Election Commission Must Remain Impartial, Independent

A number of recent developments have raised serious concern about the impartiality and independence of the Election Commission of India, a constitutional authority bound to uphold the credibility of the electoral process in the country.

The latest of these are the questions raised by Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, Shri Rahul Gandhi, in his widely publicised article on “match-fixing in Maharashtra”, in which he alleged serious mismanagement and lack of transparency in the conduct of the 2024 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections. These include inclusion of dubious voters in the electoral roll in the few months after the Lok Sabha polls, as well as an unnatural surge in the number of voters towards the end of the polling, which he alleged ensured the victory of the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) combine.

The Election Commission’s response to the charges, instead of putting the controversy to rest, has triggered further debates. The ECI has refuted the allegations and claimed the major Opposition party had never approached it for clarifications, which appears to be far from truth. Many national political parties have raised concern about the conduct of elections in various parts of the country with facts and figures, but often these have remained totally ignored by the authorities.

At the centre of this controversy are some recent developments that compromised the independent status of the Election Commission. As per the constitutional provisions, it should have remained a totally independent establishment. But recent changes in the way the commissioners are appointed, with much power and influence wielded by the executive, many have raised concerns about their independence. Though the Supreme Court had mandated that the Chief Justice of India should be part of the selection panel, the Narendra Modi Government has chosen to ignore it. It is a fact that those to who are appointed to this office are officials handpicked by the government, and naturally their perceived loyalty to the ruling establishment is a matter of grave concern.

It is to be remembered that the widespread apprehensions about the reliability of the voting machines are still not properly addressed. Various Opposition parties have raised this issue and came up with suggestions like mandatory counting of VVPAT receipts where questions are raised. In addition, there are more issues like deliberate deletion of genuine voters from the electoral roll dubbing them as aliens, a practice that hurts the democratic rights of weaker sections, especially the Muslims, Dalits and Adivasi people.

Hence, it is imperative that the Government as well as the ECI address the concerns raised in the public sphere, and ensure the transparency and credibility of the electoral process in India.

Adv. Sharfuddin Ahmad
National Vice President
Social Democratic Party of India