Former chief election commissioner TN Seshan died last night in Chennai. Seshan, who held the post of chief election commissioner from 1990 to 1996, was well-known for his crusade against corruption and electoral malpractices, and his efforts to bring transparency into the electoral system.
While some newspapers did not carry the news of his death on their main pages as editions had already gone to print, online editions were filled with tributes to Seshan and his work.
The Indian Express had a tribute by former chief election commissioner SY Qureshi, headlined “He put fear of God in recalcitrant politicians, was respected by all… Good bye, Mr Seshan”. Qureshi wrote, “The awe and fear he evoked in us bordered on terror…He invoked fear in recalcitrant politicians’ hearts, respect in every Indian had the guts to argue with him, not to speak of falling foul of him. Yet, behind a tough exterior he had a soft heart.”
The piece added, “I have no hesitation in saying that all of his successor CECs basked in his glory, though we always carried the burden of being compared with him all the time.”
The Hindu‘s obituary called Seshan “an icon of the middle class as he was seen as a crusader against corruption and electoral malpractices”. “Despite facing a volley of criticism that he had exceeded his brief, Mr. Seshan had demonstrated to the outside world that his post was no pushover.”
The Hindu BusinessLine wrote: “Known for his no-nonsense attitude, Seshan was credited with ushering in major electoral reforms during his tenure as the 10th CEC between December 12, 1990, and December 11, 1996. Seshan, it was said, used to wield a big stick while enforcing the model code of conduct to reign in muscle and money power during elections.”
The New Indian Express‘s Chennai edition had a tribute just below the masthead on the front page. Headlined “Cleaned the poll process, made corrupt politicians quake”, the piece said: “Till Seshan got to head the poll panel, it was considered just a powerless arm of the government. It was under his watch that the Election Commission became a truly independent Constitutional authority with vast powers to hold free and fair elections. His crackdown on electoral corruption gave him a huge fan following while making politicians wary.”
The Delhi edition of The Times of India called Seshan “the man who gave EC teeth”. The story said, “TN Seshan elevated Nirvachan Sadan to the public profile it now enjoys as guardian of India’s electoral system…Seshan frequently clashed with the P V Narasimha Rao government and was outspoken in his comments, which was quite a difference from his stint as a senior IAS officer. His actions won him widespread public support.”
The Telegraph carried the news of Seshan’s death in small column space on the front page with a longer story on Page 3. It said Seshan “led the game-changing electoral reforms of the 1990s and ruthlessly enforced the model of conduct”. “The irascible Seshan…commands legendary status in Indian electoral history for the way he wielded the model code of conduct to bring unruly politicians to heel and curb the use of muscle and money in elections.”
Dainik Jagran had a small story on the bottom of the front page headlined “Former chief election commissioner TN Seshan dies”.
The Chennai edition of Deccan Chronicle had the news on the front page. It quoted Seshan’s speech while accepting the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1996: “I deemed this award a tribute to the process of democracy throughout the free world, to the wisdom of millions of India’s electorate not always necessarily formally educated, to the millions of Indian voters who have overcome disabilities of economic status, social disability, poverty, and prejudice to walk into the ballot booth and use that little marking stamp to decidedly say who they want to rule over them.”
