Can electoral reforms strengthen India’s democratic process?

Ever since the archetypal wide predetermination was held successful India successful 1951-52, the country’s electoral strategy has evolved and matured arsenic a effect of respective attempts towards electoral reforms, with one federation 1 election being the latest attempt. 

The electoral reforms question to uphold the integrity and transparency of the electoral strategy by creating an situation that is escaped from manipulation, wealth and musculus power, and aligned with antiauthoritarian values and principles of fairness and justice. 

Nonetheless, it was observed that aft independency immoderate governmental parties neglected cardinal issues successful the archetypal 3 wide elections and alternatively indulged successful spreading lies and misinformation. As a result, immoderate state fighters and galore others became disillusioned with the electoral process. 

Gandhian attack to politics 

In the 1950s, the prevalence of illiteracy, corruption, caste-based politics, booth capturing and deficiency of precocious exertion were immoderate of the challenges faced by institutions similar the Election Commission of India (ECI) successful enforcing predetermination rules.  

In the precocious 1970s, a question called “Sampoorna Kranti” oregon full gyration was launched to bring the country’s authorities backmost connected track. However, connected June 25, 1975, an Emergency was proclaimed, which lasted till March 21, 1977. This play highlighted how, contrary to the imaginativeness of the Constituent Assembly founders, statement and treatment were stifled successful autarkic India. 

Candidates seemed much funny successful securing seats successful the legislative assembly and parliament than successful addressing cardinal issues. The question remains: Do the candidates travel M.K. Gandhi’s ethics-based approach, wherever the means warrant the ends, oregon bash they follow Niccolo Machiavelli’s thought wherever the ends warrant the means? In bid to beforehand the Gandhian attack to politics, committees were formed to betterment the predetermination process successful India.

Electoral reforms since independence

The ECI attempted to code these issues and introduced changes successful the predetermination process specified arsenic the Model Code of Conduct.

a) Model Code of Conduct: According to the ECI’s book, Leap of Faith, the Model Code of Conduct was archetypal introduced during the 1960 Kerala Assembly elections erstwhile the authorities attempted to make a “code of conduct” for the governmental parties. The assemblage initially released the Model Code of Conduct nether the rubric “Minimum Code of Conduct” during the mid-term elections connected September 26, 1968. Since then, it has undergone respective revisions, with large updates made successful 1979, 1982, 1991, and 2013.

b) Committees and reports: Moreover, respective committees person been instrumental successful proposing reforms to code the challenges successful the electoral process. Some of the cardinal reports included those by the Tarkunde Committee (1975), the Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990), and the Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998). 

These committees recommended important reforms to guarantee escaped and just elections. Some of them person already been implemented specified arsenic mandating the disclosure of candidates’ financial, educational, and transgression backgrounds, lowering the voting property from 21 to 18, introducing physics voting machines (EVMs), and expanding security.  

However, contempt these reforms, the erstwhile Chief Election Commissioners person identified 4 large problems that proceed to impact India’s escaped and just elections.

These are the 4Ms, i.e. musculus power, wealth power, misinformation, and violations of the Model Code of Conduct.

Although these are not new, the question remains however person they continued to impact India’s elections contempt galore reforms? 

The Vohra Committee

The Vohra Committee, chaired by erstwhile Home Secretary N.N. Vohra, was established by the P.V. Narasimha Rao Government successful July 1993. The committee looked into the criminalisation of authorities and the connections betwixt Indian officials, politicians, and criminals. It submitted its study successful October 1993. The study highlighted however this web was moving a parallel government, and revealed the patronage criminals received from politicians crossed parties, arsenic good arsenic extortion from authorities functionaries. 

It was further revealed implicit the years that individuals with transgression backgrounds were elected to section bodies, authorities legislative assemblies, and adjacent Parliament. The web has affected India’s antiauthoritarian process, yet it’s been hard to dismantle it. 

Therefore, conscionable arsenic immoderate state fighters successful autarkic India felt disillusioned by the behaviour of governmental parties, a akin sentiment was besides seen among the voters. Mukulika Banerjee, an anthropologist and writer of Why India Votes? (2014), highlighted this feeling. She pointed retired that successful a state divided by societal inequality, predetermination time offers a uncommon acquisition of equality. 

According to Banerjee, “By pressing that button, I beryllium that I exist, adjacent if thing successful authorities argumentation seems to retrieve that radical similar maine exist.” The existent contented present is the religion successful democracy, which is threatened by the power of wealth successful the predetermination process. How tin the authorities efficaciously power the powerfulness of wealth successful elections?

T.N. Seshan’s reforms 

There are instances of electoral fraud. Musclemen would often seizure polling booths and worldly ballot boxes with votes marked successful the sanction of their candidates. Even today, determination are reports of elector intimidation, bribery, and bogus voting successful the sanction of individuals who are not physically present. Despite these challenges, it tin beryllium said that the wide religion successful the electoral process has grown, peculiarly owed to the efforts of T.N. Seshan, India’s 10th Chief Election Commissioner. 

Between 1990 and 1996, Seshan implemented galore electoral reforms that changed the look of Indian elections. He dispatched cardinal constabulary forces to polling stations to forestall ballot tampering, introduced elector photograph ID cards, enforced spending limits, and went aft politicians who attempted to bribe oregon intimidate voters. Seshan adjacent made candidates region amerciable electoral graffiti. 

Most importantly, helium asserted the autonomy of the ECI successful a mode nary commissioner had done before, adjacent though politicians accused him of arrogance and tried to undermine his authority. However, 1 cardinal contented remains: however has the expanding relation of wealth successful authorities affected the prime of candidates moving for nationalist office, and what risks does this airs to democracy?

State backing of elections

To code the contented of excessive predetermination spending, the Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) was formed. The committee projected authorities backing of elections, arguing that determination was “full justification — constitutional, legal, and successful the nationalist interest”—for the measurement to level the playing field, peculiarly for parties with constricted fiscal resources. The committee besides recommended 2 cardinal limitations connected authorities funding.

Firstly, authorities funds should lone beryllium provided to nationalist and authorities parties that person been allocated a awesome and not to autarkic candidates. Secondly, successful the abbreviated term, authorities backing should beryllium offered successful benignant – successful the signifier of circumstantial facilities to recognised governmental parties and their candidates – alternatively of nonstop monetary support. 

The committee besides noted that the economical concern of the state lone suited partial and not afloat authorities backing of elections. However, the 1999 Law Commission of India study concluded that full authorities backing of elections is “desirable” truthful agelong arsenic governmental parties are prohibited from taking funds from different sources. But the Commission besides concurred with the Indrajit Gupta Committee that lone partial authorities backing was imaginable fixed the economical conditions of the state astatine that time. 

Additionally, it powerfully recommended that an due regulatory model beryllium established for governmental parties, ensuring interior democracy, interior structures and the attraction and auditing of accounts, and submission to the ECI, earlier authorities backing of elections could beryllium considered. 

The study Ethics successful Governance of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2008) besides recommended partial authorities backing to trim “illegitimate and unnecessary funding” successful elections expenses. Similarly, the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2001) did not endorse authorities backing of elections but concurred with the 1999 Law Commission report, emphasising that the due model for the regularisation of governmental parties should archetypal beryllium successful spot earlier authorities backing is considered.

Electoral bonds 

Electoral bonds are bearer instruments announced successful 2017, and notified successful 2018 to cleanse the strategy of governmental funding. However, the anonymity of these bonds undermined the rule of transparency successful governmental finance, arsenic neither the donor nor the governmental enactment was required to uncover the root of funding. The deficiency of transparency near voters successful the acheronian astir the sources of backing that governmental parties usage to power elections. Therefore, the Supreme Court of India struck down the electoral bonds scheme of anonymous governmental backing earlier the 2024 wide elections.

In bid to displacement from the ‘ends warrant the means’ to the ‘means warrant the ends’ approach, governmental parties request to enactment the functioning of the ECI. Internal ideology wrong parties and transparent criteria for selecting candidates are indispensable parts of this process. Additionally, unfastened debates among governmental parties and contesting candidates whitethorn beryllium organised successful ways it happens successful countries similar the US. The ECI whitethorn besides larn from T. N. Seshan, who importantly reformed the predetermination process. 

However, with rising concerns implicit wealth power, the criminalisation of politics, and media influence, the question remains: Can electoral reforms genuinely make a level playing tract for each candidates, and what much needs to beryllium done to fortify India’s antiauthoritarian process/to reconstruct religion successful the antiauthoritarian process? 

Post Read Questions

How did the proclamation of the Emergency successful 1975 show a departure from the imaginativeness of unfastened statement and treatment successful autarkic India arsenic envisioned by the Constituent Assembly founders?

How has the Model Code of Conduct, initially introduced arsenic the “Minimum Code of Conduct” successful 1968, evolved implicit time, and what relation has it played successful promoting just elections successful India?

Briefly analyse the large electoral reforms implemented connected the ground of the recommendations of assorted committees.

The Vohra Committee study highlighted the nexus betwixt politicians, criminals, and authorities officials. Evaluate its interaction connected India’s antiauthoritarian system.

Evaluate the interaction of T.N. Seshan’s electoral reforms betwixt 1990 and 1996 connected the autonomy and functioning of the Election Commission of India.

(Dr. Madhukar Shyam is an Assistant Professor of Political Science astatine Christ (Deemed to beryllium University), Delhi NCR.)

Share your thoughts and ideas connected UPSC Special articles with ashiya.parveen@indianexpress.com.

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and enactment updated with the quality cues from the past week.

Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and travel america on Instagram and X.