The ECI is supposed to play its role as an impartial umpire during elections, but on many occasions it has appeared as if it is a part of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The autonomy of this constitutional body has been curtailed through legal means. It has been seen siding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the elections, especially in the case of his hate speeches, and it has also been blocking election data after the elections. Haryana elections were held on October 5, 2024, and Maharashtra elections in November, 2024, yet Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is having to ask for a ‘fixed date’ to get the election data after a delay of 7-8 months. Rahul Gandhi said that the first step taken by the Election Commission to submit the voter list is a good one, but will it please announce a fixed date for it, as long as this data is submitted in a readable format?
The way in which the government is interfering in the election process and the Election Commission of India is bowing to the will of the PMO, became clear in December 2024 when the Union Law Ministry amended Rule 93(2) of the Election Commission of India Act, 1961, to restrict the type of documents that can be opened for public inspection. The matter went to the Supreme Court, in which the petitioner said that the Conduct of Elections (Second Amendment) Rules, 2024 restricts citizens’ access to important documents related to elections and this is a violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution. The government said that it needs to protect the privacy of voters. It was clear that the government was a willing party in not providing the election data and the Election Commission is not providing the data. The question is, what do the Election Commission and the Modi government want to hide by not providing the data? Then where is the transparency in the election process? How can anyone trust the election process when the truth is being carefully concealed by both the government and the Election Commission?
This is not the only example of the Election Commission acting according to the wishes of the Modi government. Just remember the electoral bond scheme case. Even after the Supreme Court declared the Modi government’s electoral bond scheme illegal a few months before the Lok Sabha elections-2024 and ordered the Election Commission to publish the details of the donors and the political parties receiving funds, the Election Commission tried its best not to publish these details by giving some justification in the Supreme Court. Even though the Election Commission had to publish this data after the Supreme Court’s direction. The Election Commission’s rationale for the need to protect the confidentiality of donors as per the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 is clearly in favor of the ruling party.
Why has the three-member Election Commission become so weak that it has to follow every order of the ruling party? This is perhaps because, except for the Chief Election Commissioner, the other Election Commissioners have been made constitutionally insecure by the (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Tenure) Act, 2023. Only the Chief Election Commissioner is constitutionally protected against removal. The tenure of other Election Commissioners is dependent on the will of the Chief Election Commissioner. Moreover, under the new law, the final authority to appoint them lies with the Prime Minister, who has been protected by removing the Chief Justice of India from the Appointments Committee. The impartiality in the appointment of Election Commissioners has been lost and there is no transparency in their appointment. In November 2021, the Election Commission of India was asked by the Union Law Ministry to attend a meeting with the PMO, and it did attend the meeting. This was clearly a matter of subordination of the ECI by the PMO. When the controversy broke out, the Union Law Minister issued a clarification saying that it is a nodal agency and many issues related to electoral reforms are pending since 2011. Later, the PMO clarified that it was an ‘informal dialogue’.
The Election Commission has undoubtedly been weakened. This can also be seen in an incident that took place during the 2019 elections. Complaints were registered against Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah for violation of the Model Code of Conduct, including the allegation of using hate speech. But the Election Commission gave them a clean chit by a majority decision, although one Election Commissioner gave a dissenting note. Following this, the Income Tax Department issued notices to his wife for the period before her appointment as the concerned Election Commissioner. Following this, the disgruntled Election Commissioner stopped attending meetings and said that minority opinion was being wrongly suppressed, contrary to the traditions established by multi-member legislative bodies.
During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, an Election Commissioner resigned after a dispute arose between him and the Chief Election Commissioner during a meeting in Kolkata. He had to resign after returning to Delhi because the Election Commissioner did not have constitutional protection against removal under the new law. These are some of the cases that indicate a reduction in the constitutional autonomy of the Election Commission. In such a situation, the allegations made by Rahul Gandhi against the Election Commission, who has alleged that there was ‘rigging’ during the Maharashtra Assembly elections in November 2024, cannot be dismissed at face value.
He has mentioned 5 specific steps through which the elections were rigged. The first step was to manipulate the panel for appointment of the Election Commission; the second step was to include fake voters in the electoral roll.
to do; the third step is to increase the vote percentage; the fourth step is to fake voting in the same seat from which the BJP has won; the fifth step is to hide the evidence. According to Rahul, it is not difficult to see why the BJP was so worried in Maharashtra. Manipulation is like match-fixing, the side that cheats can win the game. But (it) will damage institutions and will destroy public confidence in the results. Rahul Gandhi says that all concerned Indians should see the evidence and decide for themselves.
Now many other leaders of the opposition have also demanded answers. The people want answers directly from the Election Commission, but unfortunately the party that allegedly benefited, the BJP and its leaders, are answering on behalf of the Election Commission. Then where is the accountability of the Election Commission? India definitely needs a credible Election Commission, its reputation should be restored now.
