Former Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan passes away

12 Nov 2019

Former Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan passes away

Former Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan passes awayFormer Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan passed away on 10 November 2019 in Chennai. Leaders around the country condoled his passing and remembered his great contribution to democracy in India.

T.N. Seshan (15 December 1932 – 10 November 2019)

He was a civil servant who served in the IAS (Indian Administrative Service). Then he went on to serve as Cabinet Secretary and then, the 10th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India.
 	T.N. Seshan is primarily remembered for his role as CEC which transformed the Election Commission of India (ECI) and made it more independent.
 	He was the only one to hold the post for six years (from 1990 to 1996) in the last 50 years.
 	During his tenure, he identified more than a hundred electoral malpractices and reformed the election process.
 	Some of the reforms he implemented include enforcement of election code of conduct, Voter IDs for all eligible voters, limit on election candidates' expenditure, etc.
 	He also curbed many malpractices including bribing or intimidating voters, use of government funds and machinery for campaigning, appealing to voters' caste or communal feelings, etc

T.N. Seshan was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1996 for excellence in government service.

He was seen as a principled man, who did not bow down to political pressure and a 'hero to the masses'. All the reforms during his tenure helped the ECI become a strong pillar of democracy in India.

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Former Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan passed away on 10 November 2019 in Chennai. Leaders around the country condoled his passing and remembered his great […]

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