12 BJP CMs defend EC amid SIR row, hit back at Rahul Gandhi

BJP CMs Rekha Gupta, Devendra Fadnavis and Yogi Adityanath

NEW DELHI: A dozen BJP chief ministers held press conferences in their respective states on Sunday, a day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a press release responding to a media report that had claimed a “rift” between Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.According to a statement issued by the ruling party, the chief ministers accused Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and his party-led opposition INDIA bloc of “conspiring to defame constitutional institutions."In states where the BJP or its NDA allies are not in power, state BJP presidents or leaders of the opposition from the saffron party addressed media instead.

What BJP CMs said

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis remarked that "no vote was stolen, Rahul Gandhi's mind was stolen."

He accused the Lok Sabha leader of opposition of "seeking to spread anarchy by defaming institutions" while claiming to defend the Constitution.Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath accused the opposition parties of creating "confusion" over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. In Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma described the INDIA bloc as an “alliance of losers,” while Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary argued that "cleansing" the voter list was necessary because “booth capturing no longer works in the country.”

West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari pointed to the Congress’s support for the SIR in Keralam, where it won, and its opposition to the exercise in Bengal after losing the election.Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami objected to what he described as an "attempt to defame institutions by presenting a note from an internal discussion as a final decision.”Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma questioned why the Congress had not "verified the facts" before making serious allegations over the June 24, 2025, orders concerning the nationwide SIR, which he maintained were adopted by the ECI full consensus of the CEC and the election commissioners.Chhattisgarh's Vishnu Deo Sai accused the Congress of resorting to “anti-national” conduct after “having lost more than 100 elections.” Referring to the Election Commissioners’ joint statement, accompanied by a photograph of the three officials seated at a table, Sai argued that it had exposed what he called a “conspiracy to tarnish the country’s image.”Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, where a third of the electorate was removed and a third of those remaining received notices as part of the ongoing revision, framed the Opposition’s position on the issue as an attempt to “divert attention from its failures."

Rahul Gandhi’s cryptic post

Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, posted cryptically on X: “I love swimming in the sea when it’s rough. It teaches you that rough is just another kind of calm.”At a press conference on September 24, a day after The Indian Express published its report, the Congress leader claimed his “vote chori” (vote theft) allegation stood “vindicated.” The Raebareli MP also demanded that CEC Gyanesh Kumar resign or be removed, accusing him of “treason.”

The controversy

The Indian Express reported on September 23 that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected to at least 14 decisions over 10 months concerning the ongoing SIR exercise and related matters.The ECI has not disputed that objections were raised; however it characterised them as "disagreements" that were subsequently resolved, stressing that the final decisions were "unanimous." While Sandhu and Joshi are yet to speak to the media, the poll panel's press note second statement outlined several measures and clarifications.The BJP has maintained that the ECI’s press notes have “settled the matter”. Its allies, who, like the opposition, had sought an explanation from the poll body, also welcomed the commission's statement.