A biased referee

India’s electoral democracy has long stood as humanity’s boldest experiment in popular sovereignty. For generations, despite acknowledging imperfections-booth capturing, money power, administrative shortcomings-citizens maintained faith that their votes carried equal weight and that institutions would protect electoral fairness. This belief, more than any constitutional clause, has sustained the democratic project through decades of turbulent transitions. That faith now appears dangerously fragile. A convergence of troubling developments suggests the system’s integrity has become compromised, not necessarily in the casting of votes but in the institutional structures meant to oversee them impartially. This erosion threatens something far more fundamental than any single election’s outcome: public confidence in democracy itself. The shift in campaign discourse reveals part of this deterioration. Elections once revolved around tangible governance questions-employment, inflation, agricultural policy, education, and healthcare. Today, campaigns increasingly pivot toward communal identity and sectarian polarization. Democracy functions optimally when citizens are engaged as rational participants in a shared civic space, not as antagonistic blocs defined by religion or caste. Yet the most serious concern centers on institutional impartiality. The Election Commission of India has historically occupied a singular position as an neutral referee, almost constitutional in its sanctity. Its credibility formed the bedrock of electoral legitimacy. When that neutrality appears compromised, the damage transcends any single cycle-it strikes at democracy’s foundations. Consider the controversies surrounding poll scheduling. States with comparable demographics routinely receive vastly different multi-phase electoral calendars, sometimes stretching across seven or eight phases. While security and logistical considerations merit weight, the absence of transparent reasoning naturally invites suspicion. In a functioning democracy, even technical decisions demand public explanation. Similarly problematic are concerns regarding the Special Intensive Revision(SIR) of electoral rolls. While voter list maintenance is necessary, timing and procedural fairness remain critical. Mass deletions proximate to polling dates leave legitimate voters faced with bureaucratic obstacles in restoration. The franchise itself must not be weakened by byzantine procedures. The appointment of Election Commissioners presents another troubling dimension. When the selection process is tilted toward executive influence, institutional independence becomes suspect. The recent petition by over 190 Members of Parliament for impeachment of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for alleged partisan conduct and followed by its outright dismissal by the Speaker Lok Sabha and Chairman Rajya Sabha, without preliminary consideration by parliamentary panel , exemplifies this erosion of constitutional propriety. Even during Indira Gandhi’s controversial tenure-often characterized as autocratic-the ECI reasserted its autonomy to function constitutionally. This was evident when Indira and the Congress faced electoral defeat in 1977 precisely because institutional independence persisted. A broader perception now pervades public consciousness as elections increasingly resemble contests between the governmental with its machinery and opposition forces rather than competitions between opposing parties. Investigative actions, raids, and prosecutions strategically against opposition parties timed around politically sensitive moments reinforce this impression. Perception, regardless of legal justification, shapes institutional legitimacy as powerfully as documented fact. The supposed neutral referee, entrusted with safeguarding integrity, now appears partial. It is time for citizens to respond legally otherwise, this erosion of impartiality undermines public trust, distorts competition, and threatens the very foundation of representative democracy in the world’s largest electorate.