Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar strongly countered Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations, calling them baseless. He said that showing a PPT with non-ECI data cannot prove facts, and Gandhi must either submit an affidavit or publicly apologize to the nation. “There is no third option,” Kumar warned, adding that if no affidavit is submitted within seven days, the charges will be deemed unfounded.
Responding to claims of “rushed” Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, the CEC said the process began on June 24 and concluded around July 20, well before elections. He clarified that revising the voter list before polls is a legal mandate under the Representation of the People Act.
On allegations of duplicate voter ID (EPIC) cards, Kumar explained two types of duplication: identical EPIC numbers issued to different individuals in separate states, and single voters having multiple EPICs across constituencies. He revealed that in March 2025, around three lakh duplicate EPIC cases were identified and corrected nationwide.
He also addressed the issue of names appearing in multiple constituencies, noting that before 2003, when no centralized database existed, voters often had entries in different locations. Today, with technological upgrades, such discrepancies can be corrected online. Kumar stressed that the Election Commission stands firmly with voters and ensures no wrongful deletion during the revision process.
