Photo Courtesy: nenow
Imphal: Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee members clashed with security forces in Imphal on September 25. Protesters marched to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Lamphelpat to demand the arrest and removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Security forces fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd after activists attempted to storm the complex and torched an effigy of the commissioner. Police stood their ground. The protest follows a nationwide Congress campaign against the poll panel.
MPCC president Okram Ibobi Singh addressed the crowd. He questioned the internal workings of the three-member commission. Singh echoed Rahul Gandhi’s claims of electoral fraud, alleging that Kumar makes key decisions unilaterally. He claimed that fellow commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have voiced objections to electoral roll revisions and data management. "The protection of democracy cannot be ignored," Ibobi said.
The Election Commission denied any internal split. They stated that differing views are standard during internal deliberations. The commission maintained that all final decisions, including the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, were unanimous. The Congress party plans to escalate its agitation with a second round of protests at district collectorates on September 28.
Updated at 25th September 2026 at 10:01pm
The party is now pushing for an independent review of all decisions and electoral roll changes enacted during Kumar's tenure. Local leaders framing the protest within the party's broader Vote Chori campaign pointed to specific concerns over voter deletions and data handling procedures as primary drivers for the push for legal accountability.
Reports indicate the protest took place on Friday, with participants carrying placards that explicitly called for the formal prosecution of the Chief Election Commissioner.
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