MA Baby meets Kejriwal over Election Commission row

CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby met AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi on Sunday to frame a joint strategy on the Election Commission's functioning, the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and ED action against former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Media reports say commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi filed written objections on 14 occasions to CEC Gyanesh Kumar's decisions. An INDIA bloc meeting is proposed in Delhi on September 30.

Written by AI from Politics · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 28 Sept 2026, 5:54 am IST

Source

Politics · read the original report ↗

#election commission#sir#opposition#cpim#aap#ed

Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)

CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby met AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi on Sunday. — Stated as fact in source; no direct quote or official statement cited.
Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded written objections on 14 occasions to CEC Gyanesh Kumar's decisions during the SIR process. — Attributed only to unspecified 'media reports'; significant unverified claim.
The Election Commission says differing views in internal discussions are normal and its decisions are within the law. — Attributed to the Election Commission as institutional response; no named spokesperson.
MA Baby wrote to INDIA bloc and non-NDA parties on September 23 and spoke to Mamata Banerjee, who agreed on united action. — Figure and date appear in source; account of Banerjee's agreement is not directly attributed to her.
An INDIA bloc meeting is proposed in New Delhi on September 30 to decide strategy, including demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's removal. — Described in source as proposed/planned; no official notice cited.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

This was not a courtesy call — CPM general secretary MA Baby is trying to turn the Election Commission row into the one issue that can pull the INDIA bloc back into a single frame. With AAP having kept its distance from the Congress in recent times, meeting Kejriwal lets Baby play the role of a non-Congress-centric bridge, a strategy that gives the Left political weight well beyond its numbers. At the same time, casting the ED action against Pinarayi Vijayan as an assault on federalism folds a Kerala political necessity into the national opposition narrative.

The media-reported written objections by fellow commissioners inside the Election Commission are the opposition's new lever — they let it push the credibility question above the level of mere partisan allegation.
The demand to remove the CEC and a notice for both Houses look designed for political messaging rather than outcome, given the opposition lacks the numbers.
By reaching out to parties outside the bloc such as BRS and BJD, Baby is trying to frame this as a broad federalism grievance rather than a straight INDIA-versus-NDA fight.
In Kerala the campaign serves the CPM twice over: it reframes the pressure on Vijayan as political vendetta while mobilising the Left cadre ahead of state politics.
The other side of the argument stands too: the Commission says differing views in internal discussion are routine and its decisions are within the law, so the opposition's claim of systemic failure is not yet established.

What to watch — Watch who actually turns up at the September 30 Delhi meeting — especially whether Congress, TMC and AAP share a platform, and whether a common demand on SIR is finalised.

The story does not independently establish what happened inside the Commission — the commissioners' objections rest on media reports, and what Kejriwal committed to, or how far AAP will join the campaign, is not stated.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 4 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby met AAP national convenor and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi on Sunday to work out a joint opposition strategy on three issues: questions over the Election Commission's functioning, the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and the Enforcement Directorate's action against former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Media reports cited in the source say the two Election Commissioners recorded written objections to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's decisions on 14 separate occasions during the SIR process. The Election Commission maintains that differing views in internal discussions are normal and that its decisions are within the law. An INDIA bloc meeting is proposed in New Delhi on September 30 to decide the next steps.

Key facts

CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby met AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi on Sunday.
Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi filed written objections on 14 separate occasions to CEC Gyanesh Kumar's decisions during the SIR process, as per media reports.
The Election Commission's position is that differing views in internal discussions are a normal process and its decisions are within the framework of law.
On September 23, MA Baby wrote to INDIA bloc leaders and several non-NDA parties urging an immediate common stand on the issue.
Baby spoke on the phone to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who agreed on united action on the situation.
Parties contacted include BRS, BJD, DMK and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, to build a wider opposition front.
Baby formally invited Kejriwal to join protests being organised by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala.
An INDIA bloc meeting is proposed in New Delhi on September 30 on the EC's functioning, halting the SIR process and further strategy.

Timeline

September 23MA Baby writes to INDIA bloc leaders and several non-NDA parties seeking an immediate common stand; also speaks to Mamata Banerjee by phone.
Sunday (date not stated in the source)MA Baby meets Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi; invites him to LDF protests in Kerala.
September 30 (proposed)INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi on the EC's functioning, stopping SIR and further strategy.
October 2A major protest against the Election Commission is planned, as referenced in the source's linked report.

Who has a stake

CPI(M) / MA Baby — Leading outreach to build a united opposition front against the EC's functioning and alleged misuse of agencies against Pinarayi Vijayan.
AAP / Arvind Kejriwal — Invited to join the common strategy and LDF protests in Kerala; a partner in the anti-EC campaign.
Election Commission of India and CEC Gyanesh Kumar — Institutional credibility at stake; opposition demands CEC's removal, while EC defends its decisions as lawful.
Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi — Reported to have recorded written objections 14 times, placing internal EC differences in the public domain.
INDIA bloc and non-NDA parties (TMC, BRS, BJD, DMK, TVK) — Deciding whether to adopt a joint position on SIR and the EC ahead of the proposed September 30 meeting.
Pinarayi Vijayan, former Kerala CM and CPI(M) Politburo member — Facing ED action that the CPI(M) calls political vendetta; central to the Left's protest plan.
Voters undergoing SIR — Accuracy and fairness of electoral rolls, and hence their right to vote, depend on how the revision is conducted.

Why it matters

The dispute moves beyond a routine roll revision to questions about whether a constitutional body is functioning by consensus, since reports of 14 written objections by two commissioners suggest internal dissent at the top of the Election Commission. The opposition's response — a common platform, protests, and a notice for the removal of the CEC — could turn an administrative exercise into a test of trust in India's electoral machinery. Simultaneously, CPI(M)'s charge that central agencies are being used against state leaders links the row to a wider debate on federalism.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

SIR stands for Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, conducted by the Election Commission of India.
Gyanesh Kumar is the Chief Election Commissioner named in the story; Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi are the Election Commissioners.
MA Baby is the general secretary of CPI(M); Arvind Kejriwal is AAP's national convenor and a former Delhi chief minister.
LDF (Left Democratic Front) is the Left-led front in Kerala organising the protests referred to in the story.
Pinarayi Vijayan, former Kerala CM and CPI(M) Politburo member, faces Enforcement Directorate action.
Opposition plans a legal notice in both Houses of Parliament seeking the CEC's removal; INDIA bloc meeting proposed in Delhi on September 30.

Mains framing

The MA Baby–Kejriwal meeting shows an opposition attempt to convert scattered grievances into a single political platform built around the credibility of constitutional institutions. Its trigger is twofold: reported internal dissent within the Election Commission, where two commissioners are said to have filed written objections on 14 occasions to the CEC's decisions during the SIR of electoral rolls, and the ED's action against former Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, which the CPI(M) frames as political retribution that erodes state rights and the federal structure. The Commission's counter is institutional and procedural — that divergent internal views are normal and its decisions are within the law — which shifts the debate to transparency in how a multi-member commission records and resolves disagreement. The implications are significant: any perception that roll revision is contested at the top affects public confidence in the vote itself, while opposition demands for the CEC's removal test parliamentary process, since such a notice must satisfy legal scrutiny in both Houses. A grounded way forward, on the source's own terms, lies in the Commission publicly clarifying the SIR process and its internal deliberations, and in the opposition pressing its case through the parliamentary and legal routes it is preparing, rather than street mobilisation alone.

Key terms

SIR (Special Intensive Revision): The Election Commission's intensive revision exercise for electoral rolls, at the centre of the current dispute.
INDIA bloc: The grouping of opposition parties whose meeting is proposed in New Delhi on September 30 to decide strategy on the EC.
LDF: Left Democratic Front, the Left-led alliance in Kerala organising protests to which Kejriwal was invited.
Enforcement Directorate (ED): Central investigative agency whose action against Pinarayi Vijayan the CPI(M) calls political vendetta.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC): Head of the Election Commission; incumbent Gyanesh Kumar, whose removal the opposition is demanding.
Non-NDA parties: Parties outside the ruling alliance, such as BRS, BJD, DMK and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, contacted by MA Baby.

Practice questions

Reported internal dissent within a multi-member Election Commission raises questions about transparency in its decision-making. Examine with reference to the SIR controversy.
"Allegations of misuse of central investigative agencies against state leaders strike at the federal structure." Critically discuss in the light of the CPI(M)'s charge regarding the ED's action against Pinarayi Vijayan.
What is the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, and why has it become a rallying point for opposition parties? Discuss the institutional safeguards available to address such disputes.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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