A matter of confidence

No individual can be bigger than the institution. And so it is in the case of the Election Commission, which first grabbed the public mindspace when TN Seshan began disciplining political parties across the country. After Mr Seshan retired, his successors have run a tight ship, and complaints about electoral rigging have declined over the years. But now the term of KJ Rao, the Commission’s pointman in Bihar, has come to an end weeks before the West Bengal elections in which he had been playing a major role. Amazingly, a leading Bengali newspaper did a snap poll and found that more than 80 per cent of respondents said they didn’t think it was now possible to have free and fair assembly elections in the state. In the last Bihar elections, Rao not only ensured a free and fair, and near-violence-free poll. And in West Bengal, he had earned the wrath of many because of his role in striking off 1.3 million bogus voters from the state’s electoral rolls and transferring election officials who had spent more than three years in their existing posts. Given past allegations about violence and intimidation in West Bengal, and of bogus voting, the question is whether Mr Rao has in some way been edged out of office. The Commission will therefore have to go that extra mile to prove its credentials and establish that its determination to hold fair elections has not suffered on account of the departure of one individual. The fact that the elections in West Bengal are to be spread out over five phases, lasting 22 days, is a good sign since it was precisely this kind of action which ensured that the Bihar polls could be fair as it gave Commission officials time to mobilise forces to scare off would-be booth capturers—the Bihar assembly poll was conducted in four phases that lasted a month.

Issues of impartiality arise also on account of the Commission’s recommendation for the disqualification of Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan on the grounds that she holds an office of profit as the head of the government-owned UP Film Development Corporation. Similar action is said to be contemplated with regard to the Samajwadi Party leader, Amar Singh, who heads the UP Development Commission. These would be fine, except that it has been alleged that people from other parties have held similar posts without attracting the Commission’s notice—so is there equality before the law? Another issue is the fact that trusts connected to the Election Commissioner, Navin Chawla, have received donations (before he joined the Commission) from Congress MPs. Mr Chawla is in line to become the Chief Election Commissioner at the time of the next general elections. Even though he has committed no impropriety, it is only natural that questions will be there in people’s minds. The point is that the Commission has acquired a certain legitimacy in the public eye, and it would be an abiding tragedy if that is lost in any way.