Elections in India
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Elections in India are more than a process of voting someone to rule the nation. Since independence, elections in India have evolved a long way, but all along elections have been a significant cultural aspect of Independent India. It is more like a festival, an indication of jubilance, a show of loyalty, a change of power, and above all ensuring the importance of the individual in a democracy, the voter. From massive media coverage elections in India are very interesting to follow.
In 2004, Indian elections covered a electorate larger than 670 million people - over twice that of the next largest, the European Parliament elections - and declared expenditure has trebled since 1989 to almost $300 million, using more than 1 million electronic voting machines, making elections in India no small exercise. [1]
It is a very elaborate process, that the size of the huge electorate mandates the elections to be conducted in a number of phases (there were four phases in 2004 General Elections). It involves a number of step-by-step processes from announcement of election dates by the Election Commission of India, which brings into force the 'model code of conduct' for the political parties, to the announcement of results and submission of the list of successful candidates to the executive head of the state or the centre. The submission of results mark the end of the election process, thereby paving way for the formation of the new government.
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[edit] Indian Electoral System
India has at the federal level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The President of India is elected for a five year term by an electoral college consisting of members of federal and state legislatures. Parliament has two chambers. The House of the People (Lok Sabha) has 545 members, 543 members elected for a five year term in single-seat constituencies and 2 members appointed to represent the Anglo-Indian community. The two unelected members are a relic from the past. . The 543 members are elected under the plurality ('first past the post') electoral system.
The House of the States (Rajya Sabha) has 245 members, 233 members elected for a six year term, with one third retiring every two years. The members are elected by legistators of the state and union (federal) territories. The elected members are chosen under the system of proportional representation by means of the Single Transferable Vote. The twelve nominated members are usually an eclectic mix of eminent artists (including actors), scientists, jurists, sportspersons, businessmen and journalists.
[edit] History of elections in India
The first general elections were conducted in India in 1951, for 489 constituencies representing 26 Indian states. At that time, there were a few two-seat and even a three-seat constituency. The multi-seat constituencies were discontinued in the 1960s.
[edit] History of political parties
The dominance of the Indian National Congress was broken for the first time in 1977, with the defeat of the party led by Indira Gandhi, by an unlikely coalition of all the major other parties, which protested against the imposition of a controversial Emergency from 1975-1977. . A similar coalition, led by VP Singh was swept to power in 1989 in the wake of major allegations of corruption by the incumbent Prime-Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. It too lost its steam in 1990.
In 1992, the heretofore one-party-dominant politics in India gave way to a coalition system wherein no single party can expect to achieve a majority in the Parliament to form a Government, but rather has to depend on a process of coalition building with other parties to form a bloc and claim a majority to be invited to form the Government. This has been a consequence of strong regional parties which ride on the back of regional aspirations. While parties like the TDP and the DMK had traditionally been strong regional contenders, the 1990s saw the emergence of other regional players such as the Lok Dal, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Janta Dal. These parties are traditionally based on regional aspirations, e.g. Telengana Rastra Samiti or strongly influenced by caste considerations, e.g. Bahujan Samaj Party which claims to represent the Dalits.
Presently, the United Progressive Alliance led by the Congress Party is in power, while the National Democratic Alliance forms the opposition.
[edit] Powers of Election Commission
The elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India, the authority created under the Constitution. It is a well established convention that once the election process commences, no courts intervene until the results are declared by the election commission. During the elections, vast powers are assigned to the election commission to the extent that it can function as a civil court, if needed.
[edit] Electoral Process
Electoral Process in India takes at least a month for state assembly elections with the duration increasing further for the General Elections, . Publishing of electoral rolls is a key process that happens before the elections and is vital for the conduct of elections in India. Indian Constitution set the eligibility of an individual for voting. Any person, who is a citizen of India, and above 18 years of age is eligible to enroll as a voter in the electoral rolls. It is the responsibility of the eligible voters to enroll their names. Normally, voter registrations are allowed one week prior to the last date for nomination of candidates.
[edit] Pre elections
Before the elections, the election commission announces the dates of nomination, polling and counting. The model code of conduct comes in force from the day the dates are announced. The code of conduct specifies that the central and state governments cannot announce any major sops to the electorate to prevent any unfair swings in the voting pattern. No party is allowed to use the government resources for campaigning. . The code of conduct stipulates that campaigning be stopped 48 hours prior to polling day.
[edit] Voting Day
Campaigning ends the day before the voting day. Government schools and colleges are chosen to be the polling stations. The day of the elections is declared a holiday and all liquor shops and bars are shut down. The Collector of each district is in charge of polling. Government servants are employed to many of the polling stations. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are being increasingly used instead of ballot boxes to prevent election fraud via booth capturing, which is heavily prevalent in certain parts of India. An indelible ink manufactured by the Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited is applied usually on the left index finger of the voter as an indicator that the voter has cast his vote. This practice has been followed since the 1962 general elections and prevents bogus voting.
[edit] Post elections
a fewAfter the election day, the EVMs are stored in a strong room under heavy security. After the different phases of the elections are complete, a day is set to count the votes. The votes are tallied and typically, the verdict is known within hours. The candidate who has mustered the most votes is declared the winner of the constituency.
The party or coalition that has won the most seats is invited by the President to form the new government. The coalition or party must prove its majority in the floor of the house (Lok Sabha) in a vote of confidence by obtaining a simple majority (minimum 50%) of the votes in the House.
[edit] The culture
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[edit] Elections as of now
Indian general elections, 2004
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[edit] The Electoral Reforms
Proposed Electoral Reforms by Election Commission of India
http://eci.gov.in/PROPOSED_ELECTORAL_REFORMS.pdf
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[edit] Further reading
- Subrata K. Mitra and V.B. Singh. 1999. Democracy and Social Change in India: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the National Electorate. New Delhi: Sage Publications. ISBN 81-7036-809-X (India HB) ISBN 0-7619-9344-4 (U.S. HB).
- Subrata K. Mitra, Mike Enskat, Clemens Spiess (eds.). 2004. Political Parties in South Asia. Greenwood: Praeger.
- Subrata K. Mitra/Mike Enskat/V.B. Singh. 2001. India, in: Nohlen, Dieter (Ed.). Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook. Vol. I. Oxford: Oxford University Press
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Indian General Election Expenditure, from ECI Website accessed 14 May 2006.
[edit] External links
- Adam Carr's Election Archive
- BBC Feature: Indian Elections 1999
- Election Commision of India
- IndiaElects
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