CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s Chhattisgarh Visit Postponed Amid SIR Row, Massive Opposition Uproar

The Election Commission of India has postponed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s two-day visit to Chhattisgarh, where he was scheduled to travel on October 7 and 8, 2026. The postponement comes amid growing criticism over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a controversy involving four migrant workers from West Bengal who have been detained in Chhattisgarh after their names were deleted from the voters’ list.

A government order issued on Tuesday, October 6, said the visit had been postponed due to 'unavoidable reasons'. The revised dates will be communicated separately by the Election Commission.

Opposition's Massive Show Of Strength

The postponement comes hours after opposition MPs, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, stormed the Delhi streets and marched to the Election Commission's office. Gandhi and others were stopped before they reached the ECI office. Around 250 were detained at Akashvani Bhawan, including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, following the massive opposition protests.

Kumar and other senior ECI officials were scheduled to travel from Delhi to Chhattisgarh for the visit. The Chief Electoral Officer’s office had earlier issued instructions for Kumar to be accorded the status of a State Guest and for necessary protocol arrangements to be made.

The CEC’s proposed itinerary reportedly included visits to the temples of Goddess Danteshwari in Dantewada and Bhoramdeo in Kabirdham, besides Chitrakoot waterfall in Bastar.

4 Bengal Men Detained Over Voter List Deletions

The postponement comes as the SIR exercise has come under scrutiny in connection with the detention of four migrant workers from Murshidabad in West Bengal. The four men, Sabir Sheikh, 42, Safikul Islam, 39, Nasiruddin Sheikh, 35, and Laltu Sheikh, 28, have been lodged at a detention centre in Raipur for over a month on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals, as reported by The Hindu.

The men were among 23 migrant workers who travelled to Chhattisgarh in late August in search of work and were selling goods door-to-door in the Bilaspur area. Chhattisgarh Police detained all 23 from their residences in Chunchiapara-Ganesh Nagar under Sirgiti police station on September 4 and initially took them to the Bilaspur Superintendent of Police’s office before shifting them to a holding centre in Raipur.

Nineteen of them were released on September 18 following a local civil court order, while the four men remained detained. During proceedings, police questioned their nationality and cited the deletion of their names from the electoral rolls during the SIR exercise.

Families Reach Calcutta HC

The families of the four men have challenged their continued detention and approached the Calcutta High Court, arguing that their appeals against deletion of their names from the electoral rolls are still pending before the tribunal. They have claimed that the men are long-time residents of West Bengal and only travelled to Chhattisgarh temporarily for work.

The case has also drawn criticism from the Calcutta High Court. During the first hearing, Justice Krishna Rao questioned the authorities’ approach, pointing to an apparent contradiction in detaining the men as suspected non-citizens while their appeals before the tribunal remained pending.

The court also questioned whether authorities could determine their citizenship before the appellate process was completed and raised concerns over the role of the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in the matter.