Who are Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the two Election Commissioners raising questions within the poll panel?

The Election Commission of India has come under renewed scrutiny following reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have formally objected to several decisions and processes concerning electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

According to an investigation by The Indian Express, the two commissioners have recorded objections at least 14 times over the past 10 months, raising questions over decisions they said were taken without their knowledge or approval.

The issues reportedly include changes to Form 6, access to electoral-roll databases, voter deletions and the filing of appeals in West Bengal.

The Election Commission, however, has maintained that decisions of the three-member poll panel, including those concerning SIR, were taken unanimously.

So, who are the two officials at the centre of the controversy?

Sukhbir Singh Sandhu

Sukhbir Singh Sandhu is a 1988-batch IAS officer of the Uttarakhand cadre who joined the Election Commission as an Election Commissioner in March 2024.

Before taking up the constitutional post, Sandhu served as Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand from 2021 to 2024 and headed the National Highways Authority of India between 2019 and 2021.

His administrative career spans both state and central governments.

He has served as Secretary to the Lokpal and as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Education, where his responsibilities included institutions such as IITs and IIMs.

He has also served as Principal Secretary to four chief ministers belonging to three political parties, according to his official ECI profile.

Sandhu has held several senior assignments in Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and has served as District Magistrate of Haridwar, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Udham Singh Nagar.

Away from administration, Sandhu is a medical graduate and holds a master's degree in History.

His official profile also notes his interest in trekking and mountaineering, including an ascent of Black Peak in Uttarakhand.

His name has now emerged prominently in the reported internal disagreements over electoral-roll procedures.

In one instance cited by The Indian Express, Sandhu objected to a change introduced in Form 6 for new voters, describing the move as unauthorised and illegal and calling for its removal.

Vivek Joshi

Vivek Joshi is a 1989-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre who joined the Election Commission in February 2025. Before that, he served as Chief Secretary of Haryana.

Joshi's career has largely involved economic administration and senior positions in the Union government.

He has served as Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training and as Secretary in the Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance.

He also served as Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.

His academic background is in engineering and economics. Joshi studied mechanical engineering at IIT Roorkee, completed a master's in International Business at IIFT Delhi and subsequently earned an MA and PhD in International Economics from the Graduate Institute in Geneva.

Within the Election Commission, Joshi has reportedly raised concerns over several aspects of the electoral-roll process.

The Indian Express reported that in May 2026 he objected to proposed changes to Form 6, arguing that a statutory form could not be altered without changes to the relevant electoral rules. Sandhu subsequently concurred with his position on file.

Joshi has also reportedly raised concerns about what he described as the gradual centralisation of electoral-roll databases and sought safeguards to ensure that statutory officials responsible for electoral rolls retain appropriate access.

Why are they in the spotlight now?

Sandhu and Joshi's reported objections matter because the Election Commission is a three-member constitutional body comprising the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. 

The latest reporting says their concerns have involved some of the most consequential aspects of electoral administration, including voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, electoral-roll databases and the SIR process.

At the same time, the ECI has rejected the suggestion that the reported disagreements amount to a breakdown in decision-making, maintaining that its decisions were unanimous.

For now, Sandhu and Joshi remain the two Election Commissioners alongside Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Their professional backgrounds are markedly different, but both have held senior administrative positions before joining the country's constitutional election machinery.