‘Problematic if people doubt poll process, CEC should clarify’: NDA ally Chirag Paswan - The Indian Express

Union minister Chirag Paswan has called on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to clarify his position in the wake of The Indian Express investigation, which revealed an unprecedented internal rift within the three-member Election Commission of India (ECI).

Paswan, a key National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally, said the responsibility to assure the people of India of a free and fair electoral process lay with the CEC. “If questions are being raised on Election Commission, which is an independent constitutional body, responsibility lies with CEC to present his stance clearly. It is problematic if people begin to doubt electoral process itself. The EC needs to present its stance, not to Rahul Gandhi, but to public,” he said.

VIDEO | Patna, Bihar: If questions are being raised on Election Commission, which is an independent constitutional body, responsibility lies with CEC to present his stance clearly. It is problematic if people begin to doubt electoral process itself. EC needs to present its… pic.twitter.com/mGCCJy0VSw

The investigation, based on internal notes and letters from October 2025 to August 2026, found that the other two Election Commissioners— Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi — formally recorded objections at least 14 times over 10 months against major decisions pushed under CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

Paswan said it didn’t matter what the Opposition said; but it was necessary for the Election Commission to dispel all doubts from the minds of the people.

Chirag Paswan, a key constituent of the ruling NDA, is known to challenge the Centre’s policies. In 2024, he was the first NDA partner who opposed the UPSC lateral entry initiative. He called it “completely wrong” for bypassing mandatory SC/ST and OBC quotas.

The same year, Paswan broke ranks with the BJP to back the call for a nationwide caste census to ensure effective welfare targeting. He opposed the “creamy layer” framework for SC/ST reservations. He did advocate a caste census eventually, but opposed making public the statistics.

He had also opposed the mandatory vendor nameplate directives issued by the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand along the Kanwar Yatra route. He said the directive was “divisive”.

Paswan even challenged the BJP on key legislative measures. In 2025, he said the decison on the Waqf amendment Bill must not be rushed and any concerns of minority communities must be thoroughly reviewed. Although he eventually supported the decision amend the Act, he advocated the Bill’s referral to a Joint Parliamentary Committee.

He also urged the Centre to be careful on the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to ensure tribal and regional customs remain protected. “We don’t have a draft for it yet. Until unless we go through that draft, because there are a lot of concerns… India is a country of diversities. Be it language, culture or lifestyle, everything is different in different regions of the country, he said, wondering “how can you bring everyone under one umbrella,” Paswan had said in a 2024 interview.

For the NDA heading into the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Chirag Paswan serves as a key ally to consolidate the Dalit vote base, particularly among non-Jatav communities.

Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is on shaky ground and the Opposition Samajwadi Party-Congress bloc are actively targeting backward and Dalit voters through their PDA (Pichhde, Dalit, Adivasi) narrative. In such a scenario, Paswan provides the ruling alliance with a credible, articulate, and youthful Dalit face.

His party, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), has actively expanded its footprint across UP, consolidating non-Jatav Dalit sub-caste votes, like the Pasis and the Dusadh Paswans, to prevent these voters from shifting toward the Opposition. As per Paswan, he also enjoys support of the Ravidas, Mushahar, and Bhuiyan voters.

Also, his 100% strike rate of 5/5 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as part of the NDA bloc makes him a key poll manager for the ruling alliance.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday that “all elections” were being “rigged” in the country. “Our elections are fundamentally broken. The sacred belief in elections is dying. If tomorrow, the BJP sweeps elections, no one will believe it,” he said.

Referring to The Indian Express report, Gandhi showed video clips of speeches by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in which they say the BJP will remain in power for a long time. “I come from a political family. No political leader can say or make such statements. In India, there is a force called anti-incumbency… It doesn’t spare anybody. Indira Gandhiji won the Bangladesh war. And within a year or two, massive anti-incumbency… The same happens to leader after leader. For some reason, it doesn’t happen to Narendra Modi, Mr Shah, BJP,” he said.

Gandhi recalled how the Prime Minister and the Home Minister bypassed his opinion to elevate Gyanesh Kumar as the CEC. Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi were appointed under a 2023 Act by a selection panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

Abhishek Chakraborty is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express in Delhi, working at the intersection of digital-first journalism, editorial decision-making, and audience engagement. He is closely involved in shaping and commissioning stories for the digital platform, with a focus on breaking news, explanatory journalism, and sharp, reader-oriented presentation. His work spans editorial planning, real-time news judgment, headline optimisation, and platform strategy, including search and social distribution. He has a strong interest in the evolution of news consumption in the digital ecosystem. He is particularly interested in how national newsrooms adapt to platform-led distribution models, data-informed editorial choices, and the balance between speed, depth, and credibility in digital-first journalism. His core interest areas are business, science, and political news. Education and interest areas: Abhishek holds a postgraduate degree in Political Science and a graduate degree in Journalism. His academic grounding informs his reportage and editing, particularly on politics, governance, and public policy. He is interested in the future of digital journalism, newsroom transformation, and the evolving relationship between technology, platforms, and public discourse. Abhishek hails from Assam's Guwahati and is proficient in English, Bengali, Assamese and Hindi. When not in the newsroom, Abhishek can be found exploring food trails around Delhi and Northeast India. In his leisure, Abhishek likes to go on long drives or bike rides, play cricket and games, and explore historical places. Work experience: Abhishek has over 12 years of experience at The Times of India, The Quint, India Today, ABP Network, and now, at The Indian Express. ... Read More