Umpire under siege

Can the EC still command trust amid allegations of vote theft, legal scrutiny, and a nationwide voter roll shakeup?

- BY KANU SARDA

WITH LEADER OF the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's vote-theft allegations and a nationwide voter roll revision looming, the Election Commission faces one of the most turbulent tests of its credibility. The EC’s image of being the umpire of Indian democracy has been challenged as it prepares for a nationwide special intensive revision (SIR) to clean up electoral rolls.

In his recent news conference in Delhi, Gandhi accused the EC of presiding over vote theft in two assembly constituencies—Rajura in Maharashtra and Aland in Karnataka. His charge is that the names of genuine voters have been deleted, and bogus names mysteriously added.

The EC has termed the allegations “incorrect and baseless”. But timing of the allegations means the SIR—to be held before the assembly polls in Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala and Assam—has become the lightning rod for a larger battle over the issue of free and fair elections.

Gandhi had earlier alleged that more than 100,000 fake votes were cast in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly segment, contributing to the BJP’s narrow victory in Bengaluru Central in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Alleging that there were 11,965 “duplicate” voters and 40,900 voters with invalid addresses, he accused the EC of colluding with the BJP to manipulate the electoral process. The EC attributed the increase in the number of voters to its registration drives, saying it verified all additions through standard procedure. But Gandhi has demanded access to electronic voter data and CCTV footage.

In Maharashtra’s Rajura constituency, Gandhi said, the EC deleted more than 6,800 bogus names after a complaint was registered. In Aland, applications were made for the deletion of more than 6,000 names from the voter list without the knowledge of the voters concerned. The EC has been accused of withholding crucial data such as IP and email addresses linked to the fraudulent entries.