By: Dr. E.A.S. Sarma [Former Secretary to the Government of India.] Published in: c*ountercurrents.org <http://ountercurrents.org>* Date: May 8, 2026 Source: https://countercurrents.org/2026/05/appeal-to-president-murmu-for-independent-probe-into-election-commissions-conduct-in-west-bengal-polls/
To Smt. Droupadi Murmu The President of India Respected Rashtrapati Ji, The manner in which the Election Commission of India (ECI) had recently conducted Assembly elections in West Bengal was unprecedented, raising serious concerns about its ability and inclination to remain apolitical, in compliance with the letter and spirit of Article 324 of the Constitution. In that connection, feeling deeply distressed, while the electoral process was midway, I addressed the three members of the ECI, raising my concerns, which were shared by many others, hoping that the Commission was willing to hold itself accountable to the public at large and do something that restores the credibility of the electoral process (*https://countercurrents.org/2026/04/west-bengal-polls-under-scrutiny-allegations-of-voter-disenfranchisement-and-institutional-bias-against-opposition/ <https://countercurrents.org/2026/04/west-bengal-polls-under-scrutiny-allegations-of-voter-disenfranchisement-and-institutional-bias-against-opposition/>)* The Commission chose to ignore my concerns, giving me the inevitable feeling that that it had no intention whatsoever to respond to complaints from the public. At a time when those at the helm of governance at the Centre are all set to launch the grand idea of “One Nation, One Election”, with the ECI toeing their line, the way the just concluded Assembly elections in West Bengal had been conducted has certainly created doubts about the very feasibility of that idea. Perhaps, the political executive at the Centre implies by “One Nation, One Election”, the idea of selective surgical strikes in some States of its choice and moderated electoral process in other States! The first sign of how strategically the political executive made its moves in West Bengal appeared when it ensured that a person of its choice took over as the Governor of that State on March 12, 2026, three days prior to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force. While the MCC was in force, when star campaigners in elections were not expected to throw electoral conventions to the wind, the esteemed Prime Minister chose to address the nation on “Women’s Reservation Bill”, through public-funded media channels, going out of the way to castigate one opposition party by mentioning its name 59 times. Hundreds of citizens protested against it but the Commission, which displayed extraordinary alacrity when it came to star leaders from the opposition, chose to acquiesce. In an unusual move, the Commission moved 920 companies of para-military forces comprising around 92,000 armed personnel into West Bengal for maintaing “law & order” during elections *(* https://www.businesstoday.in/india/story/2024-lok-sabha-polls-920-companies-of-capfs-to-be-deployed-in-west-bengal-635-in-jk-417540-2024-02-14 *). *Even after polling, 70,000 armed personnel were asked to remain in the State (*h <https://www.thehindu.com/elections/west-bengal-assembly/west-bengal-assembly-polls-70000-capf-personnel-to-remain-in-state-after-polling/article70921573.ece>ttps://www.thehindu.com/elections/west-bengal-assembly/west-bengal-assembly-polls-70000-capf-personnel-to-remain-in-state-after-polling/article70921573.ece <https://www.thehindu.com/elections/west-bengal-assembly/west-bengal-assembly-polls-70000-capf-personnel-to-remain-in-state-after-polling/article70921573.ece>)* Despite such massive mobilisation of armed personnel, the nation was aghast to witness a veritable post-poll mayhem *(*https://youtub e.com/shorts/fYtx_XnGPoI?si=UhdBjoudiB94qsY5 & *https://youtu.be/aWdJXJcKpEU <https://youtu.be/aWdJXJcKpEU>) *when workers of one political party, celebrating “victory”, carrying its flags and banners, were seen indulging in arson, wanton demolition of buildings with bull-dozers, and roughing up bystanders, all in the presence of the para-military forces and in the direct knowledge of the esteemed Election Commission. The chaotic situation that followed led to at least one fatality. Considering that, till the electoral process is concluded, it is the ECI that is in full command of the administration of the State, including the State’s police force, with the paramilitary forces added, should not the nation hold the esteemed Commission accountable for such a total break-down of the law & order situation in the State? In my view, the Commission cannot be allowed to insulate itself from public accountability. What is all the more distressing is the way 90.8 lakh voters, more than 14% of the total number of voters in West Bengal, whom the Commission itself originally enrolled as voters, were abruptly disenfranchised through a dubious process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) (*/www.eci.gov.in/eci-backend/public/api/download?url=LMAhAK6sOPBp%2FNFF0iRfXbEB1EVSLT41NNLRjYNJJP1KivrUxbfqkDatmHy12e%2FzVx8fLfn2ReU7TfrqYobgIpaZXBRu62AbKB09dqrk2KSXmwjwDwFbssnQR5v8cx8%2FbGESJmpiYgilLIjbqXKL%2FHupiC4kc6CGtuJ40ZQ276KDT3AG%2FStm6QFwnBaEo2pe5GCv0a%2BoFf6gyIWwRtXS8g%3D%3D <http://www.eci.gov.in/eci-backend/public/api/download?url=LMAhAK6sOPBp%2FNFF0iRfXbEB1EVSLT41NNLRjYNJJP1KivrUxbfqkDatmHy12e%2FzVx8fLfn2ReU7TfrqYobgIpaZXBRu62AbKB09dqrk2KSXmwjwDwFbssnQR5v8cx8%2FbGESJmpiYgilLIjbqXKL%2FHupiC4kc6CGtuJ40ZQ276KDT3AG%2FStm6QFwnBaEo2pe5GCv0a%2BoFf6gyIWwRtXS8g%3D%3D>* ) Considering that it was the Election Commission that was responsible for preparing the original electoral rolls, should not the Commission have gone out of the way to reach out to each one of the originally registered voters, give that person an adequate opportunity to explain to the Commission why such deletion was inappropriate and restore the voter’s franchise wherever necessary? Evidently, the Commission was in far too much of a hurry to consider such niceties to do justice to those unfortunate voters. The irony of such indiscriminate disenfranchisement is evident in the fact that 65 Election Duty Officers themselves, to whom the Commission had entrusted the responsibility of conducting elections, found their own names deleted from the Electoral Rolls! *(https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/west-bengal-assembly-election-2026-sir-65-election-duty-officers-deleted-from-bengal-sir-list-11402213 <https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/west-bengal-assembly-election-2026-sir-65-election-duty-officers-deleted-from-bengal-sir-list-11402213>* ) It looked as though the overarching objective of the Commission was to disenfranchise voters, not enfranchise those eligible. As if this was not enough, the NDA government, unmindful of the ethical norms of a democracy, had deployed the Enforcement Directorate against the opposition in West Bengal, just at the moment when the State had gone through the first phase of Assembly polls and was heading towards the second phase (*https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/ed-raids-9-locations-in-west-bengal-ration-scam-case-amid-assembly-polls-2026-2901311-2026-04-25 <https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/ed-raids-9-locations-in-west-bengal-ration-scam-case-amid-assembly-polls-2026-2901311-2026-04-25>) * What distresses me more is that the Commission which had taken over West Bengal’s administration, including its police force and has been exercising its overarching control over the State administration with an iron hand, should pretend to be unaware of NDA’s machinations in the State through its investigating agencies. Should not the Commission, if it was ready to discharge its responsibilities in an impartial manner, have intervened and stopped the ED from timing such raids in the midst of polling? All these suggest beyond doubt that the West Bengal elections were institutionally biased against the ruling opposition in the State, a fact that should cause serious concern to one and all. If the recent West Bengal elections were to be the new normal in electoral politics in our country, it certainly poses a serious threat to our democracy. Against the above background, may I appeal to you, Rashtrapati ji, to institute an independent enquiry into the the role played by the Election Commission in conducting the recently concluded Assembly elections in West Bengal and measures that need to be taken to ensure that the Commission functions apolitically, true to the letter and spirit of Article 324? In my view, an enquiry of that kind will be meaningful only if the enquiry commission is headed by a sitting member of the apex court. Respectfully, E. A. S. Sarma Former Secretary to the Government of India Visakhapatnam
