“Tighten the process: The ECI must address legitimate concerns about voter rolls, transparency,” focuses on the challenges and criticisms surrounding the conduct of elections in India, particularly regarding the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Here are the key elements highlighted in the document:

• Concerns Raised by Opposition: The Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, has raised questions about the conduct of elections, specifically drawing attention to issues observed in the 2024 Assembly elections in Maharashtra.
• Specific Electoral Irregularities Alleged in Maharashtra:
  • An abnormal increase in voters listed in electoral rolls between the general election and Assembly elections.
  • Higher turnout numbers after 5 p.m. on voting day.
  • The Union government’s amendment of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, to restrict access to CCTV footage of the polling process.
• Critique of ECI Commissioner Appointment: Rahul Gandhi also questioned the Union government’s refusal to implement a 2023 Supreme Court judgment recommending the Chief Justice of India be part of the selection panel for ECI Commissioners.
• EVMs vs. Electoral Process: While the BJP and Congress have previously raised concerns about Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), a preliminary analysis by The Hindu suggests that the primary concern for many does not stand scrutiny, and the Congress has now shifted its focus to the fundamental aspects of the electoral process itself.
• Data and Observations on Voter Rolls:
  • The Hindu‘s analysis showed sharp increases in the electorate in States where general and Assembly elections were held proximately.
  • For example, in Maharashtra, more than 39 lakh new voters were added in the Assembly elections within six months following the general election. A similar increase of nearly four million voters was observed in 2014.
  • Regarding turnout figures after 5 p.m., provisional data from the ECI indicates no significant increase in Maharashtra, though provisional figures are not entirely accurate due to manual entry and potential discrepancies with machine counts. Final figures (Form 17C data) are released with a lag.
• Proposed Solutions and Recommendations:
  • The ECI should proactively release machine-readable data on electoral rolls for verification.
  • It is crucial to retain CCTV footage and provide political parties and their nominees access to it for scrutiny. This is seen as a “contention that merits the ECI’s response”.
  • The process of updating electoral rolls must be made more transparent and involve political parties for scrutiny and verification.
  • The ECI must act with “alacrity” to prevent accusations of foul play.
  • Ultimately, the onus is on the ECI to enhance transparency in the electoral process, especially concerning electoral rolls and the retention of CCTV footage for scrutiny.