Democracies survive as long as those who lose elections do not question the fairness of the process. When the losers think, rightly or wrongly, that they have been short-changed by the process, democracy is undermined. India appears to be at a crossroads precisely for this reason. The central question about 2024 is no longer about victory and defeat, but about whether the process of election itself is free and fair.
What casts a cloud on the integrity of the process on the eve of the election is the selective law enforcement by state agencies under the control of the incumbent BJP that target Opposition parties and leaders. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and Delhi Chief Minister is in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), accused in a corruption case. Principal opposition party Congress finds its funds frozen by the Income Tax Department that is purportedly investigating discrepancies in filings by the party from several years ago. The Election Commission of India (EC) is facing questions regarding its independence, after one of its members resigned abruptly and without explanation, which was followed by the hurried appointment of two new members by the BJP government. Earlier, the government had given itself the authority to appoint the members of the EC, overlooking suggestions by the Supreme Court of India, and the Opposition, for a more consultative mechanism. The political executive has complete power to appoint the Election Commissioners. Questions about electronic voting machines, and the paper trail of voting, have lingered. The EVMs are tamper-proof, but that is not enough for public trust. Trust has to be based on the ability to verify. The EC has refused to engage with the Opposition on this issue.
The I-T department restrictions on the accounts of the Congress closely followed the Supreme Court’s directive on the electoral bonds scheme. As it turns out, the opaque scheme had worked to the advantage of the BJP. For these reasons, the Opposition says that the playing field is rigged in favour of the ruling BJP. Incumbent parties may have tried to tilt the scale in their favour occasionally in the past too; and the ECI has failed to be non-partisan and effective often enough. Occasionally, Opposition leaders have questioned the integrity of the elections. But no time in the history of Indian democracy has all Opposition parties and leaders shared a common feeling that the election process does not give them a fair chance. This alone makes the 2024 election remarkable in the evolution of Indian democracy.
