Yogendra Yadav writes: As CEC Rajiv Kumar retires, his legacy casts a dark cloud

Not to enactment excessively good a constituent connected it, the Election Commission of India has present go a joke. I accidental this with heavy anguish, arsenic idiosyncratic who respects its authority, who has been an unabashed admirer of the ECI, who was erstwhile called upon by the ECI to code Election Commissioners from each implicit the satellite astir the achievements of India’s electoral democracy. Keeping quiescent present would beryllium to disregard the ineffable relation of this august law body.

As Rajiv Kumar retires this month, our law strategy faces a stark choice. Either the Supreme Court intervenes to guarantee that the adjacent CEC is chosen done a fairer strategy and tin beryllium trusted to show astatine slightest a modicum of fairness, neutrality and transparency. Or we could beryllium headed towards an irreversible governmental crisis, arsenic successful our neighbourhood wherever predetermination outcomes are routinely disputed.

To beryllium fair, Kumar is not wholly and personally liable for the existent authorities of this once-great institution. He comes astatine the extremity of a agelong process. During the archetypal 40 years of its existence, the one-member ECI acted similar an hold of the Government of India, seldom exercising the powers granted by the Constitution. Complaints of electoral irregularities and bias towards the ruling Congress were not unheard of. Yet, but allegations of large-scale fraud successful West Bengal successful 1972 oregon Jammu and Kashmir successful 1987, these disputes did not mostly implicate the ECI. It was administratively subservient to the government, but not visibly subservient to the ruling party.

It took T N Seshan to disrupt concern arsenic accustomed and assertion the law powers of the ECI successful 1990 By each accounts, helium was nary democrat. But his bull-in-a-china-shop adventures, adequately moderated by the Supreme Court and the assignment of 2 different commissioners, served to propulsion this sleepy instauration into a signifier of fierce independence. This signifier lasted till 2004, covering the tenure of M S Gill and J M Lyngdoh. Minus the theatrics of Seshan, some his successors continued the assertion of law independence, robust neutrality, professionalisation and willingness to face recalcitrant governmental leaders, arsenic successful Gujarat successful 2002. This was the aureate property of the ECI, which coincided with a precise precocious complaint of decision of incumbents and the emergence of conjugation governments.

The play from 2004 till 2018 was marked by routinisation. Instead of taking the earlier initiatives guardant to guarantee a genuinely level playing field, the ECI took the harmless but just mode out. CECs avoided immoderate confrontation but the ECI’s independency had go a norm and an workout of autonomy was present a habit. Underneath determination were signs of dilatory corrosion and deviations from governmental neutrality. Notwithstanding his unblemished grounds arsenic CEC, it was a shame to spot M S Gill go a enactment man, an MP and a minister, station his retirement. The assignment of Navin Chawla (who passed distant past week), considered adjacent to the Gandhi family, arsenic the CEC was bound to rise eyebrows, though his behaviour successful the bureau was not arsenic controversial. After 2014, appointments to the ECI showed a chiseled penchant for politically pliant bureaucrats.

With the assignment of Sunil Arora arsenic CEC successful December 2018, the ECI entered the existent signifier of nonaccomplishment of organization autonomy and governmental neutrality. Two captious episodes — Ashok Lavasa’s persecution (and consequent assignment successful the Asian Development Bank) and Arun Goel’s abrupt resignation (and consequent assignment arsenic Ambassador) — sounded the decease knell for immoderate dependable of dissent wrong the Commission. By each accounts, Rajiv Kumar took this descent 1 measurement forward, from non-dissent to evident collusion.

Lest we forget, the galore dubious achievements of the existent CEC indispensable beryllium enactment connected record. The existent CEC played a relation successful the archetypal wide lawsuit of US-style communal “gerrymandering” (partisan drafting of electoral boundaries) successful carrying retired the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies successful Assam, which happened to favour the BJP. He oversaw 1 of the uncommon and arguable “uncontested” parliamentary elections (Surat, 2024) successful a non-conflict area. Under him, the ECI raised opacity to caller heights by brazenly stonewalling accusation connected turnout and discrepancy betwixt votes polled and counted. Worse, the regularisation that mandated transparency was diluted. The ECI assured the One Nation, One Election committee that the strategy was acceptable to clasp simultaneous elections to each assemblies on with the Lok Sabha, portion failing to clasp simultaneous elections to 4 authorities assemblies successful 2024. In general, the electoral calendar drawn during his tenure — retrieve the four-phase polling successful Odisha — has shown uncanny alignment with the BJP’s run priorities. During this period, absorption parties person refused to judge outcomes of authorities assembly elections. The ECI has not lone not paid heed to the Opposition’s pleas, it has started a caller signifier of combative connection with the Opposition and threatening dissenters. Under his stewardship, the ECI has suffered a crisp autumn successful fashionable trust, a information recorded by the Lokniti-CSDS surveys.

So, has the ECI deed stone bottom? Thankfully, not yet. We person inactive not reached the signifier that Vladimir Y Churov took Russia’s Central Election Commission to during 2007-16. Our CEC does not show nationalist loyalty to the ultimate leader, arsenic Churov did for Putin. Unlike Russia, the absorption parties and candidates are not disqualified from contesting. Unlike Pakistan, counting of votes is not stopped and reversed mid-way. Gerrymandering is inactive an exception, not the norm. Given that the radical whitethorn not tolerate electoral fraud, immoderate appearances are maintained.

India’s beleaguered ideology simply cannot spend 1 much Rajiv Kumar. The Supreme Court has to determine whether to let the authorities to name the adjacent CEC done the contiguous method of the government-dominated committee oregon to importune connected an autarkic mechanics arsenic per the court’s archetypal order. The aboriginal of our law ideology hangs connected this.

The writer is member, Swaraj India, and nationalist convenor of Bharat Jodo Abhiyaan. Views are personal