'An ingeniously Indian enterprise'

One critical contribution in the book is the author's focus on the "compromised fourth estate"

Every Vote Counts:

The Story of India’s Election

Navin Chawla 

HarperCollins, Rs 699, 376 pages

The author, who spent five years as member and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, has provided not only a detailed account of the actual problems the Election Commission (EC) faces when it manages elections but many rich insights and anecdotes drawn from his experiences.

He also discusses at some length the contradictions, tensions and conflicts within the EC, especially the problems that arose when the institution became a multi-member one in 1993. Mr Chawla will be remembered for the clash with then CEC N Gopalaswami in 2009, who recommended