BackTasks before the Election Commission
The Election Commission should ensure proper preparation of electoral rolls and strict adherence to the model code of conduct
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There could hardly be any disagreement that the recent increase in voter turnout, not only in constituencies where polling has been completed for the current Lok Sabha election but also during the assembly elections held in recent years, is largely due to the proactive role of the Election Commission (EC). There is hardly any constituency, where voting has been completed, which has not seen higher turnout compared with the previous Lok Sabha elections held in 2009. Neither should one be surprised by such higher turnout nor should one read too much into such a high turnout.
The Election Commission deserves credit for various voter awareness programmes which it has initiated during last few years and also the initiative for cleaning up the electoral rolls (deleting names of ghost voters), which has contributed to higher turnout. At the same time, the Commission needs to own responsibility for the wrong deletion of names of large number of genuine voters who have been living in the same location for a long time. Going by the complaints received, this was evident not only in one or two booths but in various polling stations. True, it is time to celebrate greater participation of people in elections. However, there are concerns about large number of wrong deletion of names from voter lists due to negligence of election officials.
The higher turnout in recent polling does not surprise. This is simply a continuation of the trend of higher turnout that began in recent assembly elections. During state elections held in Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the turnout increased by more than 10%. In other states such as Bihar, Karnataka, Manipur and Tamil Nadu, it increased by about 7-8%. Reading too much into this increasing turnout is risky; it does not necessarily indicate a vote for change. In the past there have been assembly elections where turnout has increased, but the ruling party got re-elected.
The recent elections in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat or Chhattisgarh saw higher turnout, yet the government was re-elected. However, in states such as Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, where turnout increased, the ruling party was defeated. Going by the huge dissatisfaction of people with the Congress-led ruling United Progressive Alliance government, a change in ruling party is certain, but that change in government should not be interpreted as the result of merely higher turnout.
Various voter education programmes initiated by the Election Commission, mainly Systematic Voters’ Education And Electoral Participation (SVEEP) started in every state, has helped in generating more awareness amongst voters towards responsibility and importance of voting. Increased turnout is also the result of better quality of electoral rolls, due to deletion of names of ghost voters, more so in urban constituencies. But such a high voter turnout has not meant providing opportunity to all those voters who were keen on voting. The effort of the Election Commission to clean the electoral roll needs to be appreciated, but it also needs to take responsibility for unwanted deletion of names from the electoral roll.
The past few years have seen various initiatives from the Election Commission resulting in, more or less, free and fair elections. But there is a lot to be done on the front of updating electoral rolls so that all eligible citizens can vote and that is only possible if citizens are registered as voters, which is one of the essential responsibilities of the Election Commission. Surveys conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies indicate that the Election Commission is one of the most trusted institutions in India. The only other institution which is as trusted as the Election Commission is the Supreme Court. I am sure various cases of missing names of eligible voters would result in denting the image of the Commission.
As if this is not enough, the helplessness of the Election Commission in dealing with several cases of violation of the code of conduct or election norms during past few weeks is damaging the image of the institution. The best the Election Commission has been able to do is issue a show-cause notice to parties or candidates who violated the code of conduct.
The list of leaders cutting across parties who have violated the model code of conduct without bothering too much about the Election Commission is long. Beni Prasad Verma, Amit Shah, Imran Masood, Azam Khan, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Sharad Pawar, Narendra Modi, Hema Malini, Lalu Prasad, Ashutosh, Arvind Kejriwal, etc. The list could be much longer by the time the last vote is cast. It is time the Election Commission acts tough on such violations of the model code of conduct besides looking into the issue of missing names of large number of genuine voters.
For an ordinary citizen, it is of utmost importance to be enrolled as a voter, but for a candidate it is important that the Election Commission ensures a level playing field for his contest. On the one hand, the Constitution has given adequate powers to the Commission for conducting free and fair elections. At the same time, the ordinary voter reposes great faith in this institution. It is time the Election Commission pulls its act together and takes up cases of violation of the model code of conduct seriously, and ensures better quality in the preparation of the voters list.
Sanjay Kumar is a professor and currently director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.
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