As battle heats up, EC faces greater scrutiny

Elections are obviously difficult times for candidates and their parties, but we increasingly find that the Election Commission too finds itself under severe test. Gone are the days of T.N. Seshan and J.M. Lyngdoh, whose upright conduct as head of the poll body struck fear in government leaders of the highest tier as well as the most famous politicians.

In this respect, the present CEC, shall we say, still has some way to go in reaching the standards set by those two of his predecessors. It was widely felt that Sunil Arora should have called out the government on the point of violation of the model code of conduct when the Prime Minister announced the launch of India's A-Sat missile. Since then the CEC would appear to have been under greater scrutiny.

With UP chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recently describing the Indian Army as “Modiji ki sena” (Mr Modi’s army) while campaigning, the Opposition parties have reacted furiously. A former Army Chief, Gen. V.P. Malik (Retd), and a former Navy Chief, Adm. L. Ramdas, too have urged that the armed forces be kept above politics. One only hopes the CEC will act on this with despatch. It seems such an open and shut case. To his credit, Mr Arora thought the words of Kalyan Singh, Rajasthan's governor, as unacceptable.  The governor had included himself among “karyakarta” (volunteers) of the BJP and said it was the job of BJP workers to bring back Mr Modi as Prime Minister.

Of course, the CEC only took the “karyakarta” part of the statement into account, deeming it unworthy of the high office of governor. Accordingly, he has forwarded the matter to President Ram Nath Kovind, the appointing authority for governors, to take a call. He could have censured the governor himself or expressed his displeasure. About a quarter century ago, the then governor of Himachal Pradesh quit his post when the CEC voiced his displeasure at the governor's campaigning during an election in Madhya Pradesh. This precedent might have been tested in Mr Kalyan Singh's case if the CEC had expressed his displeasure. But the CEC has lobbed the ball into the President's court. It will be interesting to see what the Rashtrapati does. In a statement on Monday, the PM sharply criticised Congress president Rahul Gandhi for choosing to fight from Wayanad as his second seat since in this Kerala seat Muslims and Christians make up nearly half the electorate. The Congress Party has objected, as have others. It is for the CEC to determine if this issue falls within the parameters of the model code of conduct.

By its sheer magnitude, the general election in India is a massive spectacle. That brings the Election Commission under greater scrutiny.