Indian Election Circus: Alas! If Only Seshan Was Around

Is the country heading for a very big crisis, one that it has not witnessed in decades? Since its independence, India has not had to face the issue of elections being manipulated to install a particular government at the centre and in states. At the time of writing, the whole country is busy debating what Rahul Gandhi has alleged through his disclosure about vote theft in Karnataka’s Mahadevpur assembly constituency—that an election can be stolen in favour of a political party. His accusation puts a serious question mark over the legitimacy of the Modi government and also about the whole process of the 2024 parliamentary elections. If his accusations are true, then tall claims about India’s democracy go for a toss. But that can only be disproved if a proper and honest investigation is done, but most surprisingly, the Election Commission is hiding behind technicalities.

The election commission has been led by great bureaucrats like TN Seshan and Jim Lingdoh, whose conduct as custodians of the Constitution was impeccable. They set the highest standard as chief election commissioners. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the recently appointed CECs. They behave more or less like an extension of the government. Had Seshan been at the helm of the affairs today, then he would have been the first person to ask for all the papers that Rahul Gandhi claims to have gathered and would have instituted a time-bound enquiry. Unfortunately, he is no more with us, and those who are in the chair have no interest in any kind of investigation.

It is sad that they are busy planting stories in the media to mislead the people that Rahul Gandhi is avoiding giving a written affidavit with proof of malpractices. Whereas former CECs and others, who have a better understanding of election laws, are of the opinion that the rules under which the Election Commission is asking Rahul Gandhi to file an affidavit do not apply in this case. The rule quoted by EC is Rule 20 (3)(b), which is applicable only within 30 days of draft rolls being published. Rahul Gandhi is questioning the veracity of the voters’ list after more than one and a half years. This raises serious questions about the intent of the EC. I refuse to believe that officers in the EC are ignorant of the rules. And if they are, then they have no business to be there, and if they are doing it deliberately, then they should be taken to task.

This is not the first time that the EC’s conduct has been questioned or accusations have been levelled that it is conniving with the ruling party. The 2024 parliamentary elections are a classic example of the EC behaving like Mahabharata’s king Dhritrashtra. That election was the most communal election of all time. Top leaders of the BJP, including the Prime Minister, had used religion to polarise voters. The Prime Minister had called Muslims ‘infiltrators’ who ‘would snatch Mangal sutras’ of Hindu women, but the EC did nothing to stop him and his party from spreading Islamophobia. Rather, the EC sent a letter to the party president of the BJP asking to explain why earlier notices were sent directly to the offenders and explanations were sought. Now, opposition leaders are treated with contempt. The EC even had the guts to lecture and accuse the Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge. He was so hurt that he even thought about seeking the help of the High Court to get the EC’s observations about the party and himself expunged. The same contempt can be seen in the EC’s response to Rahul Gandhi’s exposé. The EC has said, “Either sign the declaration on issues you have raised in the press conference, which you believe is true, or apologise to the nation.”

As a reporter, I covered the EC when Seshan was the chief. He was an extremely volatile person and used to get angry at the spur of the moment, but his written replies to political parties and leaders never smacked of any political overtones. They were very measured and constitutional. But the same can’t be said about the present EC. The EC’s reaction to the complaints of opposition parties and leaders has been full of disdain and disrespect. The EC has forgotten that its job is that of an umpire and to provide a level playing field to all the political parties. It can’t openly side with the ruling party and behave like a political party. Those holding the post in the commission need to be reminded that the opposition, like the ruling party or parties, is an equal stakeholder in the functioning of the democracy. Democracy is recognised not by the ruling party or by the government, but by the presence of an opposition. In dictatorships and authoritarian regimes, an opposition is either non-existent or has a token presence to give legitimacy to the ruling regimes. The strength of a democracy is not judged by who is in power; it is judged by the robustness of the opposition and the kind of questions it asks. Dynamism of the opposition is the true hallmark of a true democracy. I am sorry to state that the EC, in its behaviour towards the opposition, is disrespecting India’s democracy and is helping forces that want to kill democracy in India.

The issues that Rahul Gandhi has raised in his press conference and the objections that the Mahagathbandhan has put forward in the context of SIR in Bihar might be absurd, but it is the constitutional duty of the EC to respond with honesty and integrity. It is the duty of the EC to convince them and India at large that the process that it has followed is good and proper, and if there is any anomaly, then it is their duty to gracefully accept and promise to course-correct or rectify it. It is not the job of the opposition to speak words that are music to the ears of the EC and the government; the opposition will be failing in its duties if it does not ask tough and bitter questions. It is the EC’s job to convince the opposition and, through them, we the people that elections are conducted in a free and fair manner, and they should also be seen to be held that way. Unfortunately, the EC is miserably failing in its duties, and that is when we are reminded of Seshan. I wish he had been around.

The writer is Co-Founder, SatyaHindi.com, and author of Hindu Rashtra. He tweets at @ashutosh83B