NAVIN  CHAWLA--ELECTIONS

                                                                   

    Every Vote Counts : The Story of India’s Elections by Navin Chawla ; Published by Harper Collins ; Pages 376 ; Price Rs 524 /-

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The Election Commission of India derives its power from Article 324 of the Constitution .It  was instituted on January 25, 1950, a day before India became a Republic. 

 Election is described as a  “national spectacle, a collective drama, a deeply bonding experience, that contributes to the political and emotional integration of the country”. 

The book under review  by Navin Chawla, a former Chief  Election Commissioner, is a remarkable account of India’s unique experiment in electoral democracy. The author, with his ringside view of this exercise of franchise, has documented the maturing of an electorate where the system has evolved over  the decades and where the voters have time and again shown that illiteracy is different from ignorance. 

“As the world’s biggest exercise in democracy, India epitomises the will of over a billion people, of which there are over 870 million voters. It is proved beyond doubt  that every citizen is  a part of this process and that  progress is truly inclusive and all encompassing. The book is  an ode to the Election Commission of India, that has since Independence, been tirelessly working towards ensuring fair elections, despite the numerous challenges.

 Lowering of voting age from 21 to 18 years in 1989 was of great significance in this direction. Heterogeneity of political parties and the rise of coalition politics reflect diverse aspirations and the positives of power-sharing and consensus building. A stunning example of the inclusive nature of Indian democracy is that a country with a Hindu population of 80 per cent, has had four Muslim, one Sikh and two Dalit Presidents, including the current one. 

Chawla cautions against the fault-lines in Indian democracy, observing that foreign domination was in the process of being replaced by a home-grown oligarchy that had placed power in the hands of a few. Money power, muscle power and a partially compromised fourth estate, in the form of paid news, had swept away everything that Mahatma Gandhi had stood for. He said         “I understand democracy as something that gives the weak the same chance as the strong.”

The former CEC defends the use of EVMs saying they are stand-alone machines and the chip in them has a one-time-only programme and the source code is not known to anyone barring a few experts.  

Chawla dwells on proposals for electoral reforms and lists his priorities: purging criminality and tackling breaches of spending limits; transparency of funding and spending; making bribery in elections a cognisable offence; deregistering political parties that do not contest elections; and, Constitutional protection regarding  the removal of election commissioners. 

On the last proposal, Chawla has an interesting tale to narrate — how the mighty TN Seshan told the then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao that there was no way he would resign nor was he going to die so soon. The only way he could be removed was to impeach him. The wily Rao then came up with the idea of appointing two more election commissioners — M.S. Gill and G.V.G Krishnamurthy. Piqued, Seshan gave them no work until chastised by the Supreme Court. Seshan told Chawla: Do you see my skin? It is the skin of a rhinoceros. If you have to do your job at the Election Commission, you had better develop it. T.N Seshan says how the CEC was lined up before Parliament twice for impeachment and the problem in giving teeth to the Model Code of Conduct. The founding fathers did not want the CEC to be a stooge and Seshan definitely was not one of them. 

The book leaves no aspect of the elections untouched — exit polls, paid news, administrative  rigmarole, Constitutional showdowns, clash with the political establishment, holding elections in troubled areas like Naxalite-infested zones and J&K, besides transgender rights, etc. That elections in India have always been held on time is a tribute to the poll panel. 

The author says the role of technology was amplified in the Cambridge Analytica case that gained access to data of 87 million Facebook users to influence voter behaviour and help the Trump campaign. It was clear Facebook could manipulate the emotional state of its users through the kind of content it chose to display to them. All this led to concern over data privacy and the US, the UK, Germany and other countries launched a probe into the effect of Facebook on voter behaviour. 

The description of the election arrangements in the Maoist corridor is like the setup for a thriller. Multiple attacks were targeted at the election officials who were brave enough to venture in these areas - bombs concealed under roads, guns fired at moving vehicles, ultimatums to boycott the election. In the middle of this atmosphere, Chawla did his part in arranging for enough security and transportation for the brave officials—eventually talking directly to the armed forces to get his requirements fulfilled.

The Kashmir state elections story from 2008 is even more complex. In this case, it was well nigh impossible to agree on an appropriate date to have the elections—voting percentages, alignment with central government elections, and other factors weighed in. Differences cropped up between the Election Commissioners themselves. The various political parties active in the state were supportive; however, they added their own quirks. Eventually, the decision was taken, the elections were held and the rest is history—with nearly 60 per cent participation.

The last part of the book focuses on the mechanics of the EC itself. One of Chawla’s main concerns is the relative role of the CEC, compared to the other two Commissioners (who were added to the Commission during the time of TN Seshan ). He goes into detail about his falling out with N Gopalaswami, the CEC, although without apportioning blame or telling any secrets.

There are interesting asides. Navin Chawla recalls his meeting with Shyam Saran Negi of Kalpa in Himachal Pradesh who voted in the first General Elections in 1951 and was probably India’s oldest voter. Negi complained that EC restrictions had taken the fun out of elections and these seemed more like a funeral these days unlike the days of yore when there would be a festival-like atmosphere. 

There is also the account of the setting up of a polling booth for just one voter in Junagadh, Gujarat, in the heart of lion sanctuary. 

The  book recalls the contribution of India’s first Chief Election Commissioner Sukumar Sen, who laid the foundation of a fragile democracy that now towers over all democratic nations.. 

The book is  a riveting account of the maturing of a fledgling democracy that keeps challenging itself through a process of ferment only to emerge with its halo intact. It is an exercise that gives people dignity, the chance to make a difference and to humble and mock pretensions.

This book is required reading for all those interested in going behind the scenes of the most logistically complex democratic exercises in the world.

P.P.Ramachandran.

18/8/2019.