The times are bad and unless more educated people enter politics, they will very much remain the same. This was all former chief election commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh had to tell the electorate ahead of the polls.Lyngdoh will drive down to his Hyderabad home, with his wife and three dogs. The send-off was touching; even if the political class didn’t quite get along with the independent CEC, those at the CEC had got to like much of his work culture. ‘‘Seshansaab to bahut difficult tha. Not Lyngdoh, he was tough only with people who deserved it. He was aloof most of the time but solidly stood by his staff and people of integrity,’’ one of the old hands at the commission said.As CEC designate T.S. Krishnamurthy handed him a bouquet, Lyngdoh pointed to waiting mediapersons, ‘‘Now you can bother him.’’A few impressions will stay on with him though. ‘‘If more educated people come into politics, things may improve. Signs of the times are not good.There was no legislation to keep criminals out. The Commission had already recommended that once a candidate was convicted by a court, he should be disqualified. That was necessary.’’ If holding elections in Kashmir was the highpoint of his career, Gujarat was, perhaps, the most delicate. Months after the riots, the CEC had created ripples by hauling up bureaucrats. ‘‘We were all very moved when we looked at the humanitarian side (of the riots), especially, the Best Bakery victims,’’ Lyngdoh said. He left a note of concern for the Andhra polls too. ‘‘The commission needs time,’’ he said on the pressure to conduct simultaneous elections.
