In a sprawling democracy with millions of moving parts, electoral rolls must be cleaned up and updated periodically and as the constitutional authority tasked with ensuring free and fair polls, conducting the Special Intensive Revision is the Election Commission’s responsibility. Linking the deletion of voters across states — 13 crore names struck off the draft voter rolls — to electoral outcomes is an argument more political than empirical. This newspaper’s investigation into the ECI’s functioning, however, points to a betrayal of trust — of the people, by one of the country’s most storied institutions. It shines the light into an institution’s black box and reveals a disturbing story. What makes it so compelling is that it cannot be dismissed as the all-too-familiar political thrust and parry that has narrowed the inner lives of several other institutions. All three members of the Commission were handpicked by the NDA government. Yet, two Election Commissioners objected on record — 14 times in 10 months — to steps taken by the Commission as the SIR unfolded. Their concerns were not addressed. By all accounts, they went unheard and unheeded.

Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised a string of red flags. They said they were being kept in the dark in a body that should forge a consensus or, failing that, abide by the majority. They said changes to Form 6 for new voters flew in the face of rules and made the........

© Indian Express