How NaMo tested limits of India's outdated poll laws

The man whom exit polls suggest could be India's next prime minister released a video seeking votes bang in the middle of the final day of polls, specifically mentioning Varanasi, the seat from which he sought election.

Updated on: May 13, 2014, 10:36:36 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

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Narendra Modi ended the 2014 general election on Monday as he had begun it, testing the Election Commission to the limit and seeing loopholes where others saw only the law.

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The man whom exit polls suggest could be India's next prime minister released a video seeking votes bang in the middle of the final day of polls, specifically mentioning Varanasi, the seat from which he sought election.

"My brothers and sisters in Kashi, the honour of Kashi is in peace, harmony and unity…we should love each other and take everybody along," he said in a video message. Kashi, or Varanasi, was among 41 seats in Monday's final phase.

Under the Representation of Peoples' Act, canvassing for votes is supposed to have ended on Saturday evening, 48 hours before the end of polling. But the law prohibits campaign activity only in poll-bound areas. Since the video message was uploaded from Ahmedabad, Modi was not covered.

Nevertheless, an angry Congress, which has been left flatfooted by the BJP in this race to dive through every loophole, lodged a complaint with the EC

"How can the channels show Modi's speech in violation of the code of conduct?" asked Congress media in-charge Ajay Maken, seeking quick action from the poll-body.

The Gujarat chief minister filed his nomination papers from Varanasi on a polling day (April 24), ensuring that it became a huge media circus that completely shadowed the rest of the day's events. He had earlier done the same thing in Vadodara, on the second polling day of the election (April 9).

And he released the party's manifesto on the first day of the election, April 7, again ensuring that the BJP was the only show in town.

He was finally booked for violating the poll law by displaying the BJP's lotus election symbol after casting his vote in Ahmedabad on April 30. But the image etched in voters' minds was his "selfie" with the lotus.

Read: Modi clicks selfie with BJP symbol, criticises Congress after voting; EC orders probe

Read: Two FIRs against Narendra Modi for holding press conference after voting

The poll law was framed in 1951, and is widely seen as outdated. Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath has said the law has its limitations and EC has been asking the government for electoral reforms.

Many argue that the law should be changed to reflect the present day realities of around the clock satellite channels and a globalised social media. Other counter saying it would result in election losing its colour.

"There would be no election related news for half of the polling period if the law banned campaign 48 hours before polling ends," said N Gopalaswami, a former chief election commissioner, saying the call on amending the law should be taken considering its adverse implications.

On Monday, Modi rubbed it in by taking a dig at the EC, saying he hoped that the poll body had deployed central forces to ensure free and peaceful polls.

Full coverage:My India My Vote

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

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