Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Friday alleged that the Congress and its allies lost the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections due to the Election Commission's "indulgence", calling it a "fraud on election" and demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.
Chennithala, who was in charge of the Maharashtra elections, claimed that objections raised by two Election Commissioners over electoral procedures were not considered by the CEC.
"I was in charge of Maharashtra. The Maharashtra assembly election was defeated by the Congress and allies because of indulgence by the Election Commission. It was a fraud on election. The two election commissioners raised objections 14 times, but the Chief Election Commissioner did not take the issue into account. The Election Commission lost its credibility. It is high time for Gyanesh Kumar to resign from the Chief Election Commissioner's position," Chennithala told reporters.
Congress Protests Across States, Demands CEC's Resignation
Chennithala's remarks came as Congress units staged protests across several states, including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur, demanding Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.
The protests follow a political row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, triggered by an Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding electoral-roll procedures, decisions and database access.
The Election Commission has rejected the characterisation of the objections as institutional dissent, stating that operational queries, internal feedback and administrative suggestions are part of the normal functioning of a multi-member constitutional body. The ECI has maintained that all final decisions concerning SIR were taken unanimously.
BJP's CR Kesavan Questions Chennithala's Stand On SIR
BJP leader CR Kesavan hit back at the Congress, citing Chennithala's earlier remarks on the SIR process following the Keralam Assembly election results announced on May 4, 2026.
Kesavan said Rahul Gandhi's allegation that "wherever there is SIR there is vote theft" was contradicted by Chennithala's appreciation of the exercise.
"Rahul Gandhi ridiculously claims that wherever there is SIR there is vote theft. On May 4, 2026, when the Kerala Assembly election results were announced, the current Congress Home Minister of Kerala, Mr. Ramesh Chennithala, lauded and appreciated how the SIR process had helped the Congress win by removing bogus votes from the electoral rolls," Kesavan said in a post on X.
Responding to the BJP leader's claim, Chennithala said the situation in Keralam was different because political parties had remained vigilant at the grassroots level.
"In Kerala, it was alright because we were very vigilant up to the lower level, and Kerala is an exception because this kind of fraud will not happen because all political parties are all very vigilant here," he said.
Uddhav Thackeray Also Targets Gyanesh Kumar Over Maharashtra Polls
Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had also demanded Gyanesh Kumar's removal, alleging that the Election Commission had acted against his party during the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.
"For the past several days, there has been a demand to remove the Election Commission's Gyanesh Kumar. The real face of Gyanesh Kumar has come before the country," Thackeray said.
He alleged that the poll body had transferred his party's name and election symbol to rival leaders.
"The Election Commission gave the Shiv Sena symbol and name to the traitors. Around 40 lakh voters' names were added to the list before the elections and removed after the elections," he alleged.
Thackeray further accused the authorities of acting out of a "hunger for power" and called for elections in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Karnataka to be conducted through ballot papers again.
Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 Results
The 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections saw the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secure 235 seats in a decisive victory.
The BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats, while the Shiv Sena won 57 seats and the Nationalist Congress Party secured 41 seats.
