“Win, It’s Fair; Lose, It’s Rigged”: 124 Former Civil Servants Defend EC

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 11th Oct: A group of 124 former Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and allied services officers has issued an open letter defending the Election Commission (EC) and its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, arguing that allegations of vote rigging must be backed by credible evidence.

The former civil servants said India’s electoral system had evolved significantly from the days of booth capturing, ballot box stuffing and election-related violence. They pointed to safeguards such as polling agents, sealed electronic voting machines (EVMs), secure strong rooms and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips as measures designed to protect electoral integrity.

Referring to the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, the officers cited the absence of re-polls and the reported record voter turnout as indicators of the electoral process. They also argued that the same Election Commission had overseen victories and defeats for the ruling party at the Centre, including the loss of its parliamentary majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“A system cannot be honest when you win and rigged when you lose,” the officers said, adding that citizens had every right to question elections but must provide evidence to substantiate allegations.

Officers Defend Special Intensive Revision
The letter strongly defended the SIR exercise, describing accurate electoral rolls as essential to protecting the integrity of elections. The officers cited figures from Bihar, stating that the revision had identified around 22 lakh deceased voters and seven lakh duplicate entries, while approximately 21.5 lakh new voters had been added.

“An uncleaned roll does not protect the voter. It protects the fraudster,” they said, arguing that voter-list revision was necessary to identify outdated and duplicate entries while ensuring eligible citizens remained on the rolls.

The former officers also pointed to safeguards available during the exercise, including notices, hearings and appeals. They highlighted the participation of political parties’ booth-level agents as an additional layer of scrutiny.

Supreme Court Safeguards and EC Independence
The signatories referred to the Supreme Court’s examination of the SIR process, saying additional safeguards had been prescribed while the Election Commission’s authority to conduct the revision had been upheld.

They also defended the EC’s institutional independence, citing its multi-member structure and the safeguards governing its functioning.

The letter comes amid continuing political debate over electoral roll revisions and allegations of irregularities. The officers maintained that such concerns should be assessed through evidence and established procedures rather than conclusions drawn solely from election results.

Concluding their appeal, they urged citizens and political leaders to consider the outcomes of different elections conducted under the same electoral system, arguing that accountability and evidence were central to maintaining public confidence in democracy.