It’s foolish to blame EC for poll defeats

Blaming the state machinery for losses has become a fashion these days. I feel, rather than casting aspersions on the EC and EVMs, the Opposition leaders must introspect so that they can find out the real reasons...

The Election Commission is like a refree in a hockey match — he officiates from the beginning till the end, without participating in the game. He is the one who upholds the rules of the game and is objective in his decision-making on the field. Similarly, the Election Commission is doing its duty in an impartial manner.

It is unfortunate to note that the Opposition parties are questioning the integrity of the EC. I don’t understand as to why the Congress didn’t question the EC when it won in Punjab? Why the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) didn’t doubt its own victory in the Delhi Assembly elections?

I wish to remind all my political opponents that even in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, elections were conducted “impartially” by the EC. If the Opposition parties have the guts to question the objectivity of the EC over the election results of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Goa then they must also challenge the results of Punjab, Delhi and the byelections in UP and Bihar. I think it is baseless to question the EC and the electronic voting machines (EVM) for the downfall of the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the AAP among others. It is clearly the deeds of these political parties which made them lose.

Blaming the state machinery for losses has become a fashion these days.

I feel, rather than casting aspersions on the EC and EVMs, the Opposition leaders must introspect so that they can find out the real reasons behind their defeat.

Unfortunately, the EVM is the new scapegoat for poor governance models. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned the integrity of one of the election commissioners — O.P. Rawat — when 21 of his party MLAs were disqualified for holding offices of profit. He must understand that he made a mistake and will have to pay for it as per the directions laid down in the rulebook.

Then clection commissioner Nasim Zaidi was quick and persistent with the denial of any wrongdoing in the election process. The EVMs could not be hacked or manipulated, he averred time and again. In fact, a hackathon was organised by the EC wherein all political and non-political parties were invited to try and hack the EVM machines, but nobody could do that.

To raise unnecessary doubts in the minds of people, an AAP legislator organised a “live demo” of an “EVM look-alike gadget” claiming it to be an EVM!

It is common knowledge that electronic gadgets can be programmed to perform in a pre-determined way, but it doesn’t mean that EVMs will behave in the same manner because EVMs are technically secured and function under an elaborate administrative and security protocol.

A BJP spokesperson, while watching an English news channel, tweeted speculative dates of the upcoming Karnataka elections, and again the Opposition parties started taking a dig at the EC and the BJP. But in the end, the BJP leader’s speculation was found to be incorrect which, in a way, came as a blessing for him otherwise the Opposition would have again charged the EC with being partial towards the BJP.

Irrespective of all the allegations, I am confident that the EC will continue to work with utmost responsibility and integrity even when Opposition leaders raise doubts over its credibility for their vested interests. The writer is a BJP spokesperson