Rahul Gandhi’s ‘H bomb’ and India Election Commission’s credibility test

On the eve of the crucial Bihar polls, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi dropped his much awaited “H bomb” by exposing alleged voter fraud in last year’s Haryana elections. In a detailed presentation, he alleged that there were 2.5 million fake voters in the state which cost the Congress, accusing the Election Commission of India of helping the BJP rig the polls. He also claimed that a Brazilian model’s photo was used in multiple IDs to cast fake votes.

I have never been a fan of conspiracy theories about election rigging, especially since the opposition has been so inconsistent in making the allegations stick. You can’t say the polls are rigged when you lose and keep quiet when you win. But this time, Rahul Gandhi has made an exhaustive presentation which deserves a point by point clarification from the Election Commission of India.

Detailed response needed

At the time of writing this piece, all we had was Election Commission “sources” telling the media that Congress polling agents had not raised any complaints about duplicate voters and filed no appeals at the time of the Haryana elections. But the Election Commission needs to come up with a better, more detailed response. Saying “why is the Congress raking it up now”, is not an answer. Earlier in the year they dismissed voter theft accusations as “baseless” without really getting into details. The BJP’s reaction this time was on expected lines accusing Rahul Gandhi of being in collusion with ‘anti India forces’ and so on.

Rahul Gandhi has made voter fraud and disenfranchisement the centrepiece of his election campaign in Bihar. His ‘Voter Adhikar yatra’ in the state was all about alerting people to the Election Commission’s controversial revision of the rolls. It drew huge crowds and unsettled the BJP-Janata Dal United (JDU) alliance. It was only with the Supreme Court’s intervention that the poll panel was forced to accept more documents from people for their voter ID cards.

Rap on the knuckles

Once one of the respected and feared institutions of the country, India’s Election Commission today stands diminished, widely seen as an extension of the government unable or unwilling to be fair and stand up to ensure transparency. Today, more and more people are questioning the validity of elections and that is not good for India’s democracy. That is not to say that the Election Commission has done something wrong. But the fact that it has been openly biased in how it deals with the opposition vs the BJP, is there for all to see.

Inflammatory statements made by BJP leaders often get no response or a rap on the knuckles. Violations of the model code of conduct by the ruling BJP are simply glossed over. And the Election Commission’s responses to criticism have had no substance, instead tinged with political colour.

Credibility test

Today, the Election Commission of India faces its biggest credibility test. This is a body that was once widely praised for conducting free and fair elections in the world’s largest democracy. An Election Commission that once had the mighty TN Seshan at the helm, who all politicians feared. This is why it must respond to voter fraud charges in detail, and not resort to a political slanging match as the Chief Election Commissioner has done in the past. During his August press conference, the CEC’s responses to the opposition’s voter theft charges were shrill and vague. It only added fuel to the fire of mistrust that now surrounds the Election Commission.

In any democracy, elections not only have to be fair, they have to be seen to be fair and transparent. India’s voters deserve real answers and assurances. It is the job of the Election Commission to safeguard Indian democracy. It’s about time it stepped up.