Episode 103 - EVM vs Ballot, Poll Violence, challenges from AI, Social media in Elections with OP Rawat

Om Prakash Rawat is a former Chief election commissioner and an IAS officer of the 1977 batch of Madhya Pradesh cadre. He served in Madhya Pradesh as well as at the Centre in various capacities before moving to Election commission in 2015 as an election commissioner and went in to become 22nd Chief Election in 2018 during which he supervised nine state assembly elections took place. In this edition of the ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Rawat talks about challenges faced by the Election Commission in conducting free and fair elections across the nation. He also talks about the why EVMs cannot be used in local body polls and risks attached to it and the controversy around EVMs and VVPAT. He also talks about the dark side of elections and the intricate money and muscle power which is used in elections and how AI and social media is going to emerge as a bigger challenge for poll body in future.