Election Commission fails to act against Modi and BJP

How the ECI has been failing to provide a level playing field in the 2024 elections could be seen in the media space occupied by the ruling BJP. The BJP is getting almost 90 percent or more of the media coverage. Interviews of insignificant leaders as far as elections are concerned are being shown

The general elections of 2024 have only proved that the fear of institutional collapse is not unfounded. The Supreme Court rescued the Election Commission of India so far as the controversy surrounding the Electronic Voting Machine is concerned. However, the Election Commission of India has repeatedly failed to prove its impartiality. Its credibility has hit an all-time low as far as the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct is concerned. The latest example of its failure is its directions to the Congress and the BJP. Instead of taking action against the violations of the MCC, the ECI has chosen to accept the role of a school teacher who preaches pupils to behave.

“Elections are a process when political parties avail themselves of the opportunity to present their ideal best,” the ECI has told the Congress and the BJP in its directions issued to them. What does anyone expect from a statutory body such as the ECI? It needs to act. Is it not aware of the deteriorating quality of the campaign?

The escapism the ECI has continuously been showing has its roots in its partiality. Its letters to two prominent political parties only confirm it. The harshness with which the ECI has reacted to the complaints of MCC violations against Congress is really surprising. The BJP has complained against Rahul Gandhi’s speeches on issues of the possibility of undermining the Constitution by the BJP if it returns to power. The ECI has interpreted it as almost a seditious act.

“You are aware that the Members of Parliament, as well as the members of Parliament, take an oath to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India, “the ECI says.

“Making statements that anyone can either abolish, sell or tear apart the Constitution of India, etc. is alleged to be instilling fear in the mind of voters about an uncertain future and an attempt to spread anarchy in the country,” the ECI has said.

Is the ECI paving the way for some serious legal action against the Congress, the main opposition party of the country? Though the ECI considers the statements of Rahul Gandhi as violating Section 123(4) of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951, its interpretations may lead to further legal actions. The acts of “instilling fear in the minds of voters about an uncertain future and “an attempt to spread anarchy” are not simply violations of the Representation of People Act; they are much more.

Another direction of the ECI also makes an interesting case of partiality. Rahul Gandhi promises the abolition of the Agniveer scheme in the Defence Forces and says that it has divided the soldiers into two categories: regular soldiers and short-term recruits. The first kind of soldier avails of all the facilities, and the other gets nothing. The latter are deprived of the honour bestowed on martyrs.

The ECI says, "DDesist from indulging in any political propaganda involving activities of the defence forces and not to make potentially divisive statements regarding the socio-economic composition of the defence forces.” The ECI has quoted its advisory on March 19, 2019.

How soft the ECI's directions to the BJP are could be seen in the language of the ECI. The ECI says, “Refrain from any campaigning methods or utterances along religious or communal lines.”

The ECI has been overlooking the violations of the MCC since the beginning of the elections. These and previous directions have been issued only after the political parties have complained against each other. Directions have also come after close to a month. The manner in which these directions have been issued also does not look effective. The campaigners, in this case Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and Rahul Gandhi, have not been issued any notice. The Commission has not even taken their names in its letters. What is the inhibition in taking their names?

It is clear that the ECI has avoided Rahul Gandhi’s name being mentioned in the directions because it would have compelled the Commission to refer to the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The ECI had issued a special advisory to Rahul Gandhi even before the MCC was enforced. In its hard-worded advisory, Rahul Gandhi was warned not to make such statements that might lower the quality of the campaign. The Prime Minister and the Home Minister have not been issued any notice so far. During the last assembly elections in the states, home minister Amit Shah was alleged to have made a statement on communal lines. He was issued no notice, but the Assam Chief Minister was issued notice for a similar statement.

How the ECI has been failing to provide a level playing field in the 2024 elections could be seen in the media space occupied by the ruling BJP. The BJP is getting almost 90 percent or more of the media coverage. Interviews of insignificant leaders as far as elections are concerned are being shown. They include ministers who are not contesting. The Prime Minister has been regularly appearing in interviews since the election process started. No channel has aired any interviews with Rahul Gandhi or Mallikarjun Kharge.

The coverage also borders on paid news. We remember how active the ECI has been under the leadership of previous election commissioners in providing a level playing field. Almost every election speech by Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah is aired live. Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Kharge, or Tejaswi hardly get this favor. The ECI is duty-bound to force these channels to give equal space to all the political parties. The Chief Election Commissioner had promised it too. However, he did nothing. The channels are not only surrendering all the space to the ruling party but also pursuing its agenda. The programmes seem to be inspired and dictated by the campaign managers of the ruling BJP.

The ECI is doing nothing against it. The ECI will be remembered for its escapism!

(The author 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)