The EC Cuts No Corners

With less than a week to go before Gujarat goes to the polls on December 12, the Election Commission (EC) is putting the final touches to an election that has courted controversy ever since Narendra Modi dissolved the assembly in July this year. Despite the heated rhetoric from the VHP, the EC has stood its ground and exercised its authority to ensure not only a free and fair poll but also one which would encourage the riot victims and the minority community to exercise their franchise without fear. The EC's order banning the VHP rallies to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6 is yet another example of the commission thwarting attempts by the Sangh parivar to communalise the election campaign.

From pulling down provocative hoardings depicting the Godhra carnage to monitoring the speeches of contestants, the EC has had to keep a hawk's eye on campaigning in Gujarat. Says an EC official, "It is a cat-and-mouse game and we have done our best." According to him, the commission's job is far from over. "We are continuously monitoring the situation in Gujarat and only till the results are announced and a government is in place can we breathe easy," he says. The state has been put on a high alert till the polls are over.

The logistics of conducting polls in a communally sensitive state like Gujarat is staggering. Apart from the half-a-dozen reconnaissance trips undertaken by EC officials to oversee the poll arrangements, no less than 12 orders have been issued to state chief secretary G. Subba Rao and chief electoral officer Gurcharan Singh directing them to implement the directives of the poll panel.

Beginning with the special revision of electoral rolls to include those displaced during the riots to putting the brakes on the VHP's vijay yatra, the EC has had its hands more than full. It has also had to direct the Gujarat government to transfer close to 600 civil and police officers who have been posted for more than four years in any district.

But it was the EC's task of updating the voters' list and tracking down the riot-displaced voters which was truly herculean. It took the enumerators three months to implement this huge exercise. They discovered that many of those who had fled their homes were reluctant to return because they feared they would be targeted again. So, observers appointed by the commission were sent to build up confidence levels to ensure a healthy turnout.

"From the house-to-house verification of 23 riot-hit districts, we found that over four lakh persons had moved out. Of these, we traced over two lakh voters who were living in other villages or staying with relatives and friends," says an EC official. In such cases, the EC has made provisions for polling stations at each district headquarter. Giving these voters special security on December 12 is another option being actively considered.

According to the EC, relief camp cards issued to the riot victims will be adequate for identification as many could not register themselves in the enumeration exercise. Arrangements will be made for special polling stations for such voters. Besides the electoral photo-ID cards, the EC has announced a list of 21 documents to prove identification. This includes driving licences, post-office pass books (opened before November 1, 2002), SC/ST/OBC certificates issued by a competent authority and property ownership documents.

Security is another area of the EC's concern. It has identified 8,000 violence-prone areas, of which 90 per cent locations are in communally volatile spots. Among the areas marked "sensitive" are Meghaninagar in Ahmedabad and Dr Yagnik Road in Baroda. cec J.M. Lyngdoh is already on record saying that deployment of forces will be "concentrated" in riot-hit towns and mohallas that witnessed large-scale violence during the riots.The state police, meanwhile, has identified 10 districts across central Gujarat—four main commissionerates and Bhavnagar—which need special protection.

It is for this reason that the EC has made a specific demand for the deployment of 400 companies of paramilitary forces. In addition, the state government will be deploying 77 companies of the state reserve police, the border police and home guards. In the run-up to the poll, all district SPs and the four police commissioners have been asked to provide a detailed assessment of the "communal tension" and "caste factionalism" prevalent in their area.

If conducting elections in Jammu and Kashmir was tricky, then Gujarat will be equally demanding. But, as an EC official says, "if one plays by the rules and not be cowed down by vested interests, then the game is half won".