Disagreement with seniors over the law and order situation in West Bengal and assessment on the possible misuse of state bureaucracy and machinery to disturb level- playing field for all parties may have been the real trigger for the shock resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel, said sources amid claims that Goel’s exit may not upset the Lok Sabha elections schedule to a great extent.
Mobilisation of central security forces and matters linked to sensitive election booths in West Bengal had allegedly exposed differences between EC officials who visited the state on March 4. The absence of Goel at an EC media briefing on March 5 was an indication of the building strom, said sources, dismissing the buzz in certain quarters that Goel resigned due to personal health issues.
There might have been a debate or disagreement on file within the panel on use of strong language while issuing instructions to the West Bengal bureaucracy to contain violence and ensure a level playing field during the Lok Sabha elections. On the one hand, Goel’s resignation has given the Opposition parties a handle to float conspiracy theories about possible moves to rig the parliamentary elections, on the other, the development has raised questions about the possible setback it may cause to the Lok Sabha election schedule.
The dates for the parliamentary elections that were earlier expected to be out this week are now likely to be announced next week. Goel’s resignation last night and its acceptance follows a few days of his absence from official ECI meetings. Ever since he had returned from West Bengal, he had not been regularly attending all the official meetings till March 8, sources said. In the short term, Goel’s visit may disturb the schedule of an ECI panel that was supposed to visit Jammu and Kashmir on March 12 to take stock of the security arrangement there and assess if Lok Sabha and Assembly elections could be held simultaneously.
There is speculation that counter-terror forces may also be used for election duty in the UT where parliamentary elections are likely to be held for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. After Goel’s resignation, the Ministry of Law and Justice said in a statement, “In pursuance of clause (1) of Section 11 of The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the President is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Shri Arun Goel, Election Commissioner with effect from the 09th March, 2024.”
Goel’s tenure was originally supposed to last till November 2027 with his elevation as the CEC scheduled next year. He assumed charge as an EC on November 21,2022. His colleague Anup Pandey had retired as an EC last month. Sources said the entire responsibility of the threemember election panel is now being shouldered by CEC Rajiv Kumar.
A meeting of the selection committee to pick two Election Commissioners may be held as early as this week.