Prime
Minister of India had recommended holding of simultaneous Lok Sabha and
Assembly elections all over the country. The PM’s stand on the issue received
support from President recently when he said that there was an emerging idea
within the political parties that the elections should be held together and
that the Election Commission of India can put in their ideas and efforts on
holding the polls together.
President of India had also backed the same proposal
of joint elections at Prime Minister’s “MyGov” platform and sought the opinion
of the citizens, parliamentarians, members of Legislative Assembly and Council,
constitutional and academic experts and all other stakeholders to give their
views on the subject.
Elections in India
India is a constitutional democracy
with a parliamentary system of government, and at the heart of the system is a
commitment to hold regular, free and fair elections. These elections determine
the composition of the government, the membership of the two houses of
parliament, the state and union territory legislative assemblies, and the
Presidency and Vice-Presidency.
Elections are conducted according to
the constitutional provisions, supplemented by laws made by Parliament. The
major laws are Representation of the People Act, 1950, which mainly deals with
the preparation and revision of electoral rolls, the Representation of the
People Act, 1951 which deals, in detail, with all aspects of conduct of
elections and post election disputes. The Supreme Court of India has held that
where the enacted laws are silent or make insufficient provision to deal with a
given situation in the conduct of elections, the Election Commission has the
residuary powers under the Constitution to act in an appropriate manner.
Constituencies & Reservation of Seats
The country has been divided into 543
Parliamentary Constituencies, each of which returns one MP to the Lok Sabha,
the lower house of the Parliament. The size and shape of the parliamentary
constituencies are determined by an independent Delimitation Commission, which
aims to create constituencies which have roughly the same population, subject
to geographical considerations and the boundaries of the states and
administrative areas.
How are Constituency Boundaries drawn up?
Delimitation is the redrawing of the
boundaries of parliamentary or assembly constituencies to make sure that there
are, as near as practicable, the same number of people in each constituency. In
India boundaries are meant to be examined after the ten-yearly census to
reflect changes in population, for which Parliament by law establishes an
independent Delimitation Commission, made up of the Chief Election Commissioner
and two judges or ex-judges from the Supreme Court or High Court. However,
under a constitutional amendment of 1976, delimitation was suspended until
after the census of 2001, ostensibly so that states’ family-planning programs
would not affect their political representation in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas.
This has led to wide discrepancies in the size of constituencies, with the
largest having over 25,00,000 electors, and the smallest less than
50,000.Delimitation exercise, with 2001 census data released on 31st December
2003, is now under process.
System of Election
Elections to the Lok Sabha are
carried out using a first-past-the-post
electoral system. The country is split up into separate geographical areas, known as constituencies, and the
electors can cast one vote each for a candidate (although most candidates stand
as independents, most successful candidates stand as members of political
parties), the winner being the candidate
who gets the maximum votes.
Voters
The democratic system in India is
based on the principle of universal
adult suffrage; that any citizen over the age of 18 can vote in an election
(before 1989 the age limit was 21). The right to vote is irrespective of caste,
creed, religion or gender. Those who are deemed unsound of mind, and people
convicted of certain criminal offences are not allowed to vote.
Computerisation of Rolls
The electoral roll is a list of all people in the constituency who are
registered to vote in Indian Elections. Only those people with their names on
the electoral roll are allowed to vote. The electoral roll is normally revised
every year to add the names of those who are to turn 18 on the 1st January of
that year or have moved into a constituency and to remove the names of those
who have died or moved out of a constituency. In 1998 the Election Commission took a historic decision to
computerise the entire electoral rolls
of 620 million voters. This work has been completed and now well printed
electoral rolls are available. The photo identity card number of the voter has
also been printed in the electoral rolls, for cross linking.
Voter Education
Voters' Participation in the
democratic and electoral processes is integral to the successful running of any
democracy and the very basis of wholesome democratic elections. Recognising
this, Election Commission of India, in 2009, formally adopted Voter Education and Electoral participation
as an integral part of its election management.
Elections’ timings
Elections for the Lok Sabha
and every State Legislative Assembly have to take place every five years, unless called earlier. The President can dissolve
Lok Sabha and call a general election before five years is up, if the
government can no longer command the confidence of the Lok Sabha, and if there
is no alternative government available to take over.
Governments have found it
increasingly difficult to stay in power for the full term of a Lok Sabha in
recent times, and so elections have often been held before the five-year limit
has been reached. A constitutional amendment passed in 1975, as part of the
government declared emergency, postponed the election due to be held in 1976.
This amendment was later rescinded, and regular elections resumed in 1977.
Holding of regular elections
can only be stopped by means of a constitutional amendment and in consultation
with the Election Commission, and it is recognised that interruptions of regular elections are acceptable only in extraordinary
circumstances.
Scheduling the Elections
When the five-year limit is
up, or the legislature has been dissolved and new elections have been called,
the Election Commission puts into effect the machinery for holding an election.
The constitution states that there can be no longer than 6 months between the
last session of the dissolved Lok Sabha and the recalling of the new House, so
elections have to be concluded before then.
In a country as huge and
diverse as India, finding a period when elections can be held throughout the
country is not simple. The Election Commission, which decides the schedule for
elections, has to take account :
· Of the weather - during winter
constituencies may be snow-bound, and during the monsoon access to remote areas
restricted -, the agricultural cycle - so that the planting or harvesting of
crops is not disrupted.
·Of exam schedules - as schools are
used as polling stations and teachers employed as election officials.
· Of religious festivals and public
holidays.
·Of logistical difficulties that go
with holding an election - sending out ballot boxes or EVMs, setting up polling
booths, recruiting officials to oversee the elections.
The Commission normally
announces the schedule of elections in a major Press Conference a few weeks
before the formal process is set in motion. The Model Code of Conduct for
guidance of candidates and Political Parties immediately comes into effect
after such announcement. The formal process for the elections starts with the
Notification or Notifications calling upon the electorate to elect Members of a
House. As soon as Notifications are issued, Candidates can start filing their
nominations in the constituencies from where they wish to contest. These are
scrutinised by the Returning Officer of the constituency concerned after the
last date for the same is over after about a week. The validly nominated
candidates can withdraw from the contest within two days from the date of
scrutiny. Contesting candidates get at least two weeks for political campaign
before the actual date of poll. On account of the vast magnitude of operations
and the massive size of the electorate, polling is held at least on three days for
the national elections. A separate date for counting is fixed and the results
declared for each constituency by the concerned Returning Officer. The
Commission compiles the complete list of Members elected and issues an
appropriate Notification for the due Constitution of the House. With this, the
process of elections is complete and the President, in case of the Lok Sabha,
and the Governors of the concerned States, in case of State Legislatures, can
then convene their respective Houses to hold their sessions. The entire process
takes between 5 to 8 weeks for the national elections, 4 to 5 weeks for
separate elections only for Legislative Assemblies.
Indian Elections: Scale of Operation
Elections in India are events
involving political mobilisation and organisational complexity on an amazing
scale. In the 2004 election to Lok Sabha there were 1351 candidates from 6
National parties, 801 candidates from 36 State parties, 898 candidates
fromofficially recognised parties and 2385 Independent candidates. A total
number of 38,99,48,330 people voted out of total electorate size of
67,14,87,930. The Election Commission employed almost 4 million people to run
the election. A vast number of civilian police and security forces were
deployed to ensure that the elections were carried out peacefully.
Conduct of General Elections in India
for electing a new Lower House of Parliament (Lok Sabha) involves
management of the largest event in the world. The electorate exceeds 670
million electors in about 700000 polling stations spread across widely varying
geographic and climatic zones. Polling stations are located in the snow-clad
mountains in the Himalayas, the deserts of the Rajasthan and in sparsely
populated islands in the Indian Ocean.
Media Coverage
In order to bring as much
transparency as possible to the electoral process, the media are encouraged and
provided with facilities to cover the election, although subject to maintaining
the secrecy of the vote. Media persons are given special passes to enter
polling stations to cover the poll process and the counting halls during the
actual counting of votes.
Frequent Elections:
§ Frequent
elections affect governance as the government is trapped in short-term
thinking.
§ They
hamper long-term policymaking because every decision is seen as bait for votes.
Hence, to end this vicious cycle of elections,
§ It
also destabilises duly-elected governments and imposes a heavy burden on the exchequer.
§ It
also puts pressure on political parties, especially smaller ones, as elections
are becoming increasingly expensive.
§ The
Model Code of Conduct (MCC) which comes into force with the announcement of
poll dates, prevents government from announcing any new schemes, make any new
appointments, transfers and postings without the approval of election
commission. This brings normal work of the government to a standstill.
§ It
also increases the cost of management to the election commission.
§ The
massive expenditure that is currently incurred for the conduct of separate
elections.
§ It
leads to policy paralysis that results from the imposition of the Model Code of
Conduct during election time.
§ It impacts
delivery of essential services.
§ Burden
on crucial manpower that is deployed during election time.
Frequent Elections: Benefits
It
enhances accountability of elected representatives, keeps them on their toes.
Politicians, who tend to forget voters after the elections for five years have
to return to them.
§ These
give a boost to the economy at the grassroots level, creating work
opportunities for lakhs of people.
§ Also,
there are some environmental benefits also that flow out of the rigorous
enforcement of public discipline like non-defacement of private and public
property, noise and air pollution, ban on plastics, etc.
§ Local
and national issues are prevented from getting mixed up to distort priorities.
In voters’ minds, local issues overtake wider state and national issues.
§ Besides,
a staggered electoral cycle also acts as a check against demagoguery, fascism
and oligarchy, in that order.
§ It
also ensures that the mood of the nation at a particular moment does not hand
over political power across a three-tiered democratic structure to one
dispensation or individual. It gives people a chance to distinguish between the
national, state and local interests, rather than being swept away in a “wave”,
often manufactured by corporate media and the economic muscle of commercial
carpetbaggers.
Simultaneous Elections: Benefits
§ This
will help save public money.
§ It
will be a big relief for political parties that are always in campaign mode.
§ It
will allow political parties to focus more on policy and governance.
§ It
will deter policy paralysis from happening.
§ Even
if one party wins it will help in reaching concrete goals.
Concerns Associated With Simultaneous Elections
After
the Constitution came into being in 1950, elections to the Lok Sabha and all
state assemblies were held simultaneously in 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967 and all
the newly elected legislative bodies were constituted between March and April
in each of these years. But the premature dissolution of state assemblies in
subsequent years disturbed the cycle. In several instances, the Lok Sabha also
suffered the same fate. Therefore, some stakeholders fear that even if
elections are brought in sync, the cycle might once again get interrupted.
There is also the possibility of dismissal of state governments and premature
dissolution of assemblies.
In the first three elections, it was virtually one-party rule with
the Congress Party holding sway over the voters almost everywhere. However in
1967, the electorate dislodged the Congress in a few states and voted in
unstable coalitions. A couple of these governments collapsed ahead of time in
the late 1960s, thus marginally disrupting the arrangement of simultaneous
elections to the Lok Sabha and all the state assemblies.
However,
the real damage was done in 1970, when early dissolution of the Fourth Lok Sabha
took place. Since then, the arrangement of simultaneous elections has come to
an end and over a period of time, the country has got into a vicious cycle of
elections which has begun to hurt governance in a big way.
Difficulties in Holding Simultaneous Elections
§ The
biggest challenge is achieving political consensus, which seems to be
“chimerical”.
§ Regional
parties will be more opposed to the idea than national parties because there is
always a tendency for voters to vote the same party in power in the state and
at the Centre in case the Lok Sabha polls and the state elections are held
together.
§ Also,
according to IDFC, there is a 77% chance that the Indian voter will vote for
the same party for both the state and Centre when elections are held simultaneously.
§ Also,
deploying high amount of manpower at the same time is big task.
§ Also, similar breaking of sync as happened in late 1960s can happen and
deter the whole spirit.
§ Voters will also not get time to assess the performance of parties and party-men.
Analysis
Empirically,
this will hit the fundamentals of federal democracy. There are four
fundamentals on which democracy thrives which are majority rule, recognition of minority rights, constitutional government
and the most important governance by discussion. This is precisely the
reason why there is an institution of Parliament and processes like zero hour,
question hour, adjournment motion etc. The collective consciousness of Indian society even till today is not
logical that it can vote only on the basis of development. Had
development been the sole factor in determining which party people should vote
for, then the scenario would have been different.
There
is no denying on the fact that Indian electorate functions on waves. Political
science theory suggests that in a semi-literate society, rational democracy
takes a back seat, emotive issues suddenly crop up covering the rational
considerations. Naturally, a Government at the Centre will always like that
there should be simultaneous elections.
In
1967, 10 states had different Governments other than Congress for the first
time. There were coalition governments and the same got replicated at the
Centre also i.e. the “Aaya Ram Gaya Ram” culture in 1990s. We have a federal
structure of Government because the Indian society is varied in terms of
region, language etc. The issue of
moral turpitude cannot be countered by legislation. Anti- Defection Law
was brought into existence in 1985 for the first time. Nowhere across the
thriving democracies of the world, this law exists. In 2003 again, through 91st Amendment,
this law was made more stringent. But still, the problem of defection is
there. Now, if there are
simultaneous elections, defection might increase based on the presumption which
party might win the election.
Alternative Process
An
alternative and practicable method is holding elections in two phases.
Elections of some assemblies can be held at mid-term of Lok Sabha and remaining
with the end of tenure of Lok Sabha. For this, the terms of some legislative
assemblies may need to be extended while some of them may need to be curtailed.
In
order to achieve this, the tenure of the existing state assemblies will have to
be curtailed or extended by some months. In any case, the Election Commission
is empowered by the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to call an election
six months prior to the end of the normal term of the Lok Sabha or any state
assembly.
There
is a need to do away with the toppling a government. Instead of no confidence,
there should be a confidence motion in which the party remains the same, only
the person concerned is removed and a new face comes in. In this way, going for
simultaneous elections might serve a better purpose.
Election Commission’s Response
The
EC believes this is a doable proposition, provided certain legislative changes
are made and infrastructure strengthened. In the EC’s view, the Constitution
needs to be amended for elections to be held at one go. The
Election Commission estimates that the Lok Sabha and state polls cost around
Rs.4500 crore in 2004. The considered view is that the simultaneous elections
will not only keep alive the enthusiasm of the voters but will also lighten the financial and administrative
strain on the Government and improve governance. The Election
Commission said that it is not impossible to implement the idea of simultaneous
election if there is a political consensus and will across the board.
As
far as the idea is concerned, it looks very forward looking, economic and
rational.
Niti Aayog’s Response
In a
recent report, the NITI Aayog has debated the key challenges cited against the
motion: Would it be feasible to extend or curtail the existing terms of some
State Assemblies to facilitate simultaneous elections? If elections are held
simultaneously, what would happen in case the ruling party or coalition loses
majority between terms, in the Lok Sabha or State assemblies? Should the term
of the Lok Sabha and Assemblies be fixed? Is it feasible for the EC to conduct elections
on such a massive scale?
Way Ahead:
Although
it may not be immediately possible to move towards simultaneous elections, it
is still worth debating and finding ways to eventually do so. The problem of
premature dissolution has diminished significantly after the passage of the
anti-defection law and the Supreme Court’s landmark Bommai judgement.
The terms of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies would need to
coincide — commence and expire on a particular date and not necessarily on the
date when they complete five years. The situation arising out dissolution of
the Lok Sabha/Assembly would have to be considered. By-polls need to be accommodated.
Most critical of all would be taken of regional parties in letting go of a
discourse based on local issues. The onus lies on political parties to arrive
at a consensus.
Conclusion
One
India, One election is an interesting concept but whether it will decrease the
evils that the nation/government wants to get rid of needs to be debated
thoroughly. To be sure, there are multiple issues that will need to be
addressed if the country intends to move in this direction. The concerns and suggestions of different
stakeholders will have to be debated in order to build political consensus
around the idea. That said, the proposal will not only have economic
benefits but will free up precious political space for policy discussions. It
will also help in taking forward the process of economic reforms as decisions
will not always be hostage to assembly elections.
If
the concept of toppling of government is done away with, the regional
parties and some other parties might not support this concept because they know
that in next 5 years public perception might change and people may prefer one
party over the other
However, it should be considered that
elections reflect the current mood of the nation. If there is a Government
which is elected at the Centre five years ago or so, it does not reflect the
immediate mandate while the State elections do so. Separate election is a much
stronger method to know the public opinion from time to time in a democracy on
major issues. When a State goes for election of its Legislative Assembly at the
same time when general elections are happening, there are chances that the
results roughly mirror general elections. Because of this, the Rajya Sabha
which is a representation of States at the Centre acting as a check on Lok Sabha
might have a dominance of the members of the same party at the Centre.
No
doubt, conducting concurrent elections is a humongous logistical task in terms
of deployment of personnel, EVMs and other material. But the time has come to
make a beginning and ensure political and administrative stability both at the
Central and State levels for the country to march unhindered on the path to
progress. Once a political consensus is built on the issue, constitutional
amendments could be put in place for fixed tenure of the legislative bodies and
the process kick-started.
