hy and how democracy was able to consolidate in India and not in Pakistan, is a frequently asked question. It can be partly addressed by comparing the role of the election commissions in the two countries. Elections were introduced in the subcontinent by the British but the colonial administration held elections under the regular administration. The constitution of independent India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, and came into force on January 26, 1950. The early adoption of the constitution was the first step towards the consolidation of democracy and rule of law. As mandated by the constitution, the election commission works under Article 324 and Representation of the People Act.

The 2024 general elections in India have been a mammoth exercise with no historical or global match. The number of registered voters is greater than 970 million. The voting process has been planned in seven phases and will continue for six weeks. There are 18 million first-time voters. Despite the exemplary role of the Indian Election Commission in ensuring fair and free elections, the Indian democracy has not fared well in the Global Freedom House Index ranking. The country falls in ‘partly free’ category, due in large measure to discriminatory policies of the BJP governments.

When the Indian Election Commission initially got the mandate to hold elections on the basis of universal adult franchise in a region that did not have historical moorings to sustain democracy, a majority of Indian citizens were illiterate and a large section of the population had never exercised such a right. The Election Commission was successful in its assigned tasks because the most relevant organs of the state–political and bureaucratic—extended their full support to it. The entire administrative machinery was at the commission’s disposal and everyone was answerable to it.

Resultantly, it was accorded global appreciation for accomplishing a wonderful task. The political leadership under Jawaharlal Nehru was also acknowledged, at home and internationally, for providing wholehearted politico-administrative support to the commission for conducting fair, free and transparent elections. A cardinal feature of the Indian elections has been their regularity. There have been no major interruptions or delays on any pretext. Fixing the date for an election is the mandate of the commission; it has never been challenged. Hence, the Indian commission is credited with holding the largest elections in human history.

The announcement of election results is another feat. Compared to Pakistan, the gap between polling and the compilation and announcement of results is long. Yet, there has been no controversy on the authenticity and acceptability of results. This credibility of the electoral process and the results has led to popular legitimacy and civilian supremacy. The commission’s role in democratic consolidation in India is thus larger than any other institution. On the other hand, the controversies involving the election commission in Pakistan have frequently rendered the electoral process questionable.

A defining feature of the Indian commission is its administrative and financial autonomy. The two streams have developed overtime as a result of the evolution of the institution and its outreach. For instance, the election commission recently introduced a few changes in party funding mechanisms, including vouchers and bonds etc introduced in the Finance Bill, 2017. The electoral bonds can be purchased for ten days at the beginning of every quarter i.e., first ten days of January, April and October. These changes were a response to an emerging situation where middle class candidates were unable to compete in the electoral arena. The commission intervened and laid out certain criteria about party funding as well as a ceiling on the election expenditure by a candidate.

One reason behind the rise of the BJP has been the support of Indian businessmen who support the party due to its policy of promoting Indian businesses. Many business magnates are regular donors of the BJP. The party has been a beneficiary of their economic clout that it turns into electoral dividends. For instance, the BJP’s share of party funding i.e., INR 19.17 billion is far larger than the share (INR 5.41 billion) of the Indian National Congress. According to the State Bank of India, lottery king Sebastian Martin’s firm Future Gaming and Hotel Services has been the top donor to the scheme by purchasing INR 13.65 billion worth of electoral bonds. Nonetheless, in February this year, the Indian Supreme Court struck down the electoral bonds scheme holding that it violated the citizens’ fundamental right to information.

The increasing use and expansion of technology to assist the commission is yet another significant attribute of the Indian democracy. For example, in the 2024 elections, nearly 5.5 million voting machines are being used. Electoral rules require that a polling station be available to everyone within two kilometres of their home. To actualise this objective, the Election Commission has hired the services of around 15 million election workers.

The exemplary role of the Indian Election Commission in consolidating the largest democracy is by dint of its financial and administrative autonomy, the secrecy and impeccability in compilation of results, the credibility of electoral process, acquisition of legitimacy on the basis of holding fair, free and transparent elections in the past and its incorporation of technology to meet its various responsibilities.

The writer heads the History Department at University of Sargodha. He has been a research fellow at Royal Holloway College, University of London. He can be reached at abrar.zahoor@hotmail.com. His X handle: @AbrarZahoor1