New Delhi: Soon after taking over as the Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar (CEC) had written to the Law Ministry requesting it to issue a notification for linking of voter ID with Aadhaar. In fact, according to a report in a famous website, the Chief Election Commissioner has also sent proposals to the central government to set four dates for people to register as voters, ban exit and opinion polls and make rules for the candidate to contest from just one seat.

An Election Commission official says, "The Election Commission has sent six important proposals to the Law Ministry. We have requested the government to notify the rule of 4 cut-off dates for linking Aadhaar with voter ID cards and for eligible people to be registered as voters. In December 2021, the Rajya Sabha passed the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, by voice vote, after which the way was cleared for linking the voter ID card with Aadhaar. The opposition had staged a walkout from the House in protest against the bill and the opposition parties alleged that the central government passed the bill in a hurry without enough discussion. According to the report that has surfaced, the Election Commission has also sought the right to deregister political parties and sought amendments in Form 24A to make it mandatory to make public information about all electoral donations above Rs 2,000 instead of Rs 20,000.

Indeed, this also comes in the backdrop of the Commission's action against 'registered unrecognised political parties' (RUPPs) last month. The Election Commission had announced a cleanliness drive, launching 'graded action' against more than 2,100 RUPPs for flouting the rules. Such parties which have failed to submit the contribution report before the Election Commission, or have not informed the Commission about any change in their name, office, office bearers and official address are being de-registered. Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 empowers the Election Commission to register associations and bodies as political parties. However, there is no constitutional or statutory provision that gives the Election Commission the power to cancel the registration of parties.

In addition, the Election Commission had mentioned in its booklet of electoral reforms proposed in 2016, "Many political parties get registered but never contest elections. Such parties are only on paper. The possibility of forming a political party to keep an eye on availing the benefits of income tax exemption cannot be ruled out either. It would be logical that he who has the power to register political parties should also have the right to cancel the registration of political parties in appropriate cases.'' The Election Commission has also recommended a ban on exit polls and opinion polls, according to which there should be a ban on the broadcast of opinion and exit polls from the time the notification of the election is issued till its completion.

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