New Delhi:

Rajiv Kumar, who oversaw the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the crucial Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, demitted office on Tuesday as the 25th chief election commissioner after a nearly three-year tenure marked with high electoral successes but also repeated allegations of bias by opposition parties.

Rajiv Kumar joined the poll panel as an Election Commissioner on September 1, 2020, and assumed charge as the 25th CEC on May 15, 2022. He served the EC for about four-and-a-half years in the two capacities.

During his time with the EC, he effected reforms across various aspects of it functioning: structural, technological, capacity development, communication, international cooperation and administration.

Rajiv Kumar completed one “full electoral cycle” by overseeing the conduct of elections in 31 states and union territories, the Presidential and Vice Presidential elections in 2022, Lok Sabha elections in 2024 and Rajya Sabha polls.

However, he often faced criticism of opposition parties and activists on several issues including the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines, alleged fudging of voter data and being “lenient” on the ruling BJP.

While the Commission responded — and rejected — to the allegations in writing, Rajiv Kumar often took to poetry to defend himself and the poll authority.

Amid attacks on “being lenient on the ruling BJP to bag a post-retirement job”, Rajiv Kumar announced he would go to the “deep Himalayas” for six months after demitting office to “detoxify” himself.

On his last day in office on Tuesday, Rajiv Kumar told PTI Videos he is leaving the EC in very capable hands — the government announced on Monday night Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will succeed Rajiv Kumar — and the Indian voter will stand behind the Commission with all their might.

While leaving the Nirvachan Sadan this evening, he said it is the temple of democracy and has built a strong legacy over the last 75 years.

In his media interactions, Rajiv Kumar often questioned the timing of petitions raising doubts over poll processes. He said the intent behind filing petitions just before an election was to discredit the EC and the entire electoral process.

In his farewell address, Kumar said he “observed a pattern in the timing of certain narratives”.

“The live reporting of hearing of long-pending cases at critical junctures, sometimes fuel distrust that the petitioner intends to create. It would be beneficial if such proceedings are scheduled with due consideration to the election period, ensuring that the electoral process remains smooth and undisturbed. This is a specific expectation of India’s esteemed constitutional Courts,” he said.

He also said that the Election Commission remains steadfast in its commitment to addressing concerns surrounding promises of unchecked freebies and overpromising manifestos.

“While the matter related to freebies is currently sub-judice, and I hope for a timely decision from the court, it is imperative in the interim that political promises are backed by clear disclosures on their financial viability and their effect on the fiscal health of the state,” he said.

In 2021, when the world was dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Kumar as election commissioner had drafted an affidavit, saying the courts may punish him if he was in the wrong but they should absolve the EC of doubts.

The affidavit planned to be filed before the Madras High Court, and later the Supreme Court, could not be submitted.

He wanted to respond to an observation by the Madras HC that the EC was singularly responsible for Covid surge in Tamil Nadu by holding assembly polls amid the pandemic.

Rajiv Kumar had also been vocally critical of the way exit polls are held and how news channels show trends during early period of counting of votes. He had dubbed the practice of showing early trends on counting day by news channels as “nonsense”.

Rajiv Kumar also said exit polls create a huge distraction by raising expectations and it was a matter for self-introspection for the media, particularly electronic media.

“We do not govern exit polls, but there is a need for self-introspection. What was the sample size, where was the survey done, how did the result come and what is my responsibility if I did not match to that result, are there disclosures – all of these need to be seen,” Rajiv Kumar said recently.

Prior to assuming charge in the Election Commission, Rajiv Kumar had been chairman, Public Enterprises Selection Board during April-August 2020. He was the Union Finance Secretary from July 2019 to February 2020, and Secretary, Financial Services from September 2017 to July 2019 and Establishment Officer from March 2015 to June 2017.

An officer of the Indian Administrative Service of Bihar/Jharkhand cadre of the 1984 batch, he superannuated in February 2020 from government service.

During his tenure as CEC, Rajiv Kumar carried out delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies of Assam.

Through consensus, consultation, and active participation, Rajiv Kumar along with fellow Commissioners, brought together various stakeholders with conflicting viewpoints and interests to the same table, fostering an inclusive, participative and representative approach towards redefining electoral boundaries.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Election Commission of India (ECI) today dismissed allegations of electronic voting machine (EVM) manipulation. Addressing a press conference today to announce the dates of the Delhi Assembly elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that EVMs have repeatedly passed the test of judicial scrutiny and have earned the trust of the nation’s highest courts on 42 separate occasions.

The Delhi polls are set to be held on February 5 and the counting is scheduled for February 8. 

Mr Kumar said that EVMs are tamper-proof, rendering rigging and hacking impossible. He described allegations of tampering as “baseless” and stressed that the ECI has always prioritised transparency and accountability in the electoral process.

“EVMs are not hackable. Every claim of manipulation has been thoroughly investigated and debunked. This technology has consistently upheld the principles of free and fair elections,” Mr Kumar said. “On 42 different occasions, the judiciary has reaffirmed trust in EVMs. These machines represent years of technological evolution and are a matter of national pride.”

Mr Kumar also addressed concerns regarding alleged manipulation of voter lists, an issue that has become a major point of contention in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections. Political parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, have alleged discrepancies in voter rolls, claiming wrongful deletions and additions.

Responding to these allegations, Mr Kumar stressed that the Election Commission rigorously follows due process for any changes in voter lists.

“The preparation of electoral rolls is a transparent process involving political parties at every stage,” he said. “These allegations are baseless. Disclosure is our main pillar, and detailed guidelines and datasets are available on our website.”

Mr Kumar added that the ECI ensures full disclosure and provides opportunities for objections throughout the process. “All deletions and additions are done following the due process of law. There is no room for manipulation,” he said.

The AAP has accused the BJP of orchestrating deletions in constituencies where it has a strong voter base. AAP leader and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had claimed in December that the BJP sought to remove over 11,000 names from the voter list in the Shahdara Assembly segment. Mr Kejriwal also alleged that a similar “Operation Lotus” was underway in his own constituency, New Delhi. 

The BJP has denied these allegations, countering that AAP has been adding fake names to voter lists to inflate its support base. 

New Delhi:

The ability to praise or see the positives is on a decline, noted Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, adding that the trend of criticism (ninda ras), on the other hand, is on the rise. The comment comes in the backdrop of the Opposition’s questions over the voting machines.

Speaking at the NDTV ‘Indian of the Year Awards 2024’ on Friday, Mr Kumar said even though conducting the elections can be logistically challenging, the voters of the country are capable of resolving all issues in a peaceful manner.

“What surprises me, positively, is the resilience of the Indian voter… this country can resolve all its issues peacefully through the ballot, not the bullet… This is the biggest satisfaction,” he said.

As several polling personnel were honoured with the NDTV ‘Indian of the Year Awards 2024’, Mr Kumar said it is the “presiding officers who keep the democracy alive”.

“There are 10,50,000 booths in the country. Each booth comprises around four to five presiding officers. This makes it around 50,00,000 fellows. And who are these people? You’ve seen them – they are teachers, Anganwadi workers, officials from the agricultural department… people are pooled from various departments,” the CEC said.

He said the entire country’s workforce is at the service of the poll commission during the elections. “We are a team of 500-600 people in the commission. During the elections, we become 15 million…,” he said.

The top official of the polling body explained how the presiding officers are “randomly” deputed to various polling booths across the country, in the presence of political party leaders and their agents, to avoid allegations of bias.

“The world’s highest polling station is in Himachal Pradesh. In the opposite south, there is another huge part of India… in the west, you have the desert, and in the east, you have the wettest place in the world, where we have the polling station. The machine (EVMs) works in the desert, under zero degree temperatures, under moisture-laden conditions… So long as they (polling personnel) are there, Indian democracy is absolutely in safe hands and perfect,” he said.

Opposition parties have often accused the poll body of bias and raised doubts over the functioning of voting machines. After losing the Maharashtra elections last month, the Congress alleged lack of transparency in the electoral process and manipulation of the voting machines.

The Supreme Court, recently, disapproved of repeated doubts raised over the voting machines, berating the tendency of political parties to raise doubts over their functioning whenever they lose elections while conveniently accepting the system when they win.

Mr Kumar also lamented that despite efforts, voters in cities continue to avoid turning up at polling stations on election days. While Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur and Naxal-affected areas have witnessed high turnout, “people in cities do not vote”, he said.

Despite several initiatives by the polling commission, voters in Bengaluru and Gurugram did not turn up in large numbers at the booths, he added.

Colaba in Mumbai, Mr Kumar said, registered the lowest turnout in the recently-held Maharashtra assembly elections. “But I am sure, urban apathy and youth apathy will also be taken care of in times to come,” he said.

A helicopter with Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and additional Chief Election Officer of Uttarakhand Vijay Kumar Jogdande on board made an emergency landing in the state’s Pithoragarh district today. All passengers of the helicopter are safe, reported news agency ANI quoting the Uttarakhand Government.

On Tuesday, Mr Kumar announced bypoll to the Kedarnath assembly seat in Uttarakhand. The Kedarnath seat, located in Rudraprayag district, is part of the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency, currently held by the BJP.

The seat fell vacant following the death of MLA Shaila Rawat in July. Rawat won the seat on a BJP ticket in the 2022 assembly polls. She had represented the seat in 2012 also as a Congress MLA. She lost in 2017 but regained it in 2022.

Mr Jogdande said the notification for the bypoll will be issued on October 22, with October 29 as the last date for filing nominations. Counting will be held on November 23, he said.

The Election Commissioners yesterday announced the bypolls to 47 assembly seats and Wayanad Lok Sabha seats will be held on November 13. Bypolls for the Kedarnath assembly seat and Nanded Lok Sabha seat will be held on November 20.

The Election Commission also announced the election dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Maharashtra will vote in one phase on November 20 while Jharkhand will go to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20. The counting of votes for both states will be on November 23.

In Jammu and Kashmir to take stock of preparations for elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has said that no internal or external force can stop the Election Commission from conducting Assembly polls in the Union Territory. 

Addressing a press conference in Jammu on Friday, Mr Kumar said in Hindi, “The foundation laid by you (the people and the administration) is now awaiting the construction of a strong building. We have to achieve new heights and the time for that has come. If any internal or external force thinks that they can interfere and derail the Assembly elections, they are wrong. We are sure that the people of Jammu and Kashmir will give a befitting response to disruptive forces.”

To a question on how the elections were being planned given that the Union Territory has seen an uptick in terror attacks and encounters in which many security personnel have also been killed, the Chief Election Commissioner used the chicken-and-egg analogy.

“We are working with full commitment and resolve that nothing will be allowed to disrupt the elections. If we don’t, it will become a chicken-and-egg situation. Whenever we will talk about elections, such activities will increase and we will be forced to step back. That will be like conceding defeat without even fighting. That won’t happen,” Mr Kumar asserted.

“These things will not have an impact on the elections at all. Our forces and the administration are capable enough to deal with any situation that arises. The flag of ‘jamhuriyat’ (democracy) has been raised and will be raised further,” he added.

‘Historic Achievement’

On the Commission’s meetings with political parties in Jammu and Kashmir since it arrived in the Union Territory on Thursday, Mr Kumar said they had spoken to national and recognised parties, all of whom had praised the people and the Election Commission for the way the Lok Sabha elections had been conducted there. 

The state had seen a voter turnout of 58.46%, which was the highest in 35 years, and Mr Kumar said all the parties had called that a “historic achievement”. 

“The parties said it had good participation and no violent incidents took place, which boosted people’s confidence. All the parties demanded that the Assembly polls be held at the earliest so that there are elected representatives in Jammu and Kashmir who have a better connect with local residents,” Mr Kumar said. 

Jammu and Kashmir has been without an elected government for over six years and the last Assembly elections were held there in December 2014. The Supreme Court has set a deadline of  September 30 for the Election Commission to hold Assembly polls in the erstwhile state, whose special status under Article 370 was removed and it was bifurcated into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

New Delhi:

The ongoing Lok Sabha polls is probably the ‘hottest’ election in India’s history, thanks to the scorching heat.

The elections, however, are definitely the most eco-friendly elections that have been ever held in the world’s largest democracy and Indians should be proud of that fact.

“Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” is an integral motto for environmentally sound election management practices, asserts the Election Commission of India (EC).

“Thanks to many environment friendly initiatives undertaken by the Election Commission of India, there is no doubt that the 2024 General Elections are the eco-friendly elections. Other than saving of huge paper due to use of EVMs, electronic means of filing complaints, directions were given for no use of single use plastic in electoral process,” said Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar

“India has now set a new global benchmark for holding environmentally sustainable elections with a low carbon footprint’. Many eco-friendly polling stations were also set up” said Mr Kumar.

Rajiv Kumar has been at the helm since 2022 and holds a master’s degree in sustainability among his many qualifications. Mr Kumar has worked in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and was part of National Mission on Afforestation.

His other colleagues are also technocrats with green ideas: Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu is a medical graduate and Shri Gyanesh Kumar is a trained civil engineer from IIT-Kanpur.

The use of 5.6 million EVMs in the elections has saved thousands of tonnes of paper. Each machine has a life of 15 years and easily three Parliamentary elections can be conducted using the same machines, in addition to three assembly elections. This makes the EVMs highly environmentally sustainable.

That paper wastage has been avoided is another positive aspect of deploying EVMs.

As per the Narrative Report of 17th Lok Sabha General Elections 2019 – which refers to General Elections 2004 – replacing the erstwhile voting method of using ballot papers, 1.075 million EVMs were used in 543 Parliamentary and 697 Assembly Constituencies making 14th General Elections fully electronic for the first time.

The use of EVMs in General Elections 2004, it states, saved around 1,50,000 trees which would have been cut for production of about 8000 tonnes of paper for printing the ballot papers if traditional system of ballot box was adopted.

During the period from 2004 to 2024 the elector base has increased from about 67.1 crores to 96.9 crores, i.e. an increase of 44.5%. Going by this, we may estimate that the use of EVMs in the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections, 2024 has contributed to the savings of about 11,520 tonnes of paper and prevented cutting down of about 2.15 lakh trees. This is a whopping lot paper.

The Election Commission has issued advisories on several occasions urging political parties and candidates to use only environment-friendly material and to avoid single-use plastic and non-biodegradable material. Noise pollution has also been minimal as political parties minimised the use of loudspeakers going around on vehicles and moved a lot of the campaigning to social media.

Protecting the environment is not an individual task but a collective responsibility and hence the EC urges all the political parties to avoid the use of plastic/polythene and similar non-biodegradable materials for preparation of posters, banners, etc.

With digitisation of various processes like online facilitation for registration of voters; Apps like Voter Helpline App, SUVIDHA portal, KYC App, cVigil, e-EPIC, PwD app, Voter Turnout App; online nomination facility for candidates; avoiding single use plastic in display materials for voter awareness; ensuring proper waste disposal management; has endeavoured to ensure environment friendly elections.

A major push has been given for eco-friendly infrastructure, with many local election officers adopting LED lighting, rainwater harvesting systems and solar panels in their office premises and EVM warehouses.

When the election dates were announced, the poll body had said that directions have been issued to the poll machinery to ensure “environmentally sustainable elections”.

“There should be no waste visible at polling stations across the country after casting of votes. It should be collected and disposed of as per rules. Less and less paperwork and how can we reduce the carbon footprint through recycling is our commitment and responsibility towards the environment,” said Mr Kumar.

The poll body actively promoted environmentally sustainable elections during the continuing Lok Sabha and assembly polls. Indeed, India should be proud of the global example it has set by holding environmentally clean and green elections.

Chennai:

The voters have a right to know about the feasibility of fulfilling poll assurances made by political parties, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Saturday and made it clear that the matter is, however, sub judice.

Political parties have a right to make promises in their election manifestos and the electorate has a right to know if these are genuine and how these programmes could be funded, he said, adding the entire matter forms part of an ongoing case and the matter was sub judice.

At a press conference here, Rajiv Kumar, answering questions, said the Election Commission has prepared a ‘proforma’ to make parties to make a disclosure on their election promises. However, this aspect also relates to the pending court matter.

He said enforcement agencies have been directed to stay vigilant and prevent distribution of cash and freebies. National Payments Corporation of India too has been tasked to monitor online transactions.

To a question on ‘fake news,’ he said, “Today fake news is running as you mentioned that election dates have been announced. This fake news has, however, been countered within half an hour and it was made amply clear that it was fake.”

After holding meetings with political parties during the last two days, Rajiv Kumar said “A majority of parties said that many parties have commenced parking of funds for distribution to voters.”

“We met various political parties – both national like the BJP, INC and state parties like the AIADMK, DMK. A majority of their demands were single-phase elections, curb on distribution of money and freebies,” he said.

The parties also sought action to prevent ‘voter impersonation,’ distribution of liquor and transfer of money through online mode.

During past elections in Tamil Nadu, parties have often accused each other of ‘inducing’ voters by distributing cash and gifts.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)