dna edit: Methods, madness

The Election Commission (EC), candidates and voters will heave a loud sigh of relief at the end to the raucous, acrimonious and needlessly prolonged 2014 general elections. It is arguable whether the EC anticipated the chaos that accompanied the nine-phased elections. The EC cited the huge logistical challenges involving security issues and transportation of security personnel. But was the EC being needlessly defensive? The 2009 general election was held in five phases and the 2004 elections in four phases. The conduct of both polls earned wide appreciation for the EC. In comparison, the 2014 general elections has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Politicians, big and small, have shown the gall to repeatedly violate the Model Code of Conduct and on occasion, mocking or throwing a direct challenge at the Election Commission, even going to the extent of accusing the EC of bias.

The sight of the three harried election commissioners addressing a hurriedly-convened press conference on May 8 rebutting the BJP’s accusations of bias, after being denied permission for a rally at Varanasi, will remain a defining moment of this election. That the three men were hurt and distressed by the attacks on the EC as an institution was evident because the EC rarely meets the press during elections. It is important to criticise institutions in various fora, including the media, but taking out street protests and making derisive references to a constitutional body like the EC in poll speeches, were uncalled for.

Essentially a referee, the 2014 elections witnessed the rare sight of aggrieved parties like the BJP and the SP making the EC’s conduct a campaign issue for not doing their bidding.

But the EC must take some blame for its sorry plight too. The reluctance to punish Rahul Gandhi visiting polling booths in Amethi with voting in progress, Narendra Modi’s press conference holding aloft a lotus when Vadodara voted, and Amit Shah’s poll ban reversal after he furnished an apology did not help. Its soft responses to early violations emboldened others as the election progressed. When it banned Amit Shah and Azam Khan from campaigning in UP after their undisguised appeals to communal sentiments, the EC briefly showed who the master was. Article 324 of the Constitution does not hedge one bit on the EC’s unlimited powers for “superintendence, direction and control” of elections. The EC’s time-tested strategies of issuing show-cause notices, accepting apologies, filing FIRs, are not working against high-profile violators. Like the bans on Shah and Khan, the EC must be seen to act with a firm hand to retake its authority.

Besides the EC’s helplessness, the other aspects that made the 2014 general election stand out was the presidential style of campaigning adopted by the BJP. Modi’s charisma and his oratorial abilities were utilised by the BJP through over 400 rallies he addressed across the country. Where he couldn’t travel to, the BJP used 3D holographic projection tactics to reach out to hinterland and small town voters. A mammoth advertisement campaign through billboards, print and television ads, and round-the-clock coverage on news channels helped the BJP leader grab mind-space, in a manner no other leader has done.

The BJP also claimed to deploying information technology on a wide scale to harvest voter data and deploy it for campaigning. On social media, the BJP found a belligerent rival in the AAP. When the votes are counted three days hence, it will be as much a referendum on the methods that helped parties reach out to voters.