EC Is A Referee Without Powers To Penalise

Preparations for the Lok Sabha elections began in February.

- Soni Mishra

How are the preparations for the upcoming elections?

Preparations for the Lok Sabha elections began in February. Activities like training of personnel and first-level check of EVMs and VVPATs started in May. Everything is on schedule.

Preparations for the state elections began in July. The commission has visited Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram, and we are satisfied that these states are ready for polls. Telangana was added suddenly. [But] this year being Lok Sabha-election preparation year, it did not shock us. Otherwise, we would have been in trouble.

What are the challenges before the commission?

There are many. Foremost is abuse of money, which is spiralling. Our legal provisions are not sufficient to counter it. There is no ceiling on the expenditure by parties. So, whenever something is caught, it is labelled party expenditure, and we cannot do anything. Also, laws regarding bribery are such that it becomes difficult for us to bring wrongdoers to book.

So, the current legal framework is not enough?

Paid news needs to be made an offence for it to be controlled. Ceiling on party expenditure will bring in a level playing field. There is a ceiling on candidate’s expenditure, but none on the party’s. We are pursuing the law ministry for all these reforms.

Political will seems to be lacking on electoral reforms.