Free and fair

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) has reportedly softened its stance on disclosing absolute booth-wise votes.
• In the past, the ECI had no legal mandate to disclose Form 17-C, part one, which contains the total number of electors in each booth and those who voted, to anyone other than the candidate or its polling agent.
• Recently, the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, is open to meeting representatives of organizations and individuals who have requested to upload scanned, authenticated, and legible copies of Form 17-C on its website.
• The Supreme Court of India has requested Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra and representatives of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) to represent the ECI and seek a meeting.
• The ECI’s recent release of turnout details through its voter turnout app has been a source of speculation due to unusually high percentages given.
• The discrepancies could raise suspicions about the electoral process when the final results are released.
• The ECI has been urged to meet petitioners on this issue, arguing that every step demanding greater transparency in the electoral process is not aimed at undermining its integrity.