Author: Times News Network
Publication: The Economic Times
Date: February 28, 2005
URL: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1034881.cms
Much before the electorate tamed
the RJD in Bihar, a humble officer of the Election Commission was busy
ensuring that the party received no undue advantage from its ruling position
to influence the electoral outcome.
KJ Rao, an advisor to the EC, had
been camping at Patna since announcement of the Assembly polls in the state
and is widely perceived as the single-most important factor in keeping
the polls peaceful as well as fair.
Acting as "eyes and ears" of the
Commission in the field, he quietly operated from Room No 328 of Maurya
Hotel in Patna - that is, when he was not heli-hopping from one district
to another for an aerial surveillance - to restrain the political bigwigs
in Bihar from violating the model code of conduct and keep anti-social
elements at an arms' length from the poll process.
Mr Rao ensured that the UC Banerjee
Committee's report on Godhra was not utilised for electoral gains and single-handedly
executed a minor reshuffle in the state administration by replacing "pliable"
officers with young and honest officers.
For the first time, even politicians
were not spared. Potential trouble-makers like RJD MP from Siwan, Shahabuddin,
was shifted out of a Siwan jail to Beur jail in Patna.
The Commission's toughness seems
to have rubbed on the administration as two RJD bigwigs, Shahabuddin (after
he was released on bail) and Sadhu Yadav, were externed from their respective
constituencies.
The popularity and "dependability"
of Mr Rao could be gauged from the fact that on the eve of counting in
Bihar, the Opposition approached the EC to especially seek his presence
during the counting exercise. He was then on a fact-finding mission in
Ajnala Assembly constituency in Punjab, the counting for which was put
on hold following complaints of widespread rigging.
It all started with receipt of complaints
by EC about RJD's alleged misuse of official machinery to mobilise crowds
and resources for RJD's scheduled rally on December 23, '04. Concerned
that this would be a clear violation of the poll code, the Commission had
despatched Mr Rao and another official, Sayan Chatterjee, to oversee the
poll process in the state and ensure that no poll code violation marked
the RJD rally.
Mr Rao showed a trailer of what
was to come when he lodged FIRs against RJD leaders and brought down hoardings
erected at the state government's expense. So effective was Mr Rao's cracking
of the whip that RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was forced to call off the
December 23 melee for fear of invoking the EC's ire.
