Echoes of Doubt – Information and Trust in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Elections

Our present realities can get very grey with information overload, misinformation, and fake news. Which is why this news from last week was so interesting.

In the recent Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, supporters and politicians from parties that lost, claimed the electronic voting machines were rigged. Some cited electronic voting machines suspiciously did not lose much battery power through the entire day. Others questioned how given the average voting time per voter, a disproportionately high number of total votes were eventually recorded at certain centers. And yet others simply claimed how their candidates were a sure win but lost.

But all that crying foul didn’t seem to have any major impact on most citizens at least in cities which, right or wrong, tend to generally carry a disproportionately louder voice compared to smaller towns and villages. And whose citizens tend to be a bit more aloof.

Which is what made this article from a small village in Maharashtra so interesting. Its residents, certain of their political loyalties, threatened to have an internal re-election simply to prove that the election results could not be correct, as their political representative/ party was sure to win but didn’t.

While there was no guarantee citizens would have voted the same way in this “re-election” as they did in the real one, it sure had the authorities worried, as they were strongly resisting any such action.

Makes one wonder about a lot of things. About all the contradictory noises of the news and our own confirmation bias. About how we are strangely immune to some kinds of shocking news. And how quality of information probably desperately needs an independent and responsible governing body.