With his controversial actions, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has done the impossible, which his predecessors had utterly failed to do.

He has succeeded in not only uniting the disparate opposition but also in getting them practically fighting fit to take on the world's largest party and turn it into a beleaguered bunch.

Taken in a sarcastic way, Kumar has become the flavour of the political season, much to the discomfiture of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been left squirming.

What is worse for the BJP is that it has to carry the albatross around its neck at a time when the talk in opposition circles is veering around Kumar's impeachment.

The world’s largest party, which was in a breakneck race to finish its rivals by hook or crook, had never felt so low since Modi became the supreme leader.

INDIA alliance cornering the BJP

And what is more surprising is that this has happened a year after the last Lok Sabha elections, whose outcome is now being seriously questioned by the opposition and also a section of political observers.

Modi 3.0 was never that lucky for the PM, who was forced to seek support of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar CMs for support to ensure that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a majority.

For the opposition, it is springtime. A few months ago, virtual obituaries were being written about the opposition INDIA alliance, with naysayers going overboard saying that it is either on its deathbed or is already dead. A section of the media was happy in projecting the disarray in the opposition in order to project the invincibility of the BJP. Times change.

Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had parted ways with the INDIA bloc, has been willy-nilly forced to join the opposition protests over the controversial SIR (Special Intensive Revision) in poll-bound Bihar, and the Vote Chori campaign tells its own story.

Fear is gripping the opposition that if they fail to stick together in the ‘vote chori’ campaign, they will face annihilation sooner than later. The controversial three bills introduced by the Home Minister Amit Shah this week, which have the provisions of removing chief ministers and ministers if they are detained or arrested for 30 days, have set the cat among the pigeons.

The sudden absence of Jagdeep Dhankhar from public view and his going silent soon after abruptly submitting his resignation from the post of vice president on the first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament have not sent good vibes in political circles. It is unheard of since independence for any leader to suddenly disappear and that too so mysteriously.

The passion, emotion, anger, and action reflected in the opposition camp showed that Kumar has earned the dubious distinction of being one of the worst Election officials independent India has produced. He shares the unenviable honour with his predecessor, Rajiv Kumar, amid reports and speculation that he has suddenly become untraceable.

The mystery is becoming deeper by the day, as Rajiv Kumar has kept mum as to where and how he is.

CECs virtually appointed Modi and Shah

Both the CECs were virtually appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah. There were several others before them who were also seen as lackeys of the ruling dispensation, including Achal Kumar Joti who was the chief secretary of Gujarat when Modi was the Chief Minister.

This does not speak well of claims of India being the world’s largest and thriving democracy. The burden of this saga is that the EC, once hailed all over the world for its impartial handling of the electoral process, has played a partisan role in favour of the ruling dispensation in the past 11 years.

Opposition Congress, when in power from 2004 to 2015 and sometimes even before that, had also not covered itself with glory while appointing Election Commissioners. One Chief Election Commissioner, M. S. Gill, was even made a Union Minister sometime after retirement, as he was brought to the Rajya Sabha by the ruling party.

But it was the same Congress that, while in power, had appointed no-nonsense Chief Election Commissioners like T.N. Seshan. R.V. Peri Sastry, though not flamboyant, was known as a man of integrity. Seshan used to often declare that he is not a servant of the Government of India and is only answerable to the people, Parliament and courts of India.

M. Lyngdoh was appointed the CEC by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee dispensation in 2001 and was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay award in 2003 for Government service.

Interestingly, Modi, as the Gujarat Chief Minister, had faced problems with the directions of an upright Lyngdoh and had a running battle with him. Modi had sought to make the CEC an issue in the local election by always referring to him as James Michael Lyngdoh, for obvious purposes. Lyngdoh had remained unmoved.

'Vote chor, gaddi chor', is not an ordinary slogan

“Vote chor, gaddi chor”, is not an ordinary slogan but reflects the massive fraud in the election process by the EC which has the blessings of the ruling BJP. This is becoming clearer and clearer day by day.

A bill brought out by the Modi dispensation and passed by Parliament in 2023 bill grants immunity to the CEC and the ECs from any legal action on decisions taken by them while in office.

The thinking might be in the official circles that, given such a strong legal shield, the CEC and his colleagues would be doing the bidding of the ruling party and government while projecting an independent stance.

The CEC’s August 17 press conference and its timing clearly revealed to even those uninitiated in political matters as to how much the EC is hand in glove with the Modi dispensation and wanted to protect and promote the BJP.

Opposition India bloc has time and again threatened the impeachment of the CEC and action against the two election commissioners when it comes to power.

Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari are New Delhi-based journalists.

As the election process comes under scrutiny, read The Wire's coverage of the Bihar SIR, opposition's allegations and more, here

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