For democratic theory, elections are necessary, but not sufficient. Elections alone cannot be equated with democracy. Democracy is measured by a composite index. The overall judgement depends partly on elections, and partly on what the elected governments do between elections.
Democratic theory lays out two kinds of post-election requirements: One pertains to institutional constraints on the executive, another to civil liberties. Is the power of the executive checked by the legislature and/or judiciary? Are citizens free to speak? Are they free to organise and protest? - https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/elected-government-death-of-democracy-india-7200030/ ...India’s democratic exceptionalism is now withering away. Democracies do not charge peaceful protestors with sedition, do not have religious exclusionary principles for citizenship, do not curb press freedoms by intimidating dissenting journalists and newspapers, do not attack universities and students for ideological non-conformity, do not browbeat artists and writers for disagreement, do not equate adversaries with enemies, do not celebrate lynch mobs, and do not cultivate judicial servility.