The press conference organised by the Election Commission of India was not a moment of virtue. It was avoidance, an instance of bureaucratic opacity woven into the state’s fabric. But to do so on a question so central to democracy—whether citizens have been improperly stripped of their right to vote—was more like a slap on the voter’s face.
Elections, in theory, rest on arithmetic: the number of eligible citizens, multiplied by participation, yields the number of votes. But India, as always, adds its own layer of improbability. In Maharashtra, for instance, opposition leaders point out that the number of votes registered in the state has outstripped its entire adult population. How does a system meant to safeguard legitimacy produce a number so mathematically absurd? It’s as if the scoreboard of democracy is showing runs scored by batsmen who have never stepped onto the pitch.
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