The protest against the Election Commission’s ongoing Revision of Electoral Rolls in Bihar undertaken by the coalition of opposition parties on Wednesday, comprising mostly the RJD and Congress, is being termed by observers as a ‘preparation for defeat in the coming assembly election’. This follows upon a similar situation in Maharashtra, where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in particular, blamed ‘inflated’ electoral rolls for the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s rout. He had sought explanations from the ECI on the pattern of voting and the rise in voters’ numbers.
Now, while the Election Commission is undertaking the exact revision he had sought earlier, he is concerned about the possible removal of fake voters’ names from the list. There seems to be little concern about the impact there will be of such repeated allegations against the ECI on the effective functioning of one of Indian democracy’s most important institutions. It must not be forgotten that there are all kinds of extremist organisations that are happy to have this kind of validation for their violent anti-national actions. Will Rahul Gandhi be willing to take accountability for the consequences of his outlandish claims?
The entire effort of the Election Commission, particularly from the times of CEC TN Seshan, has been to improve its functioning in several ways. This has had a considerable impact on the election process by making the process more transparent, speedier and efficient. The use of EVMs, which is also targeted by opposition parties, has retained its credibility with no proof whatsoever having been provided of ‘tampering’, particularly after the introduction of VVPATs. Most importantly, the people have accepted the results as their delivered mandate.
Basically, the Congress no longer has the required cadre base at the grassroots to function effectively in monitoring the voting process in all its aspects. Much like Rahul Gandhi, it wants to win elections merely because ‘that is its birthright’. Any other result is considered cheating and manipulation. Other regional parties, such as the Trinamool Congress, the SP, RJD, etc., depend on captive vote banks comprising members of particular castes, the Muslims and, even more, those of illegal immigrants snuck into the voters’ lists. TMC’s opposition to the ongoing revision in Bihar is based on the fear of what such an exercise would achieve in West Bengal.
It is important, particularly for the Congress – the only all-India outfit amongst the opposition – to get its act together and contest the elections without blaming the umpire. This will require really hard work and not just the occasional grandstanding.
