How former Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan began changing the way elections are held in India

The responsibility of a Chief Election Commissioner is not only to run the electoral process efficiently but also to identify and implement ways and means by which the electoral process would improve. In fact, one aspect of the responsibility cannot be separated from the other and therefore in everything I did as the CEC, there was always a lookout for opportunities to reform. And, of course, I believed in doing my work efficiently and with favour to none.

As I have indicated earlier, it started with setting the environment within the commission in proper order while improving on the efficiency and discipline. And then came the symbols cases and the related processes. Though these were handled according to law, the situation did improvise as we went along, be it through case laws or through managing the symbols better. The election process itself provided many opportunities, and much of the early improvements were focussed on better implementation of the laws.

I also took special steps, exclusively focussed at reforming the process. The first year, 1991, gave me ample opportunities to study the loopholes in the system in detail. It was not that this insight was not already available with the commission, but a comprehensive...

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