TN Seshan in 1993. (Photo courtesy: Indian Express/RK Dayal)
The man who reformed elections in India, TN Seshan, died on Sunday, aged 86, at his residence in Chennai, TheNewsMinute.com reports.
Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan born on December 15, 1932 in Thirunellai in Palakkad, Kerala. He took over as the Chief Election Commissioner of India from 1990 to 1996 and drastically ended many electoral malpractices of the day.
The 1955-batch IAS officer served in various department including as Secretary of Defence in 1988 when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister. He helped defend the Bofors scam.
Later he was promoted to cabinet secretary in 1989. When VP Singh came to power, Seshan was sent to the Planning Commission.
In December 1990 President Venkataraman appointed Seshan the 10th Chief Election Commissioner. The Commissioners before him had been struggling to ensure the ‘Model Code of Conduct’.
Seshan appointed special election observers in all states. These observers would watch the election process and 'check for incendiary campaign speeches, voter intimidation, vote-stealing and other tactics often associated with electoral violence'.
Seshan also clamped down on election spending. In 1994, he asked then Prime Minister to remove two of his sitting Cabinet ministers, then Welfare Minister Sitaram Kesari and Food Minister Kalpnath Rai, stating that they were involved in influencing voters and violating the conduct.
He had told India Today in an interview that the ministers had made a deliberate attempt to influence voters and that the “Executive cannot use its powers to influence voters like this.
Despite facing criticism from politicos over 'interference' in the workings of the government he stood by.
In 1996, Seshan was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay award for “his resolute actions to bring order, fairness, and integrity to elections in India.”
After retirement in 1997, he contested to be the President of India and lost to KR Narayanan.
