Ch3: Electoral Politics

Assembly Elections in Haryana:

● 1987 - Chaudhary Devi Lal formed a new party against the congress (which was then
leading the government), called Lok Dal
● In his election manifesto he promised to waive off loans of farmers and small businesses
● Lok Dal and its partners ended up winning 75/90 seats in the elections. Lok Dal itself
won 60 seats. Congress only won 5 seats.
● Devi Lal became the chief minister and waived of the loans
● Lok Dal ruled for four years, however, they lost to the congress in the 1991 electiona

Why do we need elections:

● In a democracy, people choose their representatives so that they can rule on their behalf
● Elections are held so that people can choose their representatives who will rule
according to the wish of the people, and remove them if they do not do so
● In an election, the people can choose who will make the laws, who the government will
comprise and whose policies should be followed

Features of a democratic election:

● Everyone should have the vote and every vote should be equal in value
● Voters should have real and fair choices
● Elections must be held in a free and fair manner
● The person elected by the people must be appointed
● Elections should be conducted regularly

Disadvantages of Political competition:

● It creates disunity in every locality
● It causes parties to use corrupt methods to win
● It scares off capable candidates who do not want to get involved in unhealthy
competition
● Political leaders are motivated by power
● However, even if they are motivated by power, they are forced to rule according to the
people’s wishes, because if the fail to do so they will lose the elections and lose all their
power

Indian election system:

● By elections: Elections held for one constituency to fill the vacancy caused by the
death/resignation of a member
● At the national level, we have the Lok Sabha (House of Parliament). It has 543 seats,
thus the nation is divided into 543 constituencies and a representative is elected from
each constituency. These elected representatives then become a Member of Parliament
(MP)
● At the state level, we have the Vidhan Sabha. Each state is divided into smaller
constituencies and a representative is elected from each constituency. These
representatives then become a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA)
● At the town/village level, we have the Panchayat or the municipality. The town/village is
divided into small wards, and each ward selects a representative that becomes part of
the panchayat
● Reserved constituencies:
➔ There are reserved sections of the parliament for weaker sections of society such
as the Scheduled Castes (SC) or the Scheduled Tribes (ST)
➔ In the Lok Sabha, there are 84 seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 47
seats reserved for the Scheduled Trbes
➔ In some Panchayats, there are seats reserved for Other Backwards Classes
(OBC) and Women candidates
● Voters List:
➔ Before every election, a list of everyone who is over the age of 18 and thus
eligible to vote is made and sent to everyone
➔ It is officially called the Electoral roll and commonly called the voters list
➔ In rare cases, some criminals or people with unsound minds are not allowed to
vote
➔ The list is revised every five years to add the names of people who have come of
age, and to deletes those of the people who have passed away or moved to a
different country
➔ Election Photo Identification Card (EPIC) is a new system introduced as identity
proof but it is not yet compulsory. Drivers license etc. can be used as identity
proof
● Nomination of Candidates:
➔ Every candidate that is eligible to vote is also eligible to contest, given that they
are 25 or above
➔ In extreme cases some criminals or people with unsound minds are not allowed
to contest
➔ Political parties can nominate their candidates who get the party’s symbol and
support. This is known as a party ticket.
➔ Every candidate must fill out a nomination form and give some money as security
deposit
➔ Every candidate must make a legal declaration of:-
❖ Pending criminal cases against them
❖ Assets and liabilities
❖ Educational Qualifications
● Election campaign:
➔ Election campaigns are held as a discussion of whose party will make a good
government and what is a good policy
➔ Campaigns take place over the two weeks between the final candidates list and
the polling day
 ➔ During this time candidates gather and address their supporters, political leaders
have election meetings and mobilise their supporters
➔ Political parties try to attract focus to their campaign by addressing big public
issues and promising to solve them
➔ Some strong slogans are:
1. Garibi Hatao: Lok Sabha Elections, Congress Party, Indira Gandhi, 1971
2. Save democracy : Lok Sabha Elections, Janta Party, Jay Prakash
Narayan, 1977
3. Land to the tiller: West bengal assembly elections, Left Front, 1977
4. Protect the self respect of the telegus: Andhra pradesh assembly
elections, Telegu Desam Party, T. Rama Rao, 1983

➔ Election Law:
No party can:
1. Bribe or threaten voters
2. Appeal in the name of religion or caste
3. Use government resources for campaigns
4. Spend more than 25 lakhs on a constituency for lok sabha elections and
10 lakhs for assembly elections
If these are violated, their election can be rejected by the court even if they have
already been appointed
According to the model code of conduct, no party can:
1. Use places of worship for party propaganda
2. Use government vehicles, officials etc for elections
3. Once elections are announced, ministers shall not lay foundation stones
of any big projects/make big promises

● Polling and counting of votes:

➔ Election day - people go to polling booths (usually set up in a local school or
government building), are identified by election officials, and go inside to give
their vote.
➔ An agent of each candidate/party is allowed to be inside the polling booth to
ensure a fair conduction of voting
➔ Earlier voting was done by stamping a ballot with the name of the candidates,
their party symbol etc
➔ Now EVM (electronic voting machines) are used to cast votes. Voters just have
to press the button corresponding with the name of the candidate they’d like to
vote for
➔ The candidate with the highest vote is elected

What makes elections in India Democratic?

● Elections in India are conducted by an Election Commission.
● The Chief election commissioner is selected by the president, but after appointment, he
is not answerable to the government, and cannot be removed by it
 ● The CEC takes care of:
➔ Every aspect of elections
➔ Implementing the model code of conduct
➔ Can order the government to follow guidelines to prevent misuse of power to
enhance chances of winning
➔ Can reprimand the government
➔ On election day, government officials work under the CEC not the government
➔ Can order a repoll if he believes elections were unfair

● Popular participation also proves that elections are democratic, as if they were not
conducted in a fair manner, people would not participate in the activity
● Participation is measured using voter turnout figures, which indicate the % of eligible
voters who actually cast their vote
● In Europe and North America, the turnout figures have decreased whereas in india they
have remained stable or gone up
● In India, the poor and illiterate population tends to cast votes more, whereas the rich and
privileged population do not cast votes very often
● In US the underprivileged minorities do not cast votes often and votes are cast more
frequently by rich white people
● Interest of voters in election related activity has been increasing

● Acceptance of election outcomes:

➔ Ruling party’s in India usually lose elections in India. 2/3rd of elections in India
have been lost by the ruling party in the past 25 years
➔ The US - the current elected representatives (incumbents) tend to win elections
➔ Candidates who bought votes and have known criminal connections lose
➔ Elections results are usually accepted by the losing party

Challenges to a free and fair election:

● Use of money or muscle power to gain advantage
● Domination by influential families
● Low scope of participation by smaller parties and independent candidates
● Limited variety of choice to voters