Aditya Jain

In 2023, Assistant Professor @sabya_economist of Ashoka University authored a working paper titled “Democratic Backsliding in the World’s Largest Democracy” that scrutinized data from the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and suggested patterns consistent with electoral manipulation by the ruling BJP. The study highlighted two key areas: •Voter registration manipulation, including targeted deletion of Muslim voters from electoral rolls. •Turnout/counting irregularities, such as discrepancies in EVM vote tallies and unusually high turnout skewed toward the BJP in closely contested constituencies . Das noted these patterns were not definitive proof of fraud but were “consistent with” manipulation and recommended further detailed investigation . The paper sparked a heated debate: some academics, like Yogendra Yadav, praised its empirical rigor, while others raised concerns about the strength of the evidence and whether such patterns could be explained by other factors like better voter mobilization . The backlash was immediate. Ashoka University distanced itself from the research, emphasizing it was an unpublished working paper and did not reflect institutional views . Shortly thereafter, Das resigned (or was effectively compelled to leave) the university amid controversy. But i always believed he was right all along ! For those of you intellectually bent to read mathematics and data, research paper link in comment.