Challenges and Controversies: Reflections on India’s Lok Sabha Elections and the Role of the Election Commission

WHATEVER THE outcome of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, these elections will be remembered for plunging the standard of debate due to the usage of derogatory language and the role of the Election Commission, which has handled offenders with kid gloves.

While leaders of almost all political parties have indulged in using derogatory, or what they call “unparliamentary,” comments against their political rivals, the dubious award must go to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who not only twisted facts but also used language that no prime minister had ever used, even during the heat of campaigning.

There is absolutely no doubt that he has been the toughest campaigner in these elections and has traversed the country much more than any other political leader. There has hardly been a day when he has not found space on the front pages of newspapers or dominated the electronic media.

Modi’s main attack, according to research on his speeches since the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, has been on the Congress party. While this was expected, the viciousness of the attack was unparalleled.

The Election Commission, whose members were handpicked by the government, proved itself to be inept in dealing with the situation. It merely sent notices to the presidents of the political parties and asked them to restrain their “star campaigners.”

Former Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan, known for dealing with such situations with a heavy hand, was sorely missed.

In fact, its role from fixing the election schedule, which was stretched to about a month and a half in the blistering heat, is questionable. Why was the election not announced earlier, and what were the reasons for such a prolonged election schedule have never been explained?

The perception is that the election schedule was dictated by those in power to provide the maximum opportunity for the prime minister to campaign.

The Commission was again found wanting when it unduly delayed the final declaration of the voting percentage. With the elections conducted wholly through electronic voting machines, why should it have taken more than a week for the commission to announce the exact number of votes cast?

The increase in the number of votes by more than a crore has also raised a big question mark on the sanctity of the election process. Why was the commission reluctant to provide data from each constituency, which was easily available to it?

The Commission finally did so after one month of the first phase of voting. It could have easily done it earlier. Yes, the huge increase in the number of votes polled has not been explained.

It is also unfortunate that the Supreme Court has declined to direct the Commission to upload copies of Form 17-C, which reflects the number of votes polled in each polling station.

The Commission had argued that there was no legal mandate to provide such forms in the public domain, although they must be provided to the candidates or their agents.

The apex court has adjourned hearing in the case until after the election process is over.

Once the heat and dust generated during the election campaign settles down, efforts must be made to restore the glory of the Commission. One way of doing that would be to reintroduce the old process for the selection of Election Commissioners.

This process involved a collegium consisting of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition, and the chief justice of India. The composition of the collegium was changed through legislation to consist of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition, and a Union minister nominated by the cabinet.

In other words, the selection came entirely into the hands of the government, and it is expected that the selected person would do the bidding of the government of the day. This must be changed to ensure the credibility of the Election Commission.

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