Pakistan, Oct. 10 -- India's Election Commission is facing one of the most serious crises of confidence in its recent history after roughly 130 million names were removed from electoral rolls during its nationwide verification drive. Opposition parties and a youth-led movement have taken to the streets; New Delhi is bracing for another large protest, and thousands of police and paramilitary personnel are being deployed. Meanwhile, the BJP and the Election Commission insist the exercise is legitimate and politically neutral.

Election Commission data claims about 28 million of the deleted voters were dead, 63 million had relocated, 10 million were duplicates, and around 30 million could not be traced. Those are valid reasons for cleaning e...