Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.
New Delhi:
The power to reward or see the positives is on a decline, famous Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, including that the pattern of criticism (ninda ras), alternatively, is on the rise. The remark comes within the backdrop of the Opposition’s questions over the voting machines.
Talking on the NDTV ‘Indian of the 12 months Awards 2024’ on Friday, Mr Kumar stated regardless that conducting the elections could be logistically difficult, the voters of the nation are able to resolving all points in a peaceable method.
“What surprises me, positively, is the resilience of the Indian voter… this nation can resolve all its points peacefully by way of the poll, not the bullet… That is the most important satisfaction,” he stated.
As a number of polling personnel have been honoured with the NDTV ‘Indian of the 12 months Awards 2024’, Mr Kumar stated it’s the “presiding officers who hold the democracy alive”.
“There are 10,50,000 cubicles within the nation. Every sales space contains round 4 to 5 presiding officers. This makes it round 50,00,000 fellows. And who’re these folks? You’ve got seen them – they’re academics, Anganwadi employees, officers from the agricultural division… persons are pooled from varied departments,” the CEC stated.
He stated the whole nation’s workforce is on the service of the ballot fee through the elections. “We’re a staff of 500-600 folks within the fee. In the course of the elections, we turn out to be 15 million…,” he stated.
The highest official of the polling physique defined how the presiding officers are “randomly” deputed to varied polling cubicles throughout the nation, within the presence of political social gathering leaders and their brokers, to keep away from allegations of bias.
“The world’s highest polling station is in Himachal Pradesh. Within the reverse south, there may be one other big a part of India… within the west, you might have the desert, and within the east, you might have the wettest place on this planet, the place now we have the polling station. The machine (EVMs) works within the desert, beneath zero diploma temperatures, beneath moisture-laden circumstances… As long as they (polling personnel) are there, Indian democracy is completely in secure fingers and ideal,” he stated.
Opposition events have usually accused the ballot physique of bias and raised doubts over the functioning of voting machines. After shedding the Maharashtra elections final month, the Congress alleged lack of transparency within the electoral course of and manipulation of the voting machines.
The Supreme Courtroom, not too long ago, disapproved of repeated doubts raised over the voting machines, berating the tendency of political events to boost doubts over their functioning every time they lose elections whereas conveniently accepting the system after they win.
Mr Kumar additionally lamented that regardless of efforts, voters in cities proceed to keep away from turning up at polling stations on election days. Whereas Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur and Naxal-affected areas have witnessed excessive turnout, “folks in cities don’t vote”, he stated.
Regardless of a number of initiatives by the polling fee, voters in Bengaluru and Gurugram didn’t flip up in massive numbers on the cubicles, he added.
Colaba in Mumbai, Mr Kumar stated, registered the bottom turnout within the recently-held Maharashtra meeting elections. “However I’m positive, city apathy and youth apathy will even be taken care of in occasions to come back,” he stated.