Key Points
Going by recent developments including the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, however, it seems fairly certain that this election would slide below the minimum threshold of a credible election..
Besides many isolated instances of electoral fraud in a few constituencies, I think of the assembly elections in West Bengal in 1972, Assam in 1983, and Punjab in 1992as examples of elections that fall below the minimum acceptable standards of credible elections...
I then glanced through the newspaper headlines: judicial remand for Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha in an ED case; AAP workers protest against the arrest of CM Kejriwal by the ED; Six Congress MLAs from Himachal complete their defection to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); the Congress party faces even bigger income tax penalty that can paralyse it; Yamini Aiyar, the CEO of Centre for Policy Research, is eased out following cancellation of the institutions licence under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and fresh tax demands; an outcry against an uncivil remark by Congress social media in-charge Supriya Shrinatefollowed by her apology, but only a faint condemnation and no apology for much worse remarks by BJP West Bengal leader Dilip Ghosh...
So here is something more systematic.TheInternational Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IIDEA), an inter-governmental organisation, measuresthequality of representation (includingthecredibility of elections and freedom of political parties etc.) across 173 countries.Between 2014 and 2022,Indias score on this dimension of electoral democracy has fallen from 71per centto 60per cent..
Before you think it is another Western conspiracy, please check itswebsite:India is one of the member states of IIDEA and is represented on thegoverning councilby none other thanSunil Arora, the former Chief Election Commissioner of India appointed by the present government.Take another more academic and globally well-regarded Perception of Electoral Integrity Index..
