Who runs the Election Commission? Three questions at the heart of the dissent row

This week, we are tracking:Two against one, and a server: Who really runs the EC?Trump-Xi meet and Thucydides Trap: The world has turned ChineseNoel vs Chandra: Who will say the final tata?Two golds and a growing tally: India’s Nagoya story so farWho runs the Election Commission? Three questions at the heart of the dissent rowElection Commission is staring at a credibility crisis. The Indian Express report has raised many pertinent questions.Who actually takes decisions inside the EC?As per the IE report, election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months. These objections were mainly regarding the Special Intensive Revision, voter registration, deletion and restoration of names and control over the electoral-roll database.The EC, in its reply, said: Differences and written observations are normal parts of deliberation and all final decisions over the past year were unanimous.The CEC may be called “Chief”, but legally the Election Commission is a three-member body. Decisions are supposed to be taken unanimously “as far as possible”.Who controls the machinery that controls the voter list?Sandhu and Joshi reportedly questioned whether Electoral Registration Officers had sufficient access and control over ERONet/ECINet. One reported Goa case involved 97 people whom local officials found eligible but who could not immediately be restored because the software lacked the necessary functionality.The EC says centralised digital controls are necessary to prevent unauthorised manipulation and protect database security.Who gets to appoint the umpires?Under the 2023 law, the CEC and Election Commissioners are recommended by a committee consisting of the PM, the leader of opposition and a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the PM.Challenges to the new system are now back before the Supreme Court. On September 23, a two-judge bench split over how the challenge should proceed, with the issue now set to go before a larger bench.What’s nextWhether the issue is appointments, internal decision-making or voter-list software, election administration depends not merely on legal power but on public confidence in how that power is exercised.That is the real debate the EC row has opened up.Read more:When the umpires disagree: 10 questions at the heart of the Election Commission row'Nothing to do with SIR row': EC on postponement of Gyanesh Kumar's outreach programmes in UPEC may order SSR of rolls in Oct for poll-bound statesNoel vs Chandra: Who gets the final say at Tata Sons?Tata Sons on September 24 formally rejected Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata's objection to N Chandrasekaran's reappointment as chairman. The company said the board resolution of September 17 was passed by a majority and followed its Articles of Association.Another vote awaitsThere is a second decision ahead. Shareholders do not have to approve Chandrasekaran’s chairmanship directly, but they must vote on his reappointment as a director at Tata Sons’ annual general meeting. With its controlling stake, Tata Trusts will carry considerable weight there.The listing dilemmaThe leadership fight is tied to a harder question: Must Tata Sons list on the stock market?Tata Trusts opposes a listing, arguing that it would alter a structure in which a charity controls the group and funds its work from dividends. The board agreed to examine ways to comply with RBI rules.The shareholder seeking an exitThe Shapoorji Pallonji group owns about 18.4% of Tata Sons and wants a way to turn part of that holding into cash. It supports a potential listing.Bigger question: This is much bigger than Tata. Our corporate system remains heavily promoter-driven. But modern governance increasingly insists that ownership, board control and management need not be the same thing. So if a promoter owns most of a company, how much right should that confer to control its board?The Tata question now is whether those interests can be reconciled inside the company, or whether a court must settle who has the final say.Read more:Tata Sons tells Noel Tata Chandrasekaran reappointment was legally validN Chandrasekaran's real vote test: Tata Sons AGM, not boardroomEx-CJI, more legal experts back Tata Sons on Chandra's reappointmentTata Sons board unanimous on panel for RBI complianceTrump at the tarmac: When China rules the world“When China rules the world”: Martin Jacques wrote this book in 2012. When this happens, Jacques argued that the world would become more Chinese.It has finally happened. We are living in a Chinese world. Otherwise, who would have thought that an American President would go the airport to receive his Chinese counterpart. But this is what Donald Trump did on September 23 when he went to Joint Base Andrews to personally receive Chines President Xi Jinping.The pageantry was a giveaway of the changing power equations. “For a fleeting moment the changing balance of the US-China relationship was captured not in a joint communique, but in a visual metaphor. As American bombers roared overhead in a flypast intended to wow the visitor, it was Trump who winced, while Xi watched impassively — an unintended piece of geopolitical choreography more eloquent than any statement,” Chidanand Rajghatta wrote in the TOI.All this is happening because Xi is holding a “Trump card” over the US. Xi played this card during the tariff war.Trump is looking for a way out of the Iran war. As per a WSJ report, China is providing military help to Iran. It’s shipping components to be used in drones and missiles.China is increasingly defying US sanctions on Iran. But Trump can’t afford to act against China. Trump is also withholding arms sale to Taiwan to keep Xi in good humour.Thucydides TrapXi called for greater cooperation between US and China to avoid the “Thucydides Trap”. By invoking “Thucydides Trap” again, Xi made it clear that China is equal to US and is on an upward curve. The onus is on the US to accommodate China and not the vice-versa.Read more:Xi Jinping tests Donald Trump with 'Thucydides Trap''Bigger deal' on table: US, China extend trade truce by two months as Xi visits Washington'Let's race, not wrestle': 5 takeaways as Trump-Xi navigate trade, Taiwan and AIWho holds the leverage? Five cards Trump and Xi bring to the tableIndia’s Asian Games medals keep climbing: Where is the gold rush?The medal count is climbing, but India’s Asian Games campaign has a pressing question: How many podium finishes can become gold?By Friday morning at Aichi-Nagoya, India had 19 medals: 2 gold, 8 silver and 9 bronze.Cricket sets the pace: The women’s team retained its title with a 147-run win over Sri Lanka. Then Kamaljeet and Suruchi Singh won the 10m air pistol mixed-team event, ending shooting’s wait for gold after a string of close calls.The Hangzhou test: India won a record 106 medals, including 28 gold, in 2023. Nagoya has already produced breakthroughs across sports, alongside a frustrating list of fourth places.We are adding medals every day, but matching Hangzhou will depend on winning more golds before the Games close on October 4.Read more:India one step away from defending kabaddi gold medals as men and women storm into finalsIndia's medal tally hits 20; Manush Shah, Diya Chitale win mixed doubles table tennis bronze'15 years ... I waited for long': Krishna Jayasankar set for her India moment at Asian GamesEditor’s picks - Some of our most and must-read articles:Two years ago Sensex hit lifetime high: What went wrong after that & what’s the road ahead?Your evidence may be on CCTV. The problem is getting it in timeCan Pakistan afford to be the Muslim world's 'security guard'?How both underweight and overweight people are increasing in IndiaAs iPhone upgrades get costlier, how trade-ins and financing options are 'changing'Disclaimer: Views expressed above are the author's own.