Bharat’s political opposition ecosystem seems to have sunk into a state of absolute anarchy. From blatantly refusing to engage with important Bills being presented in the Parliament to questioning the country’s democracy at the brink of a hat and insinuating that all institutions including the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, Election Commission of India, etc. are rigged, the opposition parties have indeed gone more than a couple of extra miles in their mission to whip up frenzy internally and malign Bharat on the world stage.
The opposition’s histrionics have crossed all conceivable levels during the Lok Sabha elections. First, the opposition parties raised questions on the credibility of EVMs, filing a slew of petitions at the Supreme Court, even suggesting a return to the paper ballot system. The apex court dismissed the opposition plea firmly stating that it cannot consider a return to the paper ballot system, nor can it pressure the Election Commission to make amends to its processes associated with EVM, when the country is in the middle of an election. The opposition parties could present no proof whatsoever regarding the alleged tampering of EVMs, thus the Supreme Court made it clear that it cannot disrupt the country’s general elections based on mere “doubts” of the opposition.
The EVM debate put to rest, at least as of now, the opposition has found a new modus operandi to disrupt the electoral process and sow doubts in the minds of voters about the credibility of the process itself.
Since the conclusion of the first two phases of the election itself, opposition parties have been alleging that there is a huge difference between the real-time voter turnout data and the final figures released by the Election Commission. The implication of these allegations is that the Election Commission of India (EC) is under the influence of the BJP and is thus possibly tampering with data to make the BJP win.
Now just imagine the gravity of such serious allegations against the country’s supreme authority for conducting elections without any credible evidence whatsoever. It’s only in Bharat that anybody and everybody has this kind of freedom of expression to constantly question processes and structures of governance. For all the lecturing of the West to Bharat, had this happened in any Western country, the opposition would have been silenced till now. But alas, not in Bharat. The left-liberal ecosystem here has a whole cabal of activist-lawyers who sole job seems to be to disrupt the country’s structures of governance and political processes by filing petitions at the speed of light and the drop of a hat.
Earlier this month, as voting for the third phase of elections started, opposition parties started questioning the supposed delay in releasing data for the voting percentage in the first two phases by the EC.
As per various media reports, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge asked in a letter addressed to INDIA bloc parties if the delay was an “attempt to doctor the final results”. He reportedly urged the INDIA bloc members to “collectively, unitedly and unequivocally raise our voice against such discrepancies, for our only objective is to protect the culture of a vibrant Democracy and the Constitution”.
Opposition parties had earlier questioned the final voter turnout for the first two phases of elections The EC had released the voter turnout data on April 30, 11 days after the first phase of polling on April 19 and four days after the second phase of polling on April 26.
The politics that the opposition is playing by making allegations against the EC during Bharat’s Lok Sabha elections is even worse than vote-bank politics. The Congress and other INDIA bloc members are essentially trying to create panic amongst the voters through a well-orchestrated network of left-liberal media that parrot their views and disseminate these to the larger public. Also, it’s trying to set a narrative not just nationally but internationally to somehow put the whole electoral process in jeopardy and create conditions for foreign powers to interfere in Bharat’s elections.
The EC from its side has given a long list of clarifications, rebutting each of the opposition’s claims with evidence. EC pointed out that the final voter turnout data during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was published four days after polling, against a gap of at least 6 days after voting in every phase in 2019. EC further clarified that the opposition’s allegation of the final voting percentage being high because of possible manipulation from the side of EC do not hold ground because even in 2019, the updated and final polling percentage was higher than the real time data put out on the day of polling at the time of press conference after each phase.
The EC further argued that the difference between the real-time voter turnout data released during the first phase of polling and the final data released 11 days after the polling was marginal. It said that the figure of 66.1 percent polling was similar to the 66 percent turnout reported in the EC’s voter turnout app on the night of April 21.
Another issue that the opposition has picked up regarding the EC’s release of voter turnout data is that the EC is not releasing the actual numbers of voter turnout in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The Trinamool Congress has reportedly voiced concern over the EC not releasing the actual numbers of voter turnout, alleging that there seems something fishy here since BJP is the only political party that hasn’t sought this information from the EC so far.
It’s incredible that the world’s largest democracy is undergoing general elections and the country’s opposition parties are hell-bent on harassing the authorities conducting the elections. I think there hasn’t been a worse precedent of internal anarchy orchestrated by a country’s opposition. The opposition’s logic essentially is that if the BJP wins the elections, that has to be because the electoral processes are essentially rigged. It’s akin to mocking the right of Bharat’s voters to exercise their franchise and their freedom of choice as to whom they should vote for.
The opposition seems to have already decided that PM Modi is a dictator, that BJP is a party of fascists, and therefore, if they win, that has to be because the systems are rigged! What an incredible leap of logic!
The Supreme Court, however, has silenced the opposition yet again by refusing to direct the EC to release total voter turnout data amidst Lok Sabha polls.
The apex court has adjourned several pleas seeking the release of voter turnout data, including votes polled and/or rejected, within 48 hours of the end of polling at each booth, till after the Lok Sabha elections.
The pleas sought that the Supreme Court give directions to the Election Commission to compile and publish voter turnout data in absolute numbers on its website after each phase, beginning with the next phase of voting for the 2024 elections. The apex court refused to interfere in the electoral process midway and overburden the EC.
It’s hard to imagine though that the opposition would be quiet on this issue even after the Supreme Court’s decision. Till the election results are announced and perhaps even after, one can expect the opposition to display a series of well-orchestrated histrionics in a desperate bid to stay relevant.
Over the past several years, the Congress and other opposition parties have continuously raised questions on the credibility of the EC and left no stone unturned in disrupting its functioning. It’s perhaps worthwhile to point out that the Election Commission was indeed highly partisan during the time of Congress rule.
An article published by OpIndia gives excellent insight into the Congress ecosystem and how it turned the EC into a political tool. “For those unaware, Former Chief Election Commissioner Manohar Singh Gill joined the Indian National Congress after his retirement. He held the post of CEC from 1996 to 2001 and served as a Congress Rajya Sabha MP from 2004 to 2016. Interestingly, it was M.S Gill, the former CEC turned Congress leader, who introduced EVMs in the Indian electoral system. According to opposition allegations, if the EVMs, despite numerous checks added later on, can produce entirely different electoral outcomes, was their introduction by the former CEC turned Congress leader an attempt to manipulate the final results in favour of the party he later joined”, says the article.
PM Modi, in a recent interview with India TV, raised the issue of postponement of Bharat’s general elections after the assassination of former PM Rajiv Gandhi. Responding to the question on opposition parties’ allegations that they haven’t been given a level playing field in the elections, PM Modi reminded how the then Chief Election Commissioner (TN Seshan) postponed polling across Bharat in 1991 for 22 days after the Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in Sriperumbudur on 21st May 1991, when only one round of polling had concluded.
PM Modi took a dig at the Congress asking if that was a level playing field. He added that normally when a candidate dies, the protocol is to countermand the election in his constituency, but in 1991, countrywide elections were postponed and polling resumed only after the funeral of the departed leader had been publicized widely. PM Modi further added that the Election Commissioner of that time PM Seshan, once he retired, fought against the then BJP President LK Advani in Gandhinagar on a Congress ticket in 1999.
Perhaps, the more the opposition cry hoarse over EVMs and voter turnout data and the alleged pro-BJP slant of the Election Commission, even more skeletons will come out of its own cupboard, probably embarrassing it beyond redemption.
