The next week will tell us more about the direction of the protests that are underway to press for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, who has been in the eye of a storm over various alleged irregularities in the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the deletion of over 13 crore voters from the draft electoral rolls during the exercise.
“What next?” is a question uppermost on the minds of many after the Election Commission (EC) last Saturday held its first meeting since The Indian Express expose on the deep divide within the poll panel and glaring gaps in its processes.
The EC’s note on its nine decisions along with a photo of the CEC flanked by the two ECs, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, showed that they had made peace and were on the same page now.
The Indian Express reported that the two ECs had objected on record 14 times in 10 months on a range of issues. The EC’s note sought to address some of the concerns raised by Sandhu and Joshi – such as the decision to circulate the agenda of the panel’s meeting in advance and its minutes afterwards.
The EC’s response was ambivalent on various other issues which have triggered widespread concerns: the changes to Form 6 for new voters including Gen Z (which was strongly objected to by Sandhu and Joshi), and the centralisation of voter database restricting the statutory rights of designated officials like the EROs to access it for updating voter lists.
BJP’s challenge
With the ECs appearing to be going along with him now, Gyanesh Kumar may have got a breather, even as the Opposition parties and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) are doubling down over their demand for his ouster.
The BJP came out with full-throated support for the CEC, and its worried NDA allies who had called for the CEC’s clarifications, seemed satisfied, at least for now, with the EC’s statement.
It goes without saying that Gyanesh’s resignation may aggravate the situation for the BJP, and embolden the Opposition to demand more. For all its defence of the CEC, the BJP brass could not be oblivious of the current restlessness prevailing in the country, which may signify a shift in public mood.
The ruling party would want the crisis to be defused rather than escalate on an issue as crucial as the right of voters to elect their government. We know how seriously common people take their vote and queue up from early morning on polling day to press the EVM button.
The BJP dismissed Sandhu and Joshi’s differences with the CEC as a routine matter which had also happened in the past. The EC is no stranger to controversy since the days when a multi-member body was set up by the Narasimha Rao-led Congress government, which was challenged by the then CEC T N Seshan, who brought wide-ranging reforms, including the Model Code of Conduct, in the poll body to change its face.
In 1993, the Narasimha Rao government promulgated an ordinance to fix the number of the ECs at two and appointed M S Gill and G V G Krishnamurthy as the ECs, which was seen as a bid to undermine the CEC’s authority. Seshan challenged it in the Supreme Court, which in 1995 upheld the validity of the multi-member poll panel, vesting the ECs with equal rights as the CEC and ruling that decisions must be made unanimously or by a majority vote by them.
In January 2009, then CEC N Gopalaswami had written to the President seeking the removal of EC Navin Chawla, citing a “lack of political neutrality”. Chawla was eventually appointed the CEC.
The issues, then, were mostly about pique and a tug of war between the CEC and the ECs about their powers, or their proximity to the government of the day, which wanted a pliant EC.
SIR crisis
This time, however, the issue is different. It has moved from the EC and its equations with the government to one that affects millions of voters directly, who are concerned over whether their names will be enrolled, deleted, or restored in the electoral rolls, as the case might be. Many suspect the EC of being an instrument to keep them out of the poll process.
There was a time when the EC would run public campaigns to encourage voters to enrol and to vote. It has been a double whammy for the poor voters, who, without their names on the rolls, could lose access to the benefits of various government welfare schemes.
So the issue is also an emotive one this time. And the CEC’s image has taken a beating, even as the EC and the ruling dispensation have sought to control the damage. Also, the credibility of the elections conducted by the EC have taken a hit, which should worry any government.
Many used to marvel how the outcome of an election in India was never contested by the losing party, even as individual defeats were challenged in courts. Prime Ministers, weak or powerful, would make way for their successors with humility. For all the faultlines that exist in the country’s democratic landscape, the transition of power always took place peacefully.
Opposition’s roadmap
All eyes are now on the Opposition and the apex court where petitions have been filed questioning the CEC’s conduct and seeking to declare the SIR illegal.
The Congress has held protests in state capitals and other places across the country. After the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on the issue Tuesday, the party said the Opposition INDIA bloc, which is meeting in Delhi Wednesday, would decide on launching a nationwide movement against alleged electoral malpractices.
The CJP has also called for a “Jantar Mantar 2.0” in Mumbai on October 2 to demand the CEC’s removal.
The ground for the Opposition seems to be more fertile today than it has been over the last 12 years. But its capacity to mount pressure on the EC – and the government – and undertake an agitation to ensure the inclusion of every legitimate voter in the rolls, would depend on how effectively it can close its ranks besides getting other non-NDA parties like the DMK, AAP, BJD and YSRCP on board too.
A few days back, Rahul Gandhi said he “loves swimming in the sea when it’s rough”. The most challenging task that lies before him is clear – to pull together the entire Opposition before charting his next course.
(Neerja Chowdhury, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express, has covered the last 11 Lok Sabha elections. She is the author of ‘How Prime Ministers Decide’.)
With the ECs appearing to be going along with him now, Gyanesh Kumar may have got a breather, even as the Opposition parties and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) are doubling down over their demand for his ouster. (File image) 
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