Former Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) T N Seshan is widely considered the "father of electoral reforms" in India. (image: x.com/itsMGAzam)

Former Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) T N Seshan is widely considered the “father of electoral reforms” in India. His uncompromising approach and firm stance in cleaning up the electoral system were held in high regard and are looked upon as an unmatched legacy.

During his tenure, Seshan implemented remarkable changes in the electoral system, such as enforcing the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), introducing Voter ID cards, limiting candidates’ election expenditure, and curbing common electoral malpractices.

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In the current political and electoral climate in India, amid the “Vote Chori” row and accusations of the Election Commission’s involvement in aiding electoral malpractices,  one of Seshan’s old interview has piqued public interest.

In the viral interview, Seshan speaks about the role and accountability of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

He stated that Indian elections were damaged by a number of unfortunate things, such as the use of religion, caste, language, and other petty matters related to the heterogeneity of India’s population to appeal for votes. He called this practice “tremendously unfortunate.”

Continuing further, he talked about the difference between being addressed as “Chief Election Commissioner, Government of India” and “Chief Election Commissioner of India,” and about the accountability of the Election Commission.

“Everybody used to address me as ‘Chief Election Commissioner, Government of India.’ Does it make a lot of difference that I’m not the Chief Election Commissioner of the Government of India but I’m the ‘Chief Election Commissioner of India’? That is a very minor change in emphasis, but it’s a major difference that I am not part of the government. Who are you answerable to? Certainly, I am answerable to the President. Certainly, I’m answerable to the people. Certainly, I’m answerable to Parliament in the larger sense. I’m answerable to the courts for any wrong which I may do. All this is true. So, posturing has been an essential element of this,” Sheshan added.

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In the interview, he also said that over the years, Indian elections have come to be defined by what he called the “three C’s” – cash, criminality, and corruption or the “three M’s” – money power, muscle power, and minister power.