New Delhi: In the wake of social media memes labeling them as "Laapata Gentlemen," the Election Commission of India (ECI) addressed these criticisms and highlighted their extensive efforts during the 18th Lok Sabha elections.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, during a press conference on the eve of the counting day, assured the public that the commission had been actively engaged throughout the election process, despite perceptions to the contrary.
Responding to the memes inspired by the film 'Laapata Ladies', which suggested the commission was missing in action, Kumar clarified, "We were never missing. We chose to communicate through press notes, issuing a total of 100 during the polling period. Now, the memes can say the ‘Laapata Gentlemen’ are back."
Kumar emphasized the historic scale of the elections, noting that a record 64.2 crore voters participated, including 31.2 crore women voters. The logistics of the election were immense, involving over 68,000 monitoring teams and 1.5 crore polling and security personnel. "The entire process was robust," he stated.
One of the significant achievements highlighted was the reduction in the number of repolls, from 540 in 2019 to just 39 in the current elections. Additionally, Jammu and Kashmir saw its highest voter turnout in four years, with 58.58% overall and 51.05% in the Valley.
The ECI also reported substantial seizures during the election period, totaling Rs 10,000 crore in cash, freebies, drugs, and liquor, a marked increase from Rs 3,500 crore in 2019. Kumar detailed the extensive resources used in the election process, including nearly four lakh vehicles, 135 special trains, and 1,692 air sorties.
In terms of handling complaints, the ECI managed to resolve over 90% of issues related to the Model Code of Conduct. "FIRs were filed against top leaders and polling officials involved in malpractice, and officials were transferred to ensure a clean election process," Kumar added.
Addressing the challenges posed by deep fakes and AI-generated content, the CEC noted, "We have largely controlled the menace of deep fakes and AI-generated synthetic content in this general election."