NEW DELHI, SEPT 25: Internal operations within the Election Commission of India have drawn significant attention following reports of procedural differences involving Director General (IT) Seema Khanna and Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg. Documents and media accounts indicate that Election Commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi maintained reservations regarding decision-making processes tied to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and changes to administrative workflows.
The primary points of concern revolve around operational access to the poll body’s digital infrastructure, specifically the ECINet platform. Concerns were raised after field officers, including Electoral Registration Officers, experienced restricted access during voter registration drives. Election Commissioner SS Sandhu noted that statutory authorities require full operational freedom as defined by governing frameworks, asserting that technical divisions should maintain supporting roles without curtailing field access.
Seema Khanna, a senior technical officer who joined the commission on deputation in 2025, previously served with the National Informatics Centre under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Holding advanced degrees including a doctorate in information security from IIT Delhi, Khanna had earlier contributed to public digital infrastructure projects, including the contact-tracing platform Aarogya Setu during the pandemic response.
Simultaneously, administrative decisions overseen by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg became a point of internal discussion. Questions arose following adjustments to work allocations and departmental oversight, which were initiated after Garg assumed additional charge of administration. Both Election Commissioners subsequently communicated with the Cabinet Secretariat to seek clarity and appropriate guidance on administrative protocols.
Maneesh Garg, a 1996-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, has served with the commission since September 2024. Having previously managed electoral operations as the Chief Electoral Officer in Himachal Pradesh and held positions within the Union Ministry of Education, his tenure on central deputation was extended through September 2027 following an upgrade to the level of Additional Secretary.
