Mischief thou art afoot

The incompetence of the ECI. The Lok Sabha election of 2014 was a free and fair election.

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Since then, most of the elections to the Lok Sabha or the State Assemblies have been subject to widespread criticism of incompetence, rigging, fraud and worse. Since 2014, ECI has faced numerous challenges and it has emerged with its reputation severely scathed.

Apropos the election to the Maharashtra Assembly in November 2024, the electoral rolls became a subject of controversy. The allegations are that (i) an unusually large number of new—and perhaps ghost—names were added to the lists of voters and that (ii) an unusually large number of persons were allowed to vote long after polling hours had ended. ECI has attempted to defend itself against both charges but the jury is out.