Simultaneous Polls Difficult In The Near Future

Simultaneous Polls Difficult In The Near Future

- Deepak Tiwari

Om Prakash Rawat took up office of chief election com-missioner (CEC) of India after A.K. Joti demitted charge on January 21. Rawat, a retired IAS officer of the 1977 batch, became an election commissioner in August 2015, and, being the most senior EC, succeeded Joti as India’s 22nd CEC.

Rawat is known for his honesty and outspokenness. Even though he was against holding polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh on separate dates, he went with the decision of the commission after making his views clear.

He served as principal secretary to the BJP’s Madhya Pradesh chief minister Babulal Gaur in 2004, and yet was a favourite of the Congress for implementing the Forest Rights Act of the UPA government. Excerpts from an interview with THE WEEK at his New Motibagh residence, New Delhi:

What are your priorities as the new CEC?

Continuity is important for any such office. Whatever has been done by predecessors like [T.N.] Sheshan, [J.M.] Lyngdoh, M.S. Gill and Dr Nasim Zaidi are remembered by the people. The global standards created by the Election Commission of India should be maintained and given a boost. People should have full faith in the electoral system, and its transparency will be my topmost priority.

How has electioneering changed since you joined the IAS in 1977?

When there were no electronic voting machines (EVMs), musclemen used to stamp ballot papers in a short time and stuff them into ballot boxes. That has become impossible after the EVM. To register a vote in the EVM, you require a minimum of 20 seconds, so if you have to cast 1,000 votes, you will need five hours. And, five hours is enough time for security forces to respond.