New Delhi: While announcing the dates for the upcoming assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said the Election Commission (EC) is appointing the “best of the best” officers as special observers in West Bengal.
Stating that Ajay V. Nayak, former Bihar chief electoral officer (CEO) and a retired IAS officer of the 1984 batch, will be deployed as one of the special observers in Bengal, Arora said, “He is one of the best CEOs the commission ever had. Not that we have dearth of them, but he was one of the best of the best.”
In addition, Arora also announced the deployment of Vivek Dubey, a retired 1981-batch IPS officer from Andhra Pradesh, and Mrinal Kanti Das, a retired 1977-batch IPS officer of the Manipur-Tripura cadre, as IPS observers for the upcoming polls.
The EC has given these observers the authority to monitor the law and order situation in West Bengal, which is seen as precarious ahead of the election.
The commission operates through an elaborate machinery to conduct free and fair elections across India. Its footsoldiers include general observers, police observers, and expenditure observers, in addition to chief electoral officers (CEO) for each state, returning officers (RO), etc.
While these are routine appointments outlined in the Representation of the People Act, special observers are appointed when a certain election is perceived as warranting special attention.
Their recommendations have been known to lead the EC to take major decisions such as cancelling elections, as witnessed for the first time in Tamil Nadu in 2016.
The appointments for the 2021 Bengal election have triggered a controversy, with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee hitting out at Dubey for allegedly acting in a partisan manner during his tenure as an observer in the state for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
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What do special observers do?
The trend of appointing special observers has existed in Indian elections since the time of T.N. Seshan (1990-1996), who first introduced this concept, former Chief Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat said.
“They are usually appointed by the EC for specific problems of law and order, money distribution, etc during polls. This is done usually when the election campaign is very heated and volatile,” he added.
“The trend started during Mr Seshan’s time, but it was in the 2010 Bihar elections that the EC appointed an observer after a long time… There was one observer for the whole state.”
The officers appointed by the commission as special observers are usually of the seniority of either a sitting chief secretary or an officer who has retired as either director general of police or chief secretary, Rawat added.
An official who was earlier associated with the EC told ThePrint that special observers act as the “eyes and ears” of the commission on the ground.
“In cases where the commission is of the view that another layer of assessment is needed over and above what is already mandated by the Representation of the People Act, the EC appoints special observers,” the former official said.
In any election, the EC appoints general and expenditure observers for each district. These are typically serving mid-level civil servants who are appointed on election duty.
While the general observers appointed under Section 20B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, watch the process in the field on behalf of the commission, expenditure observers are appointed to ensure that money power is effectively curbed and a level playing field ensured.
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EC often takes tough decisions on their advice
Special observers appointed by the commission are over and above that, and it is on their advice that the poll panel takes some of the most crucial decisions during polls.
“Observers cannot take any decision on their own. They have no statutory authority to do so,” said the former EC official quoted above. “They simply observe the ground situation, monitor it, and report what needs to be reported to the EC.”
For example, in 2016, when the EC decided to cancel elections in two Tamil Nadu assembly seats following evidence of money being used to influence voters — a first — it did so on the basis of reports from a team of special observers.
Last month, sources said, when the EC transferred senior IPS officer Jawed Shamim, who was serving as additional director general of police in West Bengal, it did so on the basis of advice from its special observers.
“Special observers themselves cannot take these decisions, but the EC can do so on their advice,” the official quoted above said.
Rawat explained that, in the absence of any statutory authority, the mandate of special observers is limited to what is explicitly stated in the executive order issued by the EC for their appointment.
‘Immune to political harassment’
Since special observers are meant to be appointed in extraordinary circumstances, it is believed that they are brought in when a need is felt for an additional layer to serving officers, who may come under pressure from political parties. “For example, with CEOs, it is felt that they are harassed or penalised by political parties for acting in an unbiased manner during elections,” an EC official said.
CEOs oversee the conduct of elections in states — to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and legislative assemblies (and councils where they exist) — under the superintendence and direction of the EC.
However, they serve under the control of state governments even as they have the responsibility to conduct fair elections in the same state without any pressure.
“With special observers, who are typically retired or very senior officers of impeccable integrity, harassment is not possible… It is for this reason that the EC appoints these people, who can act in an unbiased manner without any fear.”
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You’ve omitted the IRS officers who are appointed as SOs in all elections.
Very well drafted article