The fall in the voting percentage in certain constituencies, especially in Delhi, is not unexpected. For one, many government employees on election duty that day were unable to cast their votes as they were not given the election duty certificate, which would have enabled them to vote at the polling station they were assigned to work in. In other instances, employees on duty did not receive postal ballot papers despite following precedures. There was deletion of voter names too. Meanwhile, when it comes to both enrolling people as voters and then exercising that right, those living on the margins such as the homeless, tenants, students and migrants, continue to find the election machinery unaccountable and opaque. It would be better and more efficient for the Election Commission of India (EC) to work to protect and enlarge the rights of the marginalised than to focus on gimmicks. The EC needs to open itself to receiving and reflecting over feedback, including well-intentioned criticism, from the public and organisations such as the Association for Democratic Reforms which are working to deepen electoral democracy in India.
Firoz Ahmad,
New Delhi