'Scheduling Factors': Poll Body As Gyanesh Kumar's UP Event Postponed

It's a part of the routine process of adjusting dates for official events, the Election Commission said Friday, underplaying the postponement of two Electoral Literacy Club (ELC) conferences in Uttar Pradesh that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, who is at the centre of a dissent row in the poll body, was set to address.

Gyanesh Kumar was to visit Meerut on Thursday and Varanasi on September 28.

The development comes two days after an Indian Express report claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected at least 14 times over 10 months, between October 2025 and August 2026, to decisions and orders related to the SIR process, many of which, they said, were taken without their knowledge.

The Election Commission clarified that internal technical notes and written queries are standard procedure in a multi-member body. It assured that all final decisions regarding the SIR process were taken unanimously and have full legal sanction.

The poll body attributed the ELC conference change to various factors, including venue availability, schedules of senior authorities and natural conditions.

Adjustments in event dates are an ongoing process and are necessitated by various logistical and administrative factors, the poll body said.

"There have been many occasions when the ELC conferences had  been postponed/dates changed earlier also such as Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Uttarakhand. Moreover, the decision to postpone these two particular conferences was taken on September 21," the Election Commission said, two days before the Express report which spotlighted the alleged row within the poll body.

The clarification comes as the poll body has been conducting ELC 2.0 events in phases as part of its voter-awareness initiatives ahead of the 2027 state elections.

On Thursday, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, addressing a press conference, said votes are being stolen, which renders the laws made by MPs illegal. Gandhi termed Gyanesh Kumar a traitor, demanded his resignation and warned that the Congress would not remain silent and watch democracy in India "being destroyed".

The Electoral Literacy Clubs are aimed at familiarising students and young voters with the electoral process, democratic values and the functioning of election-related institutions.

The ELC 2.0 initiative carries the tagline, "Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy". According to the Commission, the programme seeks to encourage young and first-time voters not only to understand democratic processes but also to participate meaningfully in them.