Conflict-of-interest questions swirl around Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and family

A probe has highlighted that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar took key decisions without informing the other two commissioners, raising concerns about procedural breaches. In a separate matter, a Supreme Court panel headed by Justice Satish Chandra Sharma approved relief for Kumar’s daughter, Noida District Magistrate Medha Roopam, whose father-in-law is the returning officer in Sambhal. The judge’s son works as standing counsel for the Election Commission in Madhya Pradesh, adding another layer of perceived conflict.

Video evidence from May 7 showed police lathi-charging Muslim voters, especially women, in Sambhal’s Ovari and Shahbazpur villages, yet the Commission labeled the footage “false” and refused to adjourn the poll. The returning officer, Manish Bansal, is Kumar’s son-in-law, and it remains unclear whether Kumar recused himself from related deliberations. The episode has sparked calls for greater transparency and possible reforms to address conflicts of interest within the Election Commission.