NDA allies ask ECI to issue clarification to dispel doubts

With questions raised about reported fissures in the Election Commission of India (ECI), some NDA leaders, including the Telugu Desam Party, Lokjanshakti Party and Rashtriya Lok Morcha, have now come out asking the poll body to dispel the misgivings. The allies said a clarification was needed to assure people about the institution’s integrity.  “Problematic if people begin to doubt the electoral process,” says Chirag Paswan; clarification “will only help strengthen public confidence,” says TDP. Their remarks mark a departure from the position taken by several BJP-led NDA constituents.

Amid controversy, sources in the poll body said the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners “unanimously” approved the orders pertaining to the Special Intensive Review (SIR) process for Bihar and other States. The approved SIR orders include a Declaration Form to be submitted along with Form 6 for the inclusion of new voters, a step aimed at reducing paperwork and easing the registration process for citizens. This is in line with Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and has also been upheld by the Supreme Court. The ECI has said the declaration is an additional requirement and does not alter the existing Form 6.

Paswan asked the poll body to “dispel misgivings in the minds of the people” that have arisen over a report on the alleged differences within the poll panel over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Paswan, who heads Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), also made it clear that “as part of the Government” he did not intend to “defend a Constitutional body”, nor did he set much store by allegations levelled by opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi. “Let me make it clear that as part of the Government, I do not intend to defend what is a constitutional body. I am also not much worried about the allegations made by the opposition, which will always take a stand that suits it politically,” the Hajipur MP said.

He, however, added, “If the people start losing trust in the electoral system, that will not augur well for democracy and, therefore, I think the ECI must come out with its clarification more forcefully. It need not respond to what Rahul Gandhi and his associates are saying. But it must dispel misgivings in the minds of the people.”

While the BJP and JD(U) have largely avoided amplifying the controversy or defending institutional processes, Paswan’s insistence on public clarification sets his party apart within the ruling alliance.

This is not the first time the LJP(RV) leader has charted an independent course while remaining part of the NDA. In Bihar, where his party is an ally of the Government led by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary after the political transitions of recent years, Paswan has repeatedly raised the temperature on law-and-order issues that embarrass the dispensation.

Upendra Kushwaha, an NDA ally and Rajya Sabha MP, expressed that there was an urgent need to clear the entire picture and dispel confusion in the minds of the voters.

“A great deal of confusion has arisen among the public regarding the controversy related to EVMs. The matter needs to be addressed. To dispel the confusion, the Election Commission should immediately issue a clarification on the correct position,” the RLM chief wrote in Hindi on X.

Another NDA constituency, the N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP, joined the chorus seeking Gyanesh Kumar to speak up and make the ECI's position clear, as it has a “crucial responsibility in our democracy”. TDP’s Lok Sabha floor leader Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Andhra Pradesh was “conducted in a transparent manner”.