"Is CEC Gyanesh Kumar a Citizen of India?": TMC's Saket Gokhale Alleges CEC's Name Missing From 2002 Voter List

WHILE THE ENTIRE COUNTRY is going through a revision of electoral rolls under the regulations of the Election Commission of India (ECI), recent news of the non-existence of Gyanesh Kumar’s—Chief election commissioner (CEC)—name in the last SIR 2002/2003 has sparked a major discontent among the people of India. Based on the rules of the SIR, and the way it was conducted since 2025, the instance of one’s name being absent in the last SIR amounts to a “logical discrepancy.”

See Also: Gyanesh Kumar Faces Heat: CJP Gives Chief Election Commissioner 48-Hour Ultimatum to Resign or Face Nationwide Protest, Demands Freeze on SIR

This statement was made by Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale, who tweeted that CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s name could not be mapped to the last Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in 2002/2003. He reportedly searched the ECI’s website across three states, but could not find Gyanesh Kumar in it, and asked on X, "Is CEC Gyanesh Kumar a citizen of India?"

What Did Saket Gokhale Claim? 

In Delhi’s draft SIR electoral roll, CEC Gyanesh Kumar is registered as a voter. His family details note him as the ‘son of Subodh Kumar.’ Saket Gokhale sought to verify this information, and went on to find Gyanesh’s name in the 2002/2003 SIR list. According to the SIR rules, one needs to establish a link to the 2002 SIR electoral roll, either through their name or through their parents or relatives in that list. In light of this rule, Saket Gokhale tried to find the name of Gyanesh Kumar, son of Subodh Kumar in the 2002 list, but could not find one. He searched the name in three states, Delhi, Kerala and his birthplace, Uttar Pradesh. Gyanesh Kumar was an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer of the Kerala Cadre.

Saket attached the photos of the ECI website which did not show Gyanesh’s name, and placed certain key questions to the ECI. “Now, if such an entry doesn’t exist in previous SIR, his current name on voter list should be flagged as a “logical discrepancy” & he should’ve gotten a notice,” wrote Saket on X. 

He asked a set of four questions asking the ECI, which state previous SIR was Gyanesh Kumar mapped; was Gyanesh Kumar a registered voter in 2002/2003; if his name is missing from the last SIR in Delhi, UP and Kerala, how does his name appear in the Delhi’s draft rolls; and finally has Gyanesh Kumar received a notice for “logical discrepancy?”  

Rising Discontent Among the Commoners

The reasons for the rising discontent against the CEC Gyanesh Kumar are plenty—ranging from irregular SIR, the revelations made by the recent investigative report by the Indian Express, and the increasing number of voter deletion across the country. Adding to that is the 2023 law on appointment of elections commissioners in India, which places a greater power in the hands of the Union government.

See Also: Did Election Commissioners Disagree With CEC Gyanesh Kumar Over SIR? Report Reveals ECs Raised 14 Formal Objections Over SIR Exercise, But No Action Taken

The issue, however, is not only limited to Gyanesh Kumar. Several other notable VIPs, who received notices for logical discrepancy, were officially assured by the ECI that their names would be added to the final draft, in contrast to the innumerable tribunals, document submission sessions, and repeated delays being faced by the commoner in the country. 

 People across social media and those working on-ground for voters’ rights are calling out the allegedly differential policy for the citizens of the country with respect to the electoral roll revision. The relative ease in dealing with the SIR process for those with better socio-economic and political status have been proved by the work of Sabar Institute. According to their study, the less prosperous areas in Delhi received more notices, particularly the transgender and muslim population. “Muslims are 12.9% of Delhi's population. In 7 of the 9 reasons given for a notice, Muslim names make up a bigger share than that. For "6 or more children linked to one parent", 51.5% of notices went to Muslim names, four times their share of the population,” their report stated.

See Also: Delhi SIR Row: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, Jaishankar, L.K Advani, Kejriwal and a Number of Other Prominent Names Gets Flagged in Draft SIR List

Saket Gokhale’s claim came on September 21, 2026, that they could not find any “Gyanesh Kumar, son of Subodh Kumar” in the 2002/2003 SIR list of Delhi, UP or Kerala. This claim is true, as NewsGram, too, could not find any data of “Gyanesh Kumar, son of Subodh Kumar” in the 2002 lists of UP, Delhi and Kerala. Any information received on this would be updated accordingly. 

However, this entire issue raises a critical question: shouldn’t Gyanesh Kumar’s name be flagged for logical discrepancy and asked to prove his link to the 2002 list like the rest of the citizens of the country? 

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