EC News Desk
By: Shafiur Rahman
The ECI (Election Commission of India) stands for ensuring smooth functioning of the electoral process across the country. The institution was formed on January 25,1950 and developed on the pillars of impartiality, integrity and efficiency. The ECI plays a vital role in conducting a free and fair election at various levels, from the national parliament to the state legislative assemblies and local bodies. The ECI is empowered the Indian Constitution and has been endowed with strict and fair powers which can be implemented against any person who doesn’t abide by the Model Code of Conduct. Not only that, but it would be fair to say that ECI plays a crucial role to make India the only example of functioning democracy that is maintained, sustained and strengthened in a very poor country despite enormous diversity in terms of languages, religion, culture and ethnicity. Indeed, democracy is almost impossible to sustain and cannot take root in multi–ethnic societies.
We really feel proud of the ECI for its great steps towards bringing the development in election systems to make it easier and accessible through the EVMs, Voting IDs and Polling booths. But apart from many challenges and restrictions from the political parties that it has to face, as a relatively recent situation that has come to electoral politics nation has remarked many failings in the functional implementation of the Constitution. Many aspects of democracy show that there is none more vital or more broken than the election model. The accuracy, awareness, non- partisan environment, reliability and equality of access, these are the essential elements of a free and fair election which are yet to be fully realized. Data and news reports indicate that there are many problems with the list of eligible voters which are supposed to be updated by the ECI. Mass omission reports show that in various parts of the country, Muslims’ names have been deleted from the voter list: 26 names from Mathura, 700 in Gujarat, and they all were Muslims.
When the complaints were made against PM Modi for his campaign speech that created chaos in people’ s minds that their hard – earned money and women’s Mangalsutra would be taken away and given to those who have more children, the ECI sent the notice not to Modi but to BJP chief J.P. Nadda. It would be fair to claim that the election process in the present era is thoroughly based on the Mandir-Masjid politics, which is totally contrary to the definition of democracy as Government of the people, by the people, for the people.
