Election System in India

In a vast country like India which has an enormous population, it is never possible for all the people to gather and take decisions. So, the need for elections arise. India is the largest democratic country in the world. Since independence, a strong basis for democratic values was laid, by the elections. The Election Commission of India conducts elections in our country. This Commission frames a Code of Conduct to the political parties. It declares the results of the elections and submits to the central or state authority concerned. By this, it becomes easy to form the government.

Ballot Box

The Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India came into existence on 25 January 1950. This is an autonomous constitutional body. With its authority, it prepares electoral roles and conducts elections to Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State legislative bodies, the President and the Vice President.

Autonomous status for Election Commission

It is very difficult to conduct elections in India because of a huge population. During the British rule, only 14% of the population had right to vote in the elections. At the time of first General Elections in 1952, there were 17.32 crore voters. At present, the number of voters is above 67 crores. For such a country, the Election Commission conducts elections with the help of about 45 lakh staff.

Election Commission logo

The Chief Election Commissioner

The Chief Election Commissioner is the head of the Election Commission of India. The constitution guarantees certain powers to the Chief Election Commissioner to conduct elections for central and state legislatures in a smooth and a fair manner. Usually, he/she is from Indian Civil Services. His/her tenure is 6 years or up to 65 years of age, whichever is earlier.

In Indian political system, the Election Commission has been playing an important role. After T.N. Seshan (1990

1996) assumed the office, the Election Commission earned a considerable popularity. He took much initiation for the eradication of corruption in the elections of India. There was a nationwide recognition to the powers of the Election Commission.

Functions of  the Election Commission

Article 324 to 329, part 15 of the constitution states the formation, powers and functions of the Election Commission. The constitution gives some powers to the Election Commission to conduct elections. The functions are classified as

1.Administrative functions

2.Advisory functions and

3.Quasi judicial functions.

Under these functions, the Election Commission prepares electoral rolls, revises them in due time, demarcation of constituencies  and their territorial limit as per the Delimitation Commission.  It announces  the schedule of elections, receives nominations, scrutinises, finalises the polling dates, gives recognition to the political parties and allots the symbols to them.  It frames and implements the code of conduct to be followed by the parties during elections. It appoints the enquiry officers to observe electoral mall practices.

Political parties in Elections

A political party is formed when it has a written code of conduct and registers at the Election Commission. The party symbols can be alloted by the Elections Commission based on the mandet in the elections, parties are declared by Elections Commission regional or national parties. In a state, if a party wins 3% of valid votes are 3 Assembly seats, it is declarad as a regional party. A party can be recognized in more than one state.

Elections - The code of conduct

The Election Commission announces the schedule of  election. Since then, the model code of conduct comes into effect. According to this, all the people and the candidates contesting the elections shall abide by the rules and regulations of the Election Commission. Violation of these rules and regulations is treated as malpractices for which disciplinary action shall be initiated.

Key points of Code of Conduct

1.The contesting candidates and political parties shall not make any statements pertaining to caste, creed, religion, or regional, while criticizing other parties.

2.No personal comments shall be made that are not relevant to political life. 3. No political announcements targeting a caste or religion shall be made.

4.In places, such as churches, mosques, temples, other holy places, educational institutions, no candidate should canvas/campaign.

5.No candidates shall influence the voters either by giving cash or any articles.

6.No voter shall be used to cast his/her vote in other’s identity.

7.No campaigning within 100 mtrs on the day of polling.

8.There should be no campaigning after or before the permitted hours.

9.No political party shall either get voters to the polling station or drop the voters from the polling station.

10.Every one has the right to lead a peaceful life. Taking out rallies in the residential areas and picketing is against the rules.

11.Hosting party flags, tying banners and writing on the walls, pasting posters on the houses are not allowed without permission.

Conducting Rallies and Public Gatherings

1.The political parties shall obtain prior permission from the local police to conduct public gathering. They should inform the police about the place of gathering and it’s time. So that the police could make arrangements to protect law and order and regularize the traffic movement.

2.The contesting candidates shall find out if any prior instructions are there in the place where they are planning to hold public gathering while entering the prohibited areas shall strictly follow the rules.

3.They must take prior permission to use loudspeakers. If any one obstructs to the conduct of public gathering, they shall not directly attack instead inform the police.

On the day of  Polling

1.The polling personnel shall make all the arrangements to the voters to cast their vote in a democratic and peaceful atmosphere.

2.Leaders of all political parties shall cooperate the polling staff to discharge their duties.

3.The polling agents sitting in the polling booths shall be issued identify cards. The names or the party symbol shall not be on these cards.

4.The campaigning should end before 48 hours of polling day. SMS’s also prohibited, alcohol shall not be distributed.

5.Neither the contesting candidate nor the supporters shall gather in large number near the polling booths.

6.There shall not be any posters, flags, symbols and election material in the camps. Any kind food shall not be kept in the camps.

Votes in Queen

Ruling party at the time of elections

There is a chance to the ruling party to influence the voters by misusing the power. In order to check this, the Election Commission has laid down some rules and regulations. They are:

1.The ruling party leaders shall not misuse the power, they should not use bureaucracy for party related works.

2.Their official visits and party related visits shall not be mingled.

3.They should not use government vehicles for campaigning.

4.If more than three security vehicles are used in campaigning, it should be shown in poll expenditure

5.The movement the election schedule is issued, the election expenditure will come into force.

6.The public properties like government buildings, offices, places shall not be used for campaigning by any party.

7.No advertisements of the government schemes shall be given either in print media or in electronic media.

8.Before giving announcements on TV, the political parties  shall obtain permission of the Election Commission.

9.After the election notification is issued, the ruling government shall not release any grants, make payments, issue new schemes. They should not start any new projects or give any kind of promise.

Conduct of elections at various levels

The Chief Electoral Officer at the state level assists the Election Commission of India. He/She is appointed by the Election Commission of India, after consulting the state government concerned. This post doesn’t have a constitutional status. Generally, the senior most IAS officer shall be appointed. The elections to the parliament and state assembly in the state are held  under his/her monitoring. At the district level, the District Collector acts as the Chief Election Officer.

The Returning Officer scrutinizes the nominations and announces the eligible contesting candidate’s list. The contesting candidates are given the option to withdraw their nominations within the specified period. Later the Returning Officer shall declare the final list of contesting candidates in the constituency.

Voting Mechanism

The Chief Election Officers in the districts make elaborate arrangements to conduct the polls. They depute polling personnel as Presiding Officer and polling officers to every polling booth to conduct the polls. The Election Commission appoints observers to monitor the polls on the polling day. On the day of the poll, all the voters whose names are enrolled in the electoral list are allowed to cast their votes. Polling agents assist the polling staff to identify the voters, who are appointed by the contesting candidates. Indelible ink is applied to the left forefinger before they cast their vote. In case, EVM is not there, Swastik mark shall be applied on the ballot paper folded in the proper manner and put in the ballot box.

General Elections are conducted for every 5 years at national/state level. Before completion of 5 years tenure, if the elections are held for either Assemblies or Parliamant are called ‘mid term elections’. The elections are conducted for one or more vacancies are termed as “By-Elections”.

Vote to reject – NOTA (None Of The Above)

On the basis of the judgment given by the Supreme Court in 2013 in the case of Peoples Union of Civil Liberties, NOTA is introduced. The Supreme Court stated that NOTA is a part of the freedom of expression. NOTA was first introduced as an option in the state assembly elections held in Delhi, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Madya Pradesh and Chattisgarh in 2013. NOTA is an option only. It does not affect either the winning or the losing capability of the candidates. Even though the highest number of votes are polled for NOTA, the candidate who secures second position would be declared win.

The need for Electoral reforms

India is the second most populous country in the world. It is a magnum opus task to conduct elections in our country. Every political party promises to give good governance, socio - economic equality, and the eradication of poverty. But few corrupted  politicians, those who have criminal background adopt illegal practices to manage the voters. These practices are making fun of  the democracy.

Even though there are some problems in the democratic process, many examples of sincere and dedicated politicians made our democracy proud.