The electoral system of India, the world’s largest democracy, is stuck in a maelstrom of political slugfests. Those who have been “democratically defeated” through votes are at the peak of their “chaotic craze to calumniate” the electoral system of the country, from the Parliament to the streets. Why has the Election Commission, which has created a record of successfully conducting 18 Lok Sabha general elections and a number of elections to legislative assemblies of various states and union territories in all kinds of challenging environments after Independence, now become a victim of the “bashing brigade” which is trying to create a fake narrative of “vote theft”?
The Election Commission was formed on 25th January 1950 under Articles 324 to 329 of the Indian Constitution as an autonomous and constitutional body with complete independence, impartiality, and accountability. Since its inception, the Election Commission was a one-member body and became a three-member body after 1989. The Constitution and the People’s Representation Act are the holy books of the Election Commission of India. To understand how much truth and how much fiction there is behind the conspiracy to portray the people’s mandate as a flaw in the election process, we will have to closely understand the history and present of the Election Commission and the elections held so far in India.