• Adv. Rajiv Sharma

When India became a sovereign and democratic republic in 1950, one of the first challenges was to set up an independent and autonomous agency to elect the central and provincial governments in accordance with the collective will of the people. The Election Commission of India (EC) came into being in year 1950. 53 political parties were registered by it, 14 out of which were the National parties. The Election Commission in its infancy, without having recourse to modern means of information and communication, successfully conducted world’s biggest elections in year 1952, in a transparent and impartial manner in a country of 36 crore people, 82% of whom were illiterate.

Pandit Nehru and other leaders always knew that a vital responsibility to preserve and sustain democracy and other constitutional ethos in the country lay with the Election Commission. The biggest challenge was not limited to holding free and fair elections but to inculcate unflinching faith and confidence in the mind of each and every voter that the process is absolutely honest and truthful. For 64 years till 2014, the Election Commission of India continued to evolve rapidly and grow in stature exponentially. During this time, it covered itself with unmatched glory across the globe due to its impeccable professional ethics and integrity required to hold transparent, free and fair elections.

But year 2014 saw a reversal of the trend, when all constitutional bodies including the Election Commission began to be subverted by the government that captured the reins of power in Delhi in that year. The relentless attacks on the democratic institutions in order to force them to follow the BJP’s agenda became increasingly sharper and more brazen as the time went by. In such a scenario, it was only a matter of time that the incidents of gross malpractices in the electoral process came tumbling out.

Just after 2019 Parliamentary elections, a Maharashtra based civil society group ‘Vote for Democracy’ (VDF) discovered that when on 23.05.2019, the votes to elect MPs to 17th Lok Sabha were being counted, the final count of total number of votes polled had not been published till then. This means, when the counting of votes began, the people of India did not know as to how many votes had been cast. Suspicious, as it looked, the VDF filed a petition in the Supreme Court raising doubts over the whole counting process of 2019 elections. Although a notice was issued to the EC immediately, this petition is still pending for adjudication.

Learning from the aforesaid faux pas committed in 2019, the EC gave the initial and final count the votes polled in year 2024. But the process was once again used to camouflage something seemingly sinister and ominous. The initial count for first phase of elections held on April19, 2024, was declared in a day. Thereafter, the EC inexplicably took 11 days to declare the final count. Not only this, they took 4 days to publish final count of the second phase. The delay was indeed intriguing in modern age of technology, when sum of all the votes polled can be obtained with a click of a button in a few seconds.

Later the VDF and other organizations like Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) compiled some startling figures from the web site of EC itself. They found out that when the final vote count for all the 543 constituencies was published on the EC Website, it showed an increase of 4,65,46,885 votes from the initial estimates. The EC has not been able to explain such a colossal increase in the number of votes polled, in the final count. Many experts believe that the unexplained increase of more than 4.65 crore votes may have helped the BJP in about 79 Parliamentary constituencies spread across many states. A fair investigation into sudden emergence of extra votes may reveal certain unpleasant deeds of both the EC and the BJP.

The unfortunate saga of grave irregularities and improprieties committed by the EC does not end here. When the ADR did a painstaking research into the Election Commission data of 2024 elections, it discovered that even this final count of votes polled in all constituencies was not final. This was the third big irregularity or malpractice, which raises doubts. At the time of counting of votes in 542 constituencies on June04, 2024, the total number of votes counted in 538 constituencies did not match with final count of votes polled there. In only 4 constituencies in the country namely Amreli, Attingal, Lakshadweep and Daman & Diu, the number of total votes counted exactly matched with the number of votes polled. This means the electoral process was fair and truthful in these four constituencies for the reason that all the votes polled there were available for counting. But it was not so in 538 other constituencies.

When the EVMs were opened for counting of votes in 362 constituencies, a total of 5,54,998 polled votes were found missing. The Election Commission has so far refused to explain as to how 5,54,998 votes registered in the EVMs by the voters could vanish into thin air. On the other hand, in 176 other Lok Sabha Constituencies 35093 extra votes were stacked in the EVMs over and above the total number of votes polled. The question as to how these votes came to be added in the EVMs after the EC had declared the final count of the votes polled remains to be answered. It is indeed a slur on the democratic process that in 538 out of 542 constituencies, the votes available for counting did not match with the votes polled. These are very serious irregularities and improprieties or could well be a deliberate fraud committed on the voters. Despite such potent allegations backed by credible data, the irony is that so far neither the Election Commission nor the NDA government is prepared to explain the gross irregularities or the malpractices, whichever is the case.

Here, the BJP also needs to introspect. It cannot subvert the democratic principles in order to achieve its parochial political goals. For political reasons, the BJP continues to describe the period between 1975 and 1977 as a dark era for democracy, even after 50 years. But it must remember that in 1977 the country witnessed the most impartial, free and fair elections, which were profusely appreciated and admired by the whole world. Elections of 1977 proved to the world that democracy is the life line of India and the latter cannot survive without the former. But, the very same life line of the country is being damaged by a selfish BJP now, which wants to retain power at any cost. Manipulation of electoral process is just a mean for them to achieve their sectarian goals. Hence, it is hand in glove with the EC in opposing any probe into electoral improprieties. Fortunately, the people have seen through the BJP’s games, now.

It is, therefore in national interest that the electoral irregularities and malpractices committed during 2019 and 2024 general elections are investigated properly. The stakes are indeed too high for the country. Because, if the difference of total votes polled and votes available for counting is not explained satisfactorily and logically, the credibility of the Election Commission may come under a cloud. If that happens, our democracy will get such an unbearably severe blow that it will struggle to survive, thereafter.

Hence, we appeal to the Election Commission to come forward to save democracy and substantiate that the electoral process of 2024 Lok Sabha elections was transparent and impartial. It is also duty bound to establish that whatever mandate was received by the BJP in 2024, was not stolen through electoral malpractices but reflected the will of the voters in reality.

The author is a Spokesperson, Chandigarh Pradesh Congress