Ahead of this election, and also during it, concerns about its free-ness and fair-ness, taken for granted so far, were raised by political players, and they found an echo among sections of voters.
At the end of an election, the focus is on reading the mandate and analysing the performance of the major political players. Elections, however, are not just about victory and defeat. They are equally, if not more importantly, tests of the process, and its checks and balances, the system’s ability to ensure fair play. For India’s poll monitor, the Election Commission (EC), that task is both delicate and difficult: Making adherence to due procedures non-negotiable in a diverse and intensely competitive field, where passions often run high. On Tuesday, when it declared the results of the General Elections, held over a gruelling six weeks amid heat wave conditions in several parts of the country, the EC could justifiably claim to have lived up to its own high standards. “Parinaam mein hi pramaan hai (the result is the proof)”, said the CEC.
Ahead of this election, and also during it, concerns about its free-ness and fair-ness, taken for granted so far, were raised by political players, and they found an echo among sections of voters. The backdrop to the 18th Lok Sabha elections featured an executive which showed little compunction in weaponising central investigative agencies against political opponents. In January, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on corruption charges. About two months later, his Delhi counterpart, Arvind Kejriwal, was taken into ED custody — it required a Supreme Court verdict to let the AAP supremo campaign. This created fears about the playing field being rigged. A big question long before the winners and losers were decided was, therefore, about the integrity of the process itself. In this setting, the EC stepped up to its role, even as it invited criticism and controversy. Among other steps, it issued notices to the presidents of the BJP and Congress on alleged breaches of the model code of conduct by their star campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Polling in parts of West Bengal was marred by violence, but the law enforcement agencies ensured that disturbances were contained before they took a serious turn.
No losing candidate — not Uddhav Shiv Sena’s Amol Gajanan Kirtikar who lost to Shiv Sena-Shinde’s Ravindra D Waikar in Mumbai North West by a mere 48 votes, nor CPM candidate V Joy defeated by Congress’s Adoor Prakash in Attingal, Kerala, by less than 700 votes — is reported to have questioned the fairness of the result. It’s yet another testament to the resilience and credibility of the country’s election process and machinery.
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First uploaded on: 06-06-2024 at 08:20 IST
