three commissioners in the Election Commission have raised objections on record at least 14 times in ten months to some decisions made in the name of the Commission.
"Gyanesh Kumar should immediately resign from his position," said Gandhi at the press conference. He even went further by saying that such behavior from the CEC is a threat to the constitution itself. "This is a challenge to the Constitution and the legal system of this nation. You were meant to protect this voting process."
He told Kumar that he should cooperate in all the investigations in the future. "What I want to suggest, Gyanesh Kumar, is that he should turn approver. This will be an act of nationalism on his part," said Gandhi, using the legal term "approver."
However, it did not stop at that. Gandhi stated that both the prime minister and the home minister will be investigated with regard to the allegations he had made.
"The PM, Modi, and Home Minister, Shah, both are going to be investigated for what is going on. They are the masterminds behind this conspiracy, and they will be investigated for whatever they have done to this country," Gandhi alleged.
The leader was even more severe in other parts of the press conference, calling the trio 'Deshdrohis' (traitors), stating, "A person who is destroying India's democracy is a Desh-Drohi. This is an act against the Indian state and its citizens."
Gandhi stated that elections have been tampered with, presenting it as a truth as compared to a doubt.
"I can say with certainty that Indian elections have been rigged in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls," he charged. It still stands as a political charge from the leader of the opposition, since it has not been proved as truth through any judicial or independent investigation.
In addition, Gandhi challenged the lack of anti-incumbency against the ruling party in the previous elections. "Anti-incumbency is there for Congress and regional parties, but for some reason, anti-incumbency vanishes whenever BJP rules," he added. Anti-incumbency is a basic feature of democracy that does not spare anyone, according to him.
The charges Gandhi made were linked directly with Wednesday’s report of internal rift in the Commission on the basis of Wednesday's report of internal strife in the Commission.
"The two election commissioners have now accused CEC Gyanesh Kumar of causing chaos in the entire system. Two ECs opposed CEC Gyanesh Kumar after the Congress raised the issue of 'vote chori' in Maharashtra and Haryana states," he said, referring to the Hindi phrase for "vote theft," which has become Gandhi's slogan in his current campaign."
"The two ECs have done the right thing; Gyanesh Kumar must seriously consider becoming an approver; it will be good for the country."
Gandhi also showed clips of videos of Modi and Shah during the press conference by referring to previous speeches made by the two leaders on how long the BJP can stay in power.
Gandhi was talking about what Shah had talked about earlier in a speech regarding the fact that the BJP will keep on ruling for 30 more years and how Modi had said "Abki Baar 400 Paar" (this time, past 400 seats) during his earlier elections campaign. "Never before did any politician speak like this," Gandhi observed.
Gandhi added that his concerns regarding Kumar were not fresh. He claimed that he had made his dissent note while Kumar was appointed the CEC, as the process for doing so needed to be independent and not under the control of the executive.
"We will not allow this crime to go unpunished no matter what happens," he stated.
This is in reference to the reports which have been received about the alleged split in the Election Commission.
Reports indicate that the ECI has denied that there was any truth in the report about this split in the Election Commission since all the decisions made, including the one concerning SIR of electoral rolls, were unanimous.
The process and success of such a motion are uncertain, as there have been no reports about how this will be done since the ruling alliance has a majority in Parliament, as per some reports.
None of the three politicians mentioned—Kumar, Modi, or Shah—have commented on any of the accusations made by Gandhi so far.
