Does Uttar Pradesh not require an EC intervention?

The current situation does not generate hope. The Commission is not only unable to face the new challenges that the new technology has thrown before it, but also helplessly watching the erosion of the confidence it had gained during and after Sheshan

THE electoral battle in Uttar Pradesh for the State assembly has turned into a play of slander. In his speech at Gorakhpur, the home constituency of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Prime Minister Narendra Modi associated the red-cap-wearing workers of the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party with terrorism, mafia, and scams. In order to denigrate his rival party, he attacked a tradition that symbolises liberty, equality, and sacrifice for the cause of humanity. Another equally unhealthy aspect of the event was that Modi attacked the opposition party in the very presence of UP Governor Anandiben Patel in a program that is a governmental one and supposed to be party-neutral.

This is not an isolated example of a government program being utilised for electoral purposes. The program at Dehradun a few days ago also witnessed similar anti-Opposition rhetoric by the Prime Minister. We have seen how the display of landing Indian Air Force fighter planes on the expressway was combined with an election meeting. Is this appropriate? Does it not violate the sanctity of elections even if it does not violate the Model Code of Conduct?

Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath invariably combine their election meetings with governmental programs of inaugurations and laying of foundation-stones. We do not know whether public representatives from the opposition parties get invitations to attend these programs.

Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have changed the way elections are fought. They start electioneering for the next elections as soon as they win the current one. It is not disgraceful to make efforts to win elections. However, every action of a party should uphold high democratic norms. No leader in the past could match the involvement with which these two leaders fought elections. The worrying part is that they do not care about the implications of such fierce electioneering. No one can deny that these high-pitched battles impact social equilibrium and make communities fight each other. Often, the division results in communal, casteist, or any other sectarian violence. We have seen how violent clashes erupted in West Bengal after polls were over.

Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah have been targeting opposition parties for the so-called politics of appeasement. He accuses them of doing vote-bank politics. Maybe his allegations have some elements of truth. The question remains, what is he doing? He invariably uses symbols that, directly or indirectly, target a particular community. He and his party, the BJP, have no qualms about advocating Hindutva. They ask people to vote for the party because it has built the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The truth is that the very term "appeasement" has been coined to otherise the minority community. How else can we interpret the presence of practicing sadhus holding commanding positions in the party?

Who will stop them from violating the sanctity of polling? Article 324 of the Constitution gives all the powers to the Election Commission to conduct free and fair elections. Successive Election Commissioners have effectively improved the system. No one can forget TN Sheshan, who made leaders and parties realise the powers of the EC in regulating polls.

The current situation does not generate hope. The Commission is not only unable to face the new challenges that the new technology has thrown before it, but also helplessly watching the erosion of the confidence it had gained during and after Sheshan.

Take the example of the ban on active campaigning during the silence period, which begins 48 hours before polling day and ends with the end of voting. During this period, no public meetings or press conferences can be organised. The display of advertisements in print and electronic media is also not allowed. However, there is no ban on addressing public meetings in a constituency that will vote on a different day. The speeches are aired, and people in the polling areas can listen to them. At times, the constituency is close by. These things make the silence period utterly ineffective. Press conferences are banned, but there is no ban on using social media. The parties use Twitter and other social media platforms with some precaution, such as avoiding direct appeal to the voters of the constituency where a silence period is in operation or voting is on.

The new model of electioneering developed under the leadership of Modi and Shah has rendered the Model Code of Conduct useless. They complete their campaigning well before the Code of Conduct comes into operation. At times, the EC has been seen waiting for their campaign to end before announcing elections.

The Model Code of Conduct remaining in operation for a limited period does not help much in conducting free and fair polls. How can propaganda for spreading religious or caste hatred be constitutional before the Code of Conduct starts operating and unconstitutional after it?

In one of its rulings, the Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to issue guidelines for regulating the promises made in the election manifestos issued by the political parties. The Honorable Court said that the Commission can exercise its power to regulate the manifesto irrespective of the fact that it has come out before or after the announcement of the date of the election, as the purpose of the election manifesto is directly associated with the election process. In this verdict, the Supreme Court clearly spells out that the EC can regulate anything related to the election process, whether it has come out before the commencement of the Code of Conduct or after it.

Can we expect the Election Commission to play a proactive role in regulating everything that affects elections at a time when its credibility is running low on the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct itself? The leaders abuse their opponents, spread communal and caste hatred, and use money-power. The same is happening in Uttar Pradesh. Does it not require urgent intervention from the EC?

(Anil Sinha is a senior journalist. He has experience of working with leading newspapers and electronic media including Deccan Herald, Sunday Guardian, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. He writes on politics, society, environment and economy)