The Vote for Democracy (Maharashtra) released its detailed publication titled Report: Conduct of Lok Sabha Elections 2024 – Analysis of ‘Vote Manipulation’ and Misconduct during Voting and Counting in Mumbai on July 22 and brought into public domain alarming aspects concerning the alleged malpractices committed during the conduct of 18th general elections.
Among others, it flagged the questionable role of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Returning Officers, the stark differences between votes registered in electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the actual counted votes, and the massive hikes of votes in every phase of the elections with breakups state-wise and nationally. It is perplexing to note that the report pointedly referred to a hike of a staggering total of five crore votes between initial and final voter turnout. After making an incisive analysis of such a confounding hike based on data and facts it persuasively opined that it is suggestive of significantly boosting the seats tally of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which got the majority mark to form government with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.
While alleging that the electoral malpractices were committed, it did not spare the ECI which the CSDS and Lok Niti survey showed commands the trust of only 28% of the people surveyed. It is rather tragic that the institutional integrity of ECI has eroded so much that 24 years later it is being interrogated in several quarters including in the aforementioned report of VFD for its acts of commission and omission in conducting elections.
It is pertinent to juxtapose this point with the ECI’s absurd affidavit before the Supreme Court that it has no legal mandate to share voter turnout data with anyone other than the candidates and their agents on the specious ground that disclosure of voter turnout data could cause confusion among voters which could be exploited by malicious interests in closely contested elections.
That affidavit was submitted in response to a petition filed in the Supreme Court by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), seeking directions to the ECI to disclose the authenticated records of voter turnout by uploading on its website scanned legible copies of Form 17C Part-1(Account of Votes Recorded) of all polling stations after each phase of polling during the conduct of 2024 Lok Sabha elections. That affidavit of ECI contravened the ideal and practice of conducting free and fair elections held by the Supreme Court to be part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
The VFD in boldly interrogating the ECI in its report and pointing out the alleged lapses committed by it in not explaining the reasons behind the sharp rise in voter turnout and the inordinate delay in doing so is taking a step in upholding the cause of free and fair elections.
VFD’s arguments that the alleged lapses of ECI are suggestive of favouring the BJP-led NDA government to get the desired electoral outcome confirms the fear expressed by the apex court in the Anoop Baranwala versus Union of India case in 2023 that it should not become a “servile commission”.
The SC in its landmark judgement declared the Electoral Bond Scheme as unconstitutional, It is rather strange that the ratio of that judgment upholding the voters’ right to know is negated by ECI’s decision. VFD further charged that ECI has not answered any specific questions regarding the jump in final voter turnout and discrepancies between EVM votes polled and counted till date. VFD made a serious charge that the voter turnout hike in Phase 2 resulted in “beneficial results for the NDA/BJP: in most of the states e.g. West Bengal 3/3, Uttar Pradesh 8/8, Madhya Pradesh 6/6, Chhattisgarh 3/3, Tripura 1/1, Jammu and Kashmir 1/1, Karnataka 12/14, Rajasthan 10/13 and Assam 4/5”.
“Such a trend”, it observed, “is not seen in the other 6 phases of polling including in the same states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Rajasthan”. “In this Phase 2”, it proceeded to add, “the example of Kerala is unique in that the BJP in this Phase got one seat, stood 2nd in another seat and 3rd in other 14 out of a total of 20 seats in the state!” “There appears to be a clear-cut manipulation here,” it claimed. It then asserted “ close to 5 crore vote hikes has benefitted BJP/NDA to secure at least 76 seats, which it may have lost in the absence of such hike”.
VFD has sent its report to ECI, asking the latter to address the questions raised. If it fails to do so, it would prove B.R. Ambedkar’s apprehensions expressed in the Constituent Assembly on June 16, 1949, during the debates in the Constituent Assembly on the draft Article 289 (now Article 324) of the constitution dealing with the Election Commission, that in the absence of any provision in the constitution to prevent the appointing of either a fool or a knave as Election Commissioner it would be likely that the ECI would come under the thumb of the executive.
The report of VFD assumes greater significance in the context of the apprehensions in the Constituent Assembly and aforementioned observations of SC in 2023 that ECI should not become a servile Commission. Can ECI uphold the cause of free and fair elections by answering the questions raised by VFD?
(Unabridged version maybe accessed on same title on The Wire)
S N Sahu
Former Officer on Special Duty to President of India,
K R Narayanan
Nagaland Post Launch on 30 Dec 1990 is the first and fore-most english daily newspaper of Nagaland.
© 2021 Nagaland Post. All Rights Reserved.