Resolution 

Raise Voice for Independence, Integrity and Transparency 

of the Election Commission, Ensure Level Playing Field in Elections 

The 24th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses grave concern and anguish over the opaque and unconstitutional manner in which elections have been conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the past decade. The erosion of autonomy, contempt shown for the political opposition, and utter brazenness with which election laws, rules and manuals have been manipulated have turned India's election process, always loaded in favour of parties with money power, into a complete farce. 

The present BJP regime, in flagrant violation of the Supreme Court's express directive in November 2023 to ensure independence in appointment of the Election Commissioners, hastily enacted a law changing the selection process by excluding the Chief Justice of India, with two of the three members of the selection committee being members of the ruling cabinet. 

The ECI has lost the confidence of a fair section of the Indian people. In April 2024, a survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) revealed, shockingly, that only 28 per cent of Indians today retained any trust or confidence in the ECI. 

The manner and extent to which India's election system has been eroded is complex and involves manipulations at multiple levels. These issues have been addressed rigorously by several experts and citizens groups. They essentially involve the utterly non-transparent manner of the functioning of the ECI when it comes to: a) Non-release of Voter Data including Voter lists past and present, b) Non-release of 17-C and 17-A forms, Video Recordings and Index Cards, mandated under Election Law and ECI Manuals; c) Manipulation of Voter Lists through spurious additions and deletions. A significant question regarding the ECI's conduct pertains to the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the ECI's supervision of the electoral process. 

A major breach of bipartisan conduct in elections was first evident in violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and the Representation of People's Act in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the 2017 state elections of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, and most sharply during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Several complaints against prominent campaigners of the ruling party, including the Prime Minister, Home Minister, UP Chief Minister and others for making openly communal appeals and violating the MCC were made only to be ignored, exposing the ECI's clearly partisan approach. The ECI failed to take action against the blatant use of government resources to further the partisan interests of the BJP. Today, even the most basic constitutional rights of the political opposition are being brazenly snatched away with even Voters lists with and without the latest revisions, being denied to political contestants and citizens. Most recently, the issue of duplicate EPIC cards has also surfaced. 

Soon after the 2024 Parliamentary elections, citizens' groups published a substantiated report (Vote for Democracy - VFD) presenting data that suggested that in at least 79 Lok Sabha constituencies across the country the "people's mandate" had not been reflected in the results: significantly, the total hike in absolute number of votes cumulatively for all the phases between the turnout figures reported at 7-8 PM and final turnout figures extrapolated from the available figures of the Percentage of Polled Votes, supplied by the ECI, was close to 5 crore votes, or 4,65,46,885 to be precise. Detailed state-wise mathematical and statistical calculations by experts say that it is likely that these spurious votes benefited the NDA/BJP coalition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in around 79 seats, determining who/which dispensation came to power. The ECI has refused to give any reasons for this unexplained hike in votes. 

On the other hand, the overall indication from some rigorous constituency-wise surveys is that areas with a higher share of voters from religious and caste groups who were less likely to vote for the BJP saw disproportionate deletions. Additionally, the inclusion of new voters needs further and comprehensive scrutiny to identify bogus voters. 

Independent studies into the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha Elections 2024 reveal a shocking increase in Voter 'Registration' in the seven months between the Lok Sabha polls in April 2024 and the Vidhan Sabha polls in November 2024, which was a staggering 40,81,229. This makes the average monthly registration per month on an average (April 2024-November 2024) at 5,83,032; as against this, the average voter registration per month in the five-year period between 2019-2024 has been only 71,116, and in the previous five years from 2014-2019 only 1,31,302. This substantiates claims that these additions were done with an intent to bolster the ruling BJP-led combine's votes. To date, despite several demands, documentation of these additions has not been provided. 

In addition, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Assam have seen the questionable and partisan behaviour of Returning Officers (ROs) conducting polls, with documented complaints having come in from 56 constituencies.

Worse still has been the use of the state police machinery to prevent voters from marginalized sections exercising their franchise. 

Yet another serious feature was the public display of a brazen corporate-BJP nexus through the unconstitutional electoral bonds scheme introduced in 2017, and finally struck down by the Supreme Court of India in early 2024.

Though the ruling BJP received an overwhelming share of the funds-approximately Rs 8,500 crore-through electoral bonds over five years, creating an uneven playing field, the party has not been compelled to either return this money acquired in an illegitimate way, nor made to explain its expenditure. We also recall our Party's significant role in challenging the electoral bonds in the apex court. 

The latest move by the ECI, to link the EPIC Card with the Aadhaar card also needs to be rigorously opposed, since it in effect places control of the election process - additions and deletions of voters - squarely in the hands of the UIDAI, controlled by the Union Government. Besides, while the EPIC card is proof of citizenship, AADHAAR is merely a location of identity. 

All these disturbing developments require that we commit the Party to a mass people's movement to demand accountability from the ECI and a return to transparency during polls. Accountability of the ECI must be ensured, and all data must be consistently and transparently made available to the political opposition and to all Indian citizens. 

The 24th Congress of the CPI(M) therefore urgently resolves to intensify efforts to ensure that malpractices in the electoral system are exposed, and every Indian voter is encouraged to cast her/his vote, without fear or favour. We commit ourselves to the campaign to ensure the independent and transparent functioning of the ECI and to restore a level playing field in elections. This is an essential and non-negotiable prerequisite for protecting political democracy in the country.