Paranjoy Guha Thakurta says 'still searching’ for answers on questions he posed at EC briefing
New Delhi: Freelance journalist, writer and filmmaker Paranjoy Guha Thakurta said he was “still searching” for an answer to the questions he raised during the Election Commission’s press briefing on Sunday.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), journalist and author Saba Naqvi praised Paranjoy and asked, “Well done @paranjoygt, but did you get a reply?” To this, Paranjoy responded, “I am still searching.”
The official handle of the Congress party’s Kerala unit also noted “Dear @paranjoygt, thanks for asking the real tough questions that much of our media has forgotten to ask. We listened to the whole press conference and couldn’t find the answer to your question. Did you happen to get any response in case we missed it?” Paranjoy echoed the same stance, replying, “I am still searching.”
During the session, Paranjoy asked Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar why the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls was being conducted quickly despite floods in Bihar and complaints about the short timeline. He also referred to the Supreme Court’s August 14 directive to provide machine-readable details of 65 lakh voters and questioned why these were not supplied.
In addition, he raised concerns about reports from Maharashtra suggesting a mismatch between the number of registered voters and the eligible 18+ population, and sought clarification on why former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was making statements on the matter while the Commission remained silent.
Several social media users noted that his questions had not been addressed directly during the briefing, and also lauded him.
User @Aafrin7866 wrote,“The only journalist at the press conference who fearlessly questioned the Election Commission. Senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta directly asked three questions, and none were answered.”
Another user, @MrDemocratic_, added, “A fearless journalist, asking fearless questions. Take a bow, Paranjoy Sir.” Similarly, @mohitlaws wrote, “Hundreds of journalists were present, but only one had the courage to ask real questions, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.”
The Election Commission of India on Sunday August 17, held a press conference in response to the allegations of ‘voter theft,’ and also to address the ongoing Special Intensive Revision in Bihar.
This came after Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleged major voter fraud in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment, which falls under the Bengaluru Central parliamentary constituency, during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He claimed that more than one lakh votes had been “stolen” out of a total of 6.5 lakh votes in the constituency.
Meanwhile in Bihar, the Congress, RJD, and their allies staged a “Voter Adhikar Rally” against the revision of voter rolls. Addressing a gathering in Sasaram, Rahul Gandhi said, “The entire country knows what the Election Commission is doing. Earlier, people did not know how votes were being stolen. Now we are showing them.”
I am still searching. https://t.co/k5ilkXTwsO
— ParanjoyGuhaThakurta (@paranjoygt) August 17, 2025
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
