India's election chief at the centre of a growing political storm
India's Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, is facing scrutiny over a massive electoral roll revision that has removed millions of names from voter lists. Internal reports suggest significant friction within the Election Commission, with fellow commissioners raising concerns about decision-making transparency.
Why it matters
The integrity of electoral processes in the world's largest democracy is fundamental to political stability and public trust in government institutions.
Share Save Add as preferred on Google Nikita Yadav & Zoya Mateen BBC News, Delhi Hindustan Times via Getty Images Gyanesh Kumar joined the Indian civil services in 1988 For most of his 36-year career in India's bureaucracy, Gyanesh Kumar built a reputation for getting difficult things done.
Now the 62-year-old, who runs elections in the world's most populous country, faces a rather different challenge: defending how his own institution makes decisions.
It is an unusual position for a bureaucrat who spent decades outside the public gaze, despite being entrusted with some of the Indian government's most politically sensitive assignments.
For about a year now, Kumar, India's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), has been under intense political pressure over a sweeping revision of the country's electoral rolls known as the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR.
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