Elections are the crucible where democratic credentials of a country are put to test. In a few months from now, we are going to witness assembly elections in many states. Holding free and fair elections is perhaps more important than the result itself. After all, the result in a democracy is nothing, as the cynics quip, but the tyranny of the majority.

Elections are instruments of accountability, whether at the local level or at the parliamentary level. We could tire from the unending stream of high-decibel electioneering in India, but it is true that the one thing that scares our lawmakers is our power to vote them out. And that power will be exercised, one way or the other, in the next six to eight months in Gujarat, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura. Waiting in line are Delhi and Rajasthan where assembly elections will be held by the end of next year.