Election Commissioner Must Rectify, Not Retaliate

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar missed a golden opportunity to win the confidence of the people when he addressed a press conference on Sunday. The very timing of the event — twelve days after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi had raised charges of bogus voters and coinciding with his Vote Adhikar rally in Bihar — inevitably gave it a political hue. Far from appearing independent, the Commission seemed to be reacting under pressure.

Kumar, flanked by the two Election Commissioners, demanded that Gandhi either produce “proof authenticated by affidavit” within a week or apologise to the nation. This was an odd demand. Gandhi had indeed waved documents at his press conference, but even if they were fragmentary, the burden of verification ultimately rests on the Election Commission. After all, it is the custodian of the electoral rolls. If Gandhi alleged that 50 voters were shown as living in a one-room house, the Commission could have checked this with a few clicks on its own computer system.

Instead of flatly refuting the charges or demonstrating their falsity, the Commission adopted a defensive stratagem — demanding affidavits as if it were a court of law. This approach ignores the fact that the proof lies within the Commission’s own data. More disturbingly, it creates the impression that the EC is more interested in shielding itself from criticism than in rectifying errors, if any exist. Take the case of Mahadevapura in Bengaluru, where Gandhi alleged that 1.2 lakh suspicious names were added.

The constituency has just six lakh voters. The Commission could have easily undertaken a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to verify the rolls. Kumar himself had claimed that the entire voter list of Bihar — with nearly eight crore names — could be revised in a month. That is how he deleted 65 lakh voters from the Bihar list. If that is possible, why could a single constituency not be cleaned up in a week? By doing so, the Commission could have silenced the critics and restored faith in its impartiality.

What is more, BJP leaders like Anurag Thakur have alleged that even the constituencies from which Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi won had more than a lakh bogus voters. The Commission, however, has not issued them any ultimatum to file affidavits or apologise. This selective response further undermines the institution’s credibility. The Election Commission’s constitutional mandate is to conduct free and fair elections. If irregularities are flagged, its duty is to verify and correct them, not to threaten political leaders with punitive language. By adopting the tone of politicians in power, the Commission risks being seen as partisan. What the country expects from the three Election Commissioners is reassurance through transparent corrective action — not defensiveness that erodes public trust in democracy’s most vital institution.

Published on: Tuesday, August 19, 2025, 02:25 PM IST