Keralam Assembly passes resolution seeking removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar; BJP opposes

The Keralam Legislative Assembly on Monday, 12 October 2026, passed a resolution seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, according to The Hindu and PTI. Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan moved it. Reports describe it as the first such resolution by a state Assembly.

What the resolution says

According to The Hindu, the resolution makes three main requests of the Centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI):

• that steps be taken to remove Mr Kumar as CEC;
• that defects in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls be addressed and the voting rights of all eligible voters who were excluded be restored; and
• that the committee that selects Election Commissioners be reconstituted to include the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.

The text states: “Given the circumstances where serious doubts have been raised about the impartiality of the ECI, it is imperative that steps be taken to remove the CEC to restore the credibility of the institution.” It also refers to reports that the powers of Electoral Registration Officers were diluted, that Form 6 was amended, and that the two other Election Commissioners had objected to ECI decisions.

How the vote went

The Indian Express reported before the sitting that the 140-member House has 102 members of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), 35 of the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and three from the BJP. PTI reported that the resolution was passed by a show of hands, with BJP members, including state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the only ones opposing it.

The Hindu reported that four members proposed amendments. Mr Satheesan initially rejected all of them as not conforming to the spirit of the document, but accepted an oral change from Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, replacing “lakhs of eligible voters” with “crores”. BJP legislative party leader B.B. Gopakumar questioned the legality of the 2026 Assembly elections and sought their cancellation and the dissolution of the Assembly; that was rejected. PTI reported that Mr Muraleedharan’s proposed additions were also rejected.

Context

The resolution follows the opposition campaign against the CEC. Our earlier report covers the Delhi Police detentions at the CJP protest. An Assembly resolution has no binding effect on the Centre or the ECI; it expresses the House’s position.

The Indian Express noted that the Assembly passed an earlier resolution in September 2025, moved by the then LDF government, against rolling out the SIR.

We did not find a response from the ECI or Mr Kumar to the resolution at the time of publication. The ECI has previously said the reports about differences among Election Commissioners were incorrect, as Mr Muraleedharan noted in the House.

What happens next

The resolution is addressed to the Union government and the ECI. No further step has been announced.