Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India Navin Chawla died on Saturday at the age of 79. As confirmed by former CEC, SY Quraishi, who met Chawla about 10 days ago, Chawla died at Apollo Hospital. On the day of their meeting, Chawla had told Quraishi that she was being admitted for a brain operation. Nevertheless, Quraishi said that Chawla was in good spirits when the two met.
Chawla’s death is the end of an exceptionally controversial chapter in the history of electoral politics in India. He was a former bureaucrat who was election commissioner from 2005-9 and chief election commissioner from April 2009 to July 2010. The BJP had accused him of bias and partisanship during his tenure as CEC, as the BJP had accused him of being biased towards the ruling party. Later in 2009, then CEC N Gopalaswami recommended Chawla’s removal after a complaint by the BJP that she took partisan stands during the poll process. The government, though, had not complied with this recommendation and Chawla demitted office only after his retirement.
In a message to X (formerly Twitter), Quraishi expressed his sadness that Chawla said “Sad to know about passing on of Shri Navin Chawla, former Chief Election Commissioner of India. May his soul rest in peace.” An Election Commission official also confirmed the news of his death.
Although his time in office has been embroiled in controversy, Chawla’s legacy as a public servant is one of his contributions to electoral system.
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