ECI’s U-Turn on Form 6 Issue: SDPI Questions the Credibility of the Election Commission’s Actions!

New Delhi: 5th Nov 2026

The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has strongly condemned the Election Commission of India (ECI) for withdrawing the illegal modifications made to Form 6 during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and removing the controversial mandatory section from its online portal. The party stated that this sudden retreat has severely damaged the Commission’s credibility.

In a press statement issued in this regard, the SDPI stated:

“The various conditions and form modifications made mandatory in Form 6 during the SIR exercise across several states were explicitly termed ‘illegal’ by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi themselves. With these facts now coming to light, the ECI’s backtracking from its earlier stance raises grave suspicions.

In several states where the SIR process was intensively carried out, crores of voters’ names were arbitrarily deleted from the electoral rolls through these illegal compulsions. After elections were conducted in those states and governments even changed, the ECI’s current admission of its mistake and subsequent retreat is akin to ‘locking the stable door after the horse has bolted’. Given that the Supreme Court has also not endorsed such compulsions anywhere, the Election Commission must answer as to who aided these illegal actions all these days.

The Election Commission must function as an autonomous body safeguarding the nation’s democracy, rather than serving as a tool for the self-interests of a select few. SDPI registers its strong condemnation of the Commission’s arbitrary actions, which temporarily sidelined the fierce objections of its own Commissioners and disenfranchised crores of citizens.

Therefore, the SDPI demands a high-level probe into the arbitrary and illegal actions surrounding the SIR and Form 6 issue, as well as the high-handed approach of the Chief Election Commissioner, which led to the disenfranchisement of voters. Furthermore, SDPI urges the Election Commission of India to ensure that the names of all genuine voters who were deprived of their voting rights are restored to the electoral rolls immediately and without any hindrance.”

Mohammad Shafi
National Vice President