‘Trust’ is one of the noblest of words in English Dictionary which is defined as (a) assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something and (b) one in which confidence is placed. Today, if there is an institution far removed from this definition it is the Election Commission of India (ECI). This is largely because of the strategy of secrecy and stealth adopted by this institution in place of openness and transparency.
Soon after the 2019 Parliament election on July 2, 64 former senior civil servants belonging to the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG) and 83 armed forces veterans, academics and journalists wrote a strongly worded letter to the ECI. To quote from the letter:
“The 2019 General Elections appear to have been one of the least free and fair elections that the country has had in the past three decades or so…. Our Election Commission used to be the envy of the entire world, including developed countries, for its ability to conduct free and fair elections despite the huge logistical challenges and the hundreds of millions of voters. It is indeed, saddening to witness the process of the demise of that. If it continues, it is bound to strike at the very heart of that founding document the people of India proudly gave themselves–the Constitution of India–and the democratic ethos that is the very basis of the Indian Republic…”
It is a tragedy that the trend towards unfair election not only continued but got accelerated in the last few years threatening to make the Parliament Election-2024 a farce! This is clearly reflected in the letter again written to the ECI by CCG on April 11 and signed by 83 former civil servants:
“Our group has been interacting with the ECI since 2017 and has sent many letters to your predecessors: there has been no response from the ECI over the past five years. The ECI has made no efforts to assuage doubts in the minds of the thinking public and political parties about the integrity of EVMs and the need to use VVPATs effectively to ensure accuracy in the recording of votes. Nor has the ECI been particularly effective in enforcing the Model Code of Conduct to check its misuse, especially by the party in power…. In the current elections as well, infractions of the Model Code of Conduct by no less a personage than the Prime Minister have not been acted upon by the ECI even after these were brought to its notice…. In spite of the enormous powers vested in it under Article 324 of the Constitution of India, the ECI, in recent years, has exhibited a strange diffidence, especially in dealing with actions that impact the conduct of free and fair elections.”
Also read: Five Reasons There’s a Dark Cloud Over Election Commission’s Transparency and Functioning
Both the letters and several appeals and representations regarding free and fair election received no response from ECI who have been repeating their favourite lies ad nauseum. Such callousness on the part of ECI compelled the civil society to form an Independent Panel for Monitoring Indian Elections (IPMIE). Commencing from March 15, IPMIE has been sending regular reports and weekly bulletins to the ECI pointing out serious flaws and failures in the maintenance of level playing field and conduct of free and fair elections. Issues flagged are:
- Hasty and brazenly partisan appointment of two Election Commissioners just a day before the notification of election and the schedule;
- The long seven-phase election cycle announced by ECI giving advantaging to the ruling party and its “star campaigners,” particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- The arrest of a sitting Chief Minister (Arvind Kejriwal) from an opposition political party during elections casting serious doubts over whether a level playing field is being provided to all parties going into the election. Particularly so because this comes soon after the arrest of another Chief Minister from the opposition, Hemant Soren in Jharkhand.
- Bias of mainstream media presenting an unbalanced picture regarding issues that impact free and fair elections.
- Systematic exclusion of large numbers of Muslims, Dalits, and other disadvantaged groups from the voter’s list.
- Freezing of Congress party’s bank accounts, and issue of Income Tax notices to Left parties during election season.
- Statements appealing to religion made by senior leaders of the ruling BJP, violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s, Home Minister Amit Shah’s and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s brazen references to Ram Mandir Pram Pratishtha at Ayodhya and Ram Navami while seeking votes.
- Misuse of military symbols in election messaging by BJP ministers and posting videos of Prime Minister Modi in military uniform.
- Whilst senior BJP politicians continue freely appealing to communal sentiments, government is reported to be systematically targeting what is left of the independent media.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invoked religious symbolism in multiple speeches,
- Despite several complaints and concerns expressed by a wide section of civil society, ECI has not responded to questions surrounding the safety and integrity of EVMs. The Central Information Commission has also expressed “severe displeasure” over ECI failing to respond to a Right to Information request regarding the EVMs.
- ECI has not taken note of the widespread instance of central agencies issuing notices/raiding/arresting Opposition candidates during election time, and thus seeming to be mala fide–impacting the level playing field
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a brazenly communal statement on 21 April that is full of Islamophobic rant and dog-whistle, falsely claimed that the Congress party promised to take people’s wealth and give it to the Muslims, who he refereed as “infiltrators” and “those with more children”.
- Blatant MCC violation by the BJP, whose Bihar unit posted an image on X unambiguously invoking Lord Ram for garnering votes. PM Modi’s X account also posted a video showing Lord Ram, the Ram Temple, and the PM performing religious worship.
- State authorities in constituencies in Uttar Pradesh were preventing some voters from casting their vote or intentionally delaying the process, and alleged booth capturing.
- A BJP candidate was declared the winner on the Surat Lok Sabha seat when nomination papers of the Congress candidate were rejected. All other candidates on the ballot curiously withdrew their nominations reportedly under threat and inducements. After this ravaging of democracy, the Congress candidate from Indore withdrew his nomination and joined the BJP. This is ravaging of electoral democracy
- Following complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s communal onslaught of 21 April, the ECI sent notice to the BJP President without mentioning the PM or his speech. This is a strange and unusual practice that amounts to favouritism.
- The ECI is applying the MCC unequally by not taking firm action against explicit appeals to religion made by BJP leaders and by going after opposition parties’ campaigns, which do not prima facie violate the MCC.
- There have been reports about state authorities causing delays in Muslim voters being allowed to vote. The right to freely caste one’s vote is a foundational block of democracy and integral to free and fair elections.
- ECI took 11 days after the first phase and four days after the second phase of voting to release the final voter turnout data. ECI, has also not released the total number of registered voters and number of polled votes from each constituency. Mere percentages do not give the full picture and this major flaw in ECI’s working has raised serious concerns about the potential for manipulation of votes during counting.
With its stoic silence and not even acknowledging such serious violations of free and fair elections, it looks as if ECI has either become partisan or non-functional.
What is worse, in their pursuit of stealth and secrecy, ECI does not even respond to applications under the Right to Information Act seeking critical information. So much so the Central Information Commission (CIC) has recently expressed “severe displeasure” over the ECI not furnishing a reply to an RTI plea that had asked the poll panel about the action taken on a “representation” given to it by eminent citizens, raising questions on the credibility of EVMs and VVPAT machines during elections. Terming it a “gross violation” of the law, the CIC has also directed the EC to submit a written explanation. The case related to a former IAS officer M G Devasahayam, who was one of the signatories to the representation on the credibility of EVMs, VVPAT and the vote-counting process, had filed an application with the poll panel under the RTI Act, seeking details of the action taken on it. The representation was sent to the ECI on May 2, 2022.
Despite CIC’s strictures and clear directive to furnish the information asked for, ECI did not do so and asked the applicant to refer to the Commissions’ manuals and FAQ pages as well as the Supreme Court judgment on EVM/VVPAT. Obviously, the Commission is concealing things that could expose the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of EVMs in conducting free and fair elections, which the Apex Court did not bother to go into! Such is the extent of the degeneration of ECI!
It is but natural that the people have lost trust and confidence in ECI. It is no wonder therefore that the CSDS-Lokniti pre-poll survey revealed an alarming decrease in trust in ECI: “58% of the respondents expressed some or great distrust in the Election Commission in 2024 as opposed to 78% evincing trust in the poll body following the 2019 Lok Sabha election.”
In response, instead of regaining public trust by effectively functioning as a constitutional sentinel of free and fair election, ECI runs to the Supreme Court and get a ‘certificate’ of trust: “The Republic has prided itself in conducting free and fair elections for the past 70 years, the credit wherefor can largely be attributed to the ECI and the trust reposed in it by the public.”
That was in the past, not the present. Even the Supreme Court did not address the present massive public distrust in ECI (nearly 60%) because trust is to be earned, not certified.
