Electoral reform needs transparency

The right to vote is the most powerful instrument in the hands of the people in a democracy. It enables citizens to elect governments, hold those in power accountable and facilitate a peaceful transfer of authority. The survival of a democratic system rests on this fundamental right. Any doubt about whether citizens can exercise their franchise strikes at the very foundations of democracy.

The controversies surrounding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country have therefore become a matter of serious concern. Against the backdrop of the Congress party’s persistent allegations that the names of eligible voters are being deleted, fresh questions about the functioning of the Election Commission of India have acquired considerable political significance. The time has come for a comprehensive review not only of the voter roll revision exercise but also of the transparency and accountability of the institution overseeing it.

There is no dispute that periodically revising electoral rolls is an essential responsibility of the Election Commission of India (ECI). Removing the names of deceased voters, identifying duplicate registrations and updating the records of people who have permanently shifted residence are necessary parts of the electoral process. However, ensuring that not even a single eligible voter is deprived of the right to vote is equally important.

The reported disappearance of crores of names from draft electoral rolls across the country has raised serious questions about the SIR exercise. It is unfortunate that citizens who have already registered as voters and exercised their franchise in previous elections should once again find themselves having to establish their eligibility. The requirement to map voters against the 2002 electoral rolls has created additional difficulties for many people.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly alleged that the Narendra Modi government is exerting pressure on election officials and manipulating electoral rolls across the country to help the BJP win elections through what he describes as “vote theft”.

The SIR exercise is fundamentally flawed. Reports suggesting disagreements within the Election Commission itself over aspects of the process have added another dimension to the controversy. According to media reports, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi differed with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over changes to the rules governing Form 6, which is used for inclusion of names in electoral rolls. These reported differences have intensified questions about the decision-making process within the Commission and its independence. The Congress believes that the developments reinforce its long-standing concerns about the impartiality of the electoral machinery.

The technical shortcomings of the SIR exercise have become particularly evident in Goa, where the process of restoring wrongly deleted names reportedly ran into difficulties. An inquiry into the deletion of 97 names found that the individuals concerned were eligible voters. However, the absence of a rollback facility in the software reportedly created obstacles to restoring their names to the electoral rolls. When even the correction of an acknowledged error becomes difficult because of technological limitations, eligible citizens are left to bear the consequences of administrative failures.

Concerns have also emerged from West Bengal, where electoral roll disputes have been taken before tribunals. Of the 22 lakh people who appealed to the tribunals, 1.22 lakh cases have been examined so far, and 1.14 lakh individuals have been found to be eligible voters. Yet these individuals had lost the opportunity to exercise their franchise in the previous Assembly elections. Such cases raise serious questions about the effectiveness of safeguards intended to protect eligible voters.

These developments warrant a transparent and independent examination rather than the dismissal of every concern as politically motivated.

The figures emerging from Telangana are equally troubling. Before the SIR exercise, the State had 3,38,26,448 registered voters. Of these, 2,64,87,213 submitted enumeration forms, while the names of another 73,39,235 people did not appear in the draft rolls for various reasons. The categories reportedly include approximately 9.22 lakh deceased persons, 11.25 lakh people marked as absent, 45.18 lakh classified as having shifted residence and 6.70 lakh placed in the duplicate-registration category. Removing the names of deceased persons is a legitimate administrative necessity. However, every case falling under the other categories must be carefully verified with appropriate evidence. People who have changed residence must be given a fair and legally valid opportunity to update their registration.

The process of enrolling or re-enrolling through Form 6 must be straightforward and accessible. Complaints seeking deletion of names through Form 7 must be examined impartially, with adequate safeguards against misuse.

The Telangana Congress has expressed serious reservations about the way Form 7 applications are being filed. The reported registration of a case against a BJP Booth Level Agent (BLA) in Hyderabad has added weight to the concerns raised by the TPCC. These allegations must be examined objectively, and the Election Commission must ensure that procedures for deleting names cannot be misused to target eligible voters.

Public confidence is the real strength of the electoral system. Congress, under the leadership of its national president Mallikarjun Kharge, seeks to organise democratic protests over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise, the use of police force to suppress demonstrations and the reported arrests of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi raise serious concerns about the space available for democratic dissent. Equally troubling is the reported refusal to grant an appointment to Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and other Opposition MPs who sought to meet the Chief Election Commissioner. The Election Commission must remain accessible to elected representatives who raise concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.

The response of BJP leaders to Opposition allegations, sometimes more prominently than that of the concerned election authorities, has also fuelled doubts about the process. An institution entrusted with the responsibility of conducting free and fair elections must not only act impartially but also be seen to act impartially. Unilateral decisions, inadequate explanations and a lack of effective grievance-redressal mechanisms risk undermining public confidence in an institution that is constitutionally expected to function independently.

The Congress will continue its nationwide protests until Gyanesh Kumar resigns, holding him accountable for what it considers a series of questionable decisions that have undermined the autonomy of the Election Commission. The Telangana Congress has already organised large-scale protests across the State, bringing together its allies, and intends to intensify the agitation in the coming days.

Electoral rolls must certainly be cleaned up, but protecting the rights of eligible citizens is even more important. If the objective of the SIR exercise is to create accurate, transparent and credible electoral rolls, the Election Commission must publicly explain the basis for its decisions, promptly restore wrongly deleted names and establish an accessible mechanism for resolving complaints. Every citizen must have a fair opportunity to establish their eligibility and retain their right to vote.

The absence of a name from the electoral roll is not merely an administrative error. It can deny a citizen the opportunity to participate in the democratic process and influence the formation of a government. The exercise of electoral reform, therefore, must not be confined to revising voter lists.

It must also strengthen the Election Commission’s transparency, accountability and independence, thereby restoring and reinforcing the public trust on which India’s democracy ultimately depends.

The Telangana Congress has expressed serious reservations about the way Form 7 applications are being filed. The reported registration of a case against a BJP Booth Level Agent (BLA) in Hyderabad has added weight to the concerns raised by the TPCC. These allegations must be examined objectively, and the Election Commission must ensure that procedures for deleting names cannot be misused to target eligible voters.

(The writer is an MLC and TPCC President)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

B Mahesh Kumar Goud

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