India, Sept. 28 -- On Sunday, September 27, the chief ministers of all Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states came out in support of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in a synchronised offensive, accusing the opposition of running a defamatory campaign against him.

For the BJP, such an overdrive is usually organised when the opposition attacks senior echelons of the government such as the prime minister, home minister or finance minister. CMs have never before defended the CEC in this manner, blurring the line between the independent constitutional body and the party.

The opposition has claimed for months that Gyanesh Kumar runs the Election Commission of India (EC) to help the BJP to retain power and accused him of par...