In the discussion series by Karwan e Mohabbat on the state of the Indian Republic, this week we ask How Free and Fair are India's Elections Today?

Here peace worker and writer Harsh Mander meets with one of India’s leading public interest litigators Prashant Bhushan, and one of the country’s most trusted right to information activists Anjali Bhardwaj.

India’s elections have never been perfect. But until now, the overall fairness of the elections was not in serious doubt. Today for the first time, many voices of doubt and scepticism sometimes covert, sometimes open are being heard about whether India’s elections continue to be fair. The discussion reflects on to what extent these doubts are justified.

Both Bhushan and Bhardwaj speak of how openly partisan the process of appointment of election commissioners has become, and the ways in which their conduct fails to inspire confidence about their fairness and impartiality. The commission is doing nothing to punish or restrain both the flood of untruths and the openly communal statements made by senior leaders.

They speak also with concern about the integrity of electoral rolls. There are complaints and worries about the exclusion of vulnerable populations such as Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims. And that this raises doubts that this exclusion is deliberate by the executive to exclude sections of voters who are likely to vote against the ruling party.

And on the question of the EVMs, while it is difficult to confirm that these are tampered with, Bhushan underlines that there can be no doubt about the possibility of their tampering.

Democracy is admittedly more than universal adult franchise. But if the foundation of fair elections are in reasonable doubt, the discussants underline the enormity of the dangers this poses to the survival of Indian democracy. This is why this discussion is essential viewing for all those who care about the health of democracy in India.