Gaps in this Voternama

Sadly, I have no idea if I shall be one of those who gets the chance to vote. On the last such occasion 8212; the Delhi assembly elections last winter 8212; I couldn8217;t exercise my democratic right because my name wasn8217;t on the rolls. It wasn8217;t my fault; having shifted to a new address 8212; hence a new constituency 8212; I had supplied the Election Commission with the required details. All to no avail since my name wasn8217;t there. Since then, I have gone through the prescribed process once again, including getting a new identity card from the Election Commission. A big 8216;8216;thank you8217;8217; to everyone in Nirvachan Sadan who helped!

However, I have no idea if it shall be a case of 8216;8216;second time lucky8217;8217;, given the widespread cases of names suddenly missing. Of course, I shall be in good company; if the likes of Adi Godrej and Irfan Pathan found their names struck off the rolls8230; The 2003 Delhi assembly polls were the second time in my life that I couldn8217;t vote; the first such occasion was the historic general election of 1977, when journalists across the country suddenly found themselves off the rolls. That was malice aforethought, 2003 was either carelessness on someone8217;s part or bad luck on mine.

But what does one say when similar behaviour is repeated without count? In Andhra Pradesh, so I was told, enough names were missing to alter electoral results. This is a pretty serious matter, especially when coupled with the fact that names of members of a certain community appeared in suspiciously large numbers.

This is a ridiculous situation. What is worse, if you remember the Election Commission had turned down Chandrababu Naidu8217;s request for early polls 8212; as soon as last winter 8212; on the excuse that the voters8217; lists had not yet been updated. Six months on, it seems that the laborious task had not yet been completed.

The Election Commission is supposed to be ready to jump into action at a moment8217;s notice. Its British counterpart seems to be able to conduct elections at a few weeks8217; notice, and the Election Commission itself in its earlier incarnations never seemed to cavil too much. Being ready means keeping the voters8217; rolls updated. If it fails in this vital task 8212; as it has in some small measure 8212; does the Election Commission truly deserve all those hosannas being directed its way?

I don8217;t think it is the fault of the chief election commissioner and the other commissioners. Three men can8217;t be expected to check the rolls for all 650 million voters. And we must remember that it isn8217;t enough to have an identity card, it is equally our duty to ensure that we are enrolled. That said, surely there is some desk at Nirvachan Sadan where the buck stops, isn8217;t there?

Too much attention has been diverted from this vital task and towards others where the role of the Election Commission is not exactly necessary. Is there any reason why some bureaucrat in the Election Commission should send a notice to the Government of India asking why petroleum prices have not been raised? And why should the Union finance minister be taken to task for announcing that tax collection targets had been met? Reminding the middle class how tax hounds were on the prowl over the past twelve months is not a vote-catcher!

We have all been subjected to the sweaty pleasures of waiting in a queue under a summer sun. Frankly, there is no acceptable reason why we could not have been done with the process a good month or so ago. And at the end of it all, tens of thousands 8212; probably lakhs 8212; don8217;t even have the comfort of knowing that they have been able to vote.

Accountability is one of the pillars on which democracy rests. Our elected representatives account for their failed promises when they appear before the voters every five years. Erring bureaucrats can be pulled up by the courts. And I understand that after recent events in Chandigarh the Supreme Court is seized with the matter of ensuring judicial accountability. How about the Election Commission?

Surely someone should be held responsible for tardy and incomplete rolls. Once the election is over, may I request the chief election commissioner and his two senior colleagues to find out who failed to do his job properly?