ECI plans a series of measures to strengthen the electoral process

The Election Commission of India (ECI) plans 4,800 nationwide meetings with political leaders, door-to-door surveys to prevent abrupt spikes in the electorate, an action-taken report on complaints by the end of this month as part of a series of measures to strengthen the electoral process amid allegations of electoral malpractices.

People aware of the matter said the ECI seeks to shape the “narrative” instead of merely responding and streamlining election management with a dashboard. The measures are part of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s interventions since he took over last month even as the opposition questioned the independence of the selection panel citing the government’s 2-1 majority. Pleas challenging the validity of a 2023 law for the appointment of CEC and election commissioners (ECs) remain pending in the Supreme Court. The pleas underline that the law violates the idea of separation of powers.

The measures to strengthen the electoral process were discussed at a two-day conference of chief electoral officers (CEOs) and other poll officials from across the country in New Delhi on March 4 and 5. A person aware of the matter said Congress’s allegations of electoral roll manipulation and Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s concerns about the duplication of Elector Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) will be scrutinised. The move is seen as part of an effort to change the ECI’s perception as the opposition accuses it of bias towards the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his Maharashtra allies last month questioned the anomalies in the electoral roll ahead of the assembly polls in the western Indian state in November. He claimed more voters were added in the state in five months than in five years. Gandhi said overall the number of voters in Maharashtra surpassed the state’s adult population. He added the BJP, which swept back to power as part of a coalition, won the constituencies where voters were added. Gandhi alleged voters from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and minority communities were deleted from the voter list.

The TMC, which this week accused the ECI of “planting fake voters” for the BJP, said it gave the poll body 24 hours to come clean about the fake voters but it stayed silent. It said it was exposing ECI using the rulebook as it referred to duplicated EPIC numbers and said they have to be unique while vowing to fight electoral malpractices tooth and nail. The ECI on Sunday last maintained duplication of EPIC numbers does not “imply duplicate/fake voters”.

On Tuesday, Kumar and election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi directed poll officials nationwide to ensure “transparency” in the election process. The ECI mandated engagement with political parties at the constituency, district, and state levels.

The ECI instructed meetings across 4,100 assembly constituencies and 700 districts and issue disposals by the end of this month.

A participant at the ECI’s two-day conference, speaking on condition of anonymity, said opposition parties often raise multiple concerns after election results are declared, despite having access to both the draft and final electoral roll before it is published.

Kumar has mandated all CEOs to engage directly with political leaders at three levels to document their grievances, record minutes of the meeting, and submit action-taken reports. “This month will be entirely process-driven, with the ECI actively setting the narrative rather than merely reacting to it,” the participant said.

The issue of identical EPICs was discussed at the conference. Another person aware of the matter said it came to the fore that someone from the West Bengal CEO’s office had given the data to the TMC as the election management system software flagged it. “It means that the repeat EPIC numbers were not the findings of the political party but rather the election management software. As ECI had earlier explained this too shall be rectified.”

The ECI identified 28 stakeholders at the two-day conference in the election process including political parties, candidates, and polling agents.

Kumar said the conference was aimed at “strengthening the capacity building” of each of the 28 stakeholders, and each was allotted among the 28 CEOs. The ECI said the 28 stakeholders were then sub-categorised.

A third person aware of the matter said a presentation focused on the legal framework and whether laws, rules, and guidelines related to the elections were synchronised. “There have been...certain loopholes...each CEO will [look into them]...”

The ECI plans animated videos, audiobooks, e-books, and a modern approach to capacity building as part of engagement with the stakeholders. An ECI statement said this will smoothen communication between the functionaries with in-built cross-verification to minimise human errors. “…A capsule of animated videos will be produced for each stakeholder, comprehensively covering all aspects of elections related to them. These animated videos will be a handy way for each stakeholder for self-paced continuous learning.”