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Pinpricks aplenty

The proverbial heavens may not have fallen but the stock of the Election Commission of India has taken another body-blow…

Pinpricks aplenty

Election Commission of India (Photo: IANS/File)

The proverbial heavens may not have fallen but the stock of the Election Commission of India has taken another body-blow with political activists in Karnataka proving quicker on the draw than the Chief Election Commissioner in announcing the dates for the upcoming polls to that politically-critical state legislature.

Coming as its does in the aftermath of the EC’s taking a beating over the disqualification of AAP MLAs in Delhi, complaints over the conduct of the Gujarat elections, and increasing apprehensions that some EVMs are doctored to favour a particular party, the leak only darkens the clouds hanging over Nirvachan Sadan.

There have been too many pinpricks for comfort. For given the acrimonious nature of prevailing politics there can be no over-emphasising the importance of the Commission being above suspicion.

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And who can deny that some of its recent actions have adversely impacted its impartial credentials? That the current stand-off could trigger exaggerated allegations ought to have made the Commission even more conscious of the need for impeccable efficiency.

While the CEC did concede that the leak was serious, the appointment of an in-house inquiry panel is not reassuring. Most probes of this nature tend to be little more than smoke-screens.

Also disturbing is the explanation from anonymous officials of the EC that a media person may have had a glimpse of the draft press note and rushed into “breaking news”, or that a clerk could have tipped off somebody. Such oversimplification is dangerous, and a sign that the EC is slipping into lethargy.

Hence anxiously awaited would be the findings of the inquiry panel ~ the credibility of the Commission has come under scrutiny. It is a matter of much shame that Opposition parties no longer hesitate to level charges of bias, and it must be conceded that, to some extent at least, the charge has been invited.

Top officials at Nirvachan Sadan would strongly refute such suggestions, but perceptions tend to persist. The Karnataka poll will be a political tinder-box, the initial signals are ominous.

Neither side will hesitate to go beyond the proverbial “leaving no stone unturned” and resort to stone-throwing, or worse. Strong communal passions are already being fuelled It will be more than a BJP-Congress-JD(S) affair, and the Election Commission will be required to play a pro-active role in ensuring fair play ~ not just function as the referee.

In years gone by, the Commission would not fight shy of waving yellow cards, reds, or even prematurely blow the long whistle.

Unfortunately since those overly-authoritarian times “election management” has sunk to new lows, polarisation has become legitimate and an element of hatred has entered public life.

The Election Commission will now be required to battle on several fronts: is it capable of that when it cannot prevent poll dates from being “leaked”?

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