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There was an industrialist whose institution was doing exceptionally well. In a decennary since its inception, it captured implicit 40% of the marketplace share. When I asked him, “Having reached frankincense far, what bash you comprehend arsenic your biggest situation going forward?”, helium paused for a while, his eyes gazing into the distant future, and replied gravely: “Lack of competition.”
Ask cricketing legends who person been palmy batsmen and they volition archer you that their finest innings were those played against formidable bowling attacks, not the centuries scored against minnows. Even spectators bask a seesaw, hard-fought contention much than a tame one-sided affair, adjacent if it involves their favourite subordinate trouncing a neophyte.
As successful concern and sports, contention is the haemoglobin of a democracy. It gives meaning to the precept of “rule by the people” by allowing citizens to “fire” incumbents and take alternatives, thereby liberating them from the TINA (“there is nary alternative”) trap. However, that presupposes the beingness of rivals with the capableness to contest, and challengers who aspire to triumph against the likelihood due to the fact that they judge successful the fairness of the system.
Mandates necessitate genuine contests
It is ironic that the rules of the game, arsenic acold arsenic elections are concerned, bash not see contention indispensable to an electoral outcome. Section 53(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, provides for “unopposed” winners, which means that contention takes spot lone erstwhile capable players participate the fray. Otherwise, 1 tin person a contestant but nary contest, a victor without a game, and a people’s typical without a azygous ballot formed successful his favour — a walkover “killing” some the crippled and its spirit.
For a subordinate to tout his triumph determination should person been a contest. For a authorities to assertion legitimacy, the electorate indispensable judge that those elected ‘earned’ (pun unintended) their presumption done a just process. You tin triumph powerfulness without a contest; not a mandate. Competition besides gives ‘losers’ anticipation that they tin effort to triumph successful the future, making them judge just electoral outcomes. Peaceful modulation of powerfulness is 1 of the healthiest achievements of immoderate electoral democracy.
Competition and contestation alteration differing ideologies and societal classes to flourish. Going by the economical logic of contention breeding efficiency, it would beryllium tenable to expect governmental parties to refine their policies arsenic opponents ever look to item failures. Political idiosyncratic Robert Dahl referred to a strategy with precocious information but debased contestation (like one-party States with precocious elector turnout) arsenic a “plebiscitary autocracy” alternatively than a existent democracy.
However, contention besides presupposes a level playing tract and a neutral referee to guarantee that. The lack of either tilts the scales against challengers, minimising their chances of occurrence portion besides denting their morale and undermining the people’s confidence. In fact, the partisanship of a referee tends to rob the victor of the saccharine sensation of success, adjacent if deserved. One mightiness beryllium seeded higher, person played amended than the opponent, bask spectators’ support, and adjacent merit to win, but if the referee is seen arsenic partial, the triumph appears tainted.
In West Bengal
Take the illustration of the West Bengal Assembly elections. Anti-incumbency could good person influenced the voters’ choice, and the winning enactment whitethorn person tally an effectual run for its resounding victory. And yet, its show stands tarnished by accusations of favouritism against the constitutionally designated umpire mandated to supply the “superintendence, direction, and control” of the electoral process.
The result is being linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls (ER), and analysts person presented constituency-wise information showing deletions of electors that transcend the triumph margins, suggesting that the effect mightiness person been antithetic but for the SIR.
That the SIR was unwarranted is established by the inability of the process to place those “ineligible” successful presumption of Article 326, which was the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s warfare outcry erstwhile it commenced the SIR successful Bihar successful June 2025. Neither astatine the extremity of the Bihar SIR nor for the States successful the 2nd circular has the ECI released figures connected the “ineligible” electors weeded retired for not gathering the eligibility conditions nether Article 326. There have, nary doubt, been deletions done the SIR, but these pertain to “permanently shifted, dead, oregon duplicate” entries, which could person been removed done the mean revision process mandated earlier each poll.
What we had alternatively successful West Bengal was implicit 60 lakh electors included successful the electoral rolls nether the “under adjudication” category, with 27.16 lakh of them deleted aft a lightning workout carried retired by judicial officers hastily appointed by the Supreme Court of India. Over 700 judicial officers sprinted done a marathon successful their ‘supreme’ effort to execute the intolerable task of disposing these cases successful a abbreviated span of time. Those whose claims were rejected were asked to look earlier non-existent Appellate Tribunals.
How, when, and adjacent whether their appeals volition beryllium heard is hard to tell, going by the acquisition of those placed connected the doubtful voters (D-voter) database a fewer years agone successful Assam. No authoritative information is successful the nationalist domain to bespeak whether their voting rights person been restored oregon whether they stay successful limbo. Soon, the 27 lakh affected successful West Bengal whitethorn articulation those “missing successful action”. The cruel irony is that the ECI excluded Assam from the existent SIR process, adjacent though the National Register of Citizens prepared determination a fewer years agone classified implicit 19 lakh radical arsenic “non-citizens”, yet their voting rights stay unaffected.
A neutrality that faces scrutiny
The ECI has invited an indelible taint by engineering a strategy that made specified omission imaginable nether its ‘superintendence’. What sanctity does its slogan, “No elector to beryllium near behind”, clasp if 27 lakh electors were treated arsenic jetsam? How could the ECI “direct” the usage of the illogical “logical discrepancy” instrumentality that created discrepancies of its own? Why did it let the morganatic functions of the Electoral Registration Officer to beryllium exercised by a strategy beyond its “control”? Why did it denote the predetermination docket if it was not assured of finalising the electoral rolls connected time? Why did it abdicate the ineligible proviso that allowed the existing rolls to stay valid successful the lawsuit of “under adjudication” electors who could not spell done the afloat process due to the fact that of a paucity of time? Why did the ECI not question the Court’s support to defer the docket erstwhile a mandatory process could not beryllium completed? That the Court did not deliberation it worthwhile to inquire the ECI to “tarry a little”, and was consenting to “suspend” the voting rights of 27 lakh electors, is inexplicable and unfortunate.
With the gradual fading distant of governmental rivals successful the States and astatine the nationalist level, volition we witnesser much “victories” without a combat due to the fact that the arena is either bereft of competitors, the challengers are excessively weak, oregon the umpire’s decisions tilt the balance? Interestingly, the umpire himself would go an “extra” if determination were nary competition. Neither the “pathbreaking” law betterment of One Nation, One Election nor the thought of an Opposition-mukt Bharat is aimed astatine fostering competition, and that does not augur well. There volition beryllium small thrill near successful a one-horse race.
That it strikes astatine the precise roots of the antiauthoritarian quality of the federation whitethorn beryllium a insignificant matter.
Ashok Lavasa is erstwhile Election Commissioner of India and erstwhile Union Finance Secretary
