Rama Kriishna Sangem
If there is one single major lesson our Election Commission of India (EC) learnt, it is this: “Conclude elections before onset of summer”. Hot summer is a reason for below the average poll percentage, compared to the last elections. This is revealed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar at a press conference in Delhi on June 3, Monday.
On the eve of the vote count for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajeev Kumar on Monday shared his insights on the electoral process, saying the biggest learning was the need for it to be completed before the onset of summer. He also underscored that the poll panel should be prepared to deal with “false narratives” emerging from within the country to malign the election process.
Kumar, addressing a press conference here, said the poll body accomplished a “miracle” by organising a violence- and clutter-free election process. He said the big success story of this election was the complete absence of “deep fakes”.
However, the poll panel was taken aback, the CEC said, by the “mischievous narratives”, which had a “pattern and a design, if not a toolkit”, and some of this propaganda could have caused “anarchy in the country”.
Fake narratives from abroad
The CEC stressed the EC did not delay furnishing the details of voter turnouts, which were shared as soon as re-polling was concluded for a particular phase, and rejected speculation that the turnout data could be changed. He said the poll panel had prepared to counter misinformation from outside the country but was surprised that it would come from within.
Elaborating on the “learnings” from the exercise, Kumar said the poll process should have concluded at least a month before it did because of the heatwave, that the EC should be prepared to counter “fake narratives”, and not to hold polling on Fridays and Mondays, which potentially contributes to lowering of voter turnouts.
Kumar spoke of the “robustness” of the counting process. He said the EC has agreed to the demands of the all-party delegation that met it on Sunday evening, including counting postal ballots before the counting of votes via electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The CEC said the increased voter turnout in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has “enthused” the poll body to conduct the Assembly polls there “very soon”. In December, the Supreme Court had asked the EC to conclude the Assembly polls in the UT by September 30. He said to prevent post-poll violence, central armed paramilitary forces will continue to remain stationed in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Manipur, albeit under the supervision of the respective state governments
