Political parties want to win at any cost: EC

All political parties are ready to go at any length to ensure a win in the elections, said Election Commissioner O P Rawat.

Speaking at the ‘Consultation on Electoral and Political Reforms’ organised by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), Rawat said: “It appears to a cynical common man that we have been scripting a narrative that places a maximum premium on winning at all cost.”

This is the first strong comment from a top official of the poll panel since it set aside votes of two rebel Congress leaders in the recent Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat on August
8.

This enabled senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel win his Rajya Sabha seat, defeating BJP chief Amit Shah’s plan to prevent his entry into the Upper House.

Rawat said: “In this narrative, poaching of legislators is extolled as smart political management; strategic introduction of money for allurement, tough-minded use of state machinery for intimidation etc., are all commended as resourcefulness.”

Rawat, who was appointed after the NDA government came to power, said:
“Democracy thrives when elections are free, fair and transparent.”

DH News Service