Outgoing CEC Rajiv Kumar red flags trend of blaming ECI after poll losses

New Delhi: Wrapping up his tenure as the 25th chief election commissioner, Rajiv Kumar on Monday red flagged the "disturbing trend" of the poll panel being "unfairly blamed" and turned into a "convenient scapegoat" after unfavourable poll results. He also highlighted the "wave of fake allegations and rumours" circulating during peak polling/counting hours.

In his farewell address at the Election Commission of India here, Kumar drew the judiciary's attention to the need for "due consideration to election timelines" in court proceedings besides the need for several long-pending electoral reforms, including the use of totaliser to prevent post-poll voter victimisation to technology solutions to enable domestic migrant and NRI voters to vote.

He urged political parties to back their freebies announcements with clear financial disclosures and reflect on the worrying nature of the political discourse.


In his 4.5 year stint - first as an election commissioner from September 2020 and then as CEC from May 2022 onwards - Kumar has overseen completion of a full electoral cycle from assembly polls in 31 states/UTs to the presidential and vice presidential elections in 2022, Lok Sabha polls in 2024 and Rajya Sabha renewals.

Kumar, however, is demitting office amid continued questioning of the poll panel's conduct of elections by Opposition parties - ranging most recently from the health of electoral rolls in Maharashtra to court cases over rulebook changes to prevent sharing of video recording of polling stations, voter turnout figures and EVM-VVPAT verification, among others.

He addressed several of these issues in his farewell address on Monday at Nirvachan Sadan, terming the rising trend of "misleading narratives during peak polling or counting hours" as a deliberate attempt to "distort facts and mislead voters".

"All candidates and parties are involved in every stage of the process with utmost transparency. Having participated in each step without raising objections or filing appeals during the process, then attempting to create doubt afterward is undesirable. Dialogue should always be the preferred approach and while the commission reacts with sagacity, stoicism and restraint, this is a disturbing trend and should be abandoned soon," he underlined.

Besides calling on social media companies to ensure timely detection and labelling of fake content, he also drew attention to many "digital portals propagating misleading narratives and half-truths".