Describe any three merits and demerits of elections in India
Answers
Answer:
The merits of electoral competition are given below:
(i) Regular electoral competition provides incentives to political parties and leaders. They know that if they raise issues that people want to be raised, their popularity and chances of victory will increase in the next elections. But if they fail to satisfy the voters with their work they will not be able to win again. So, if a political party is motivated only by the desire to be in power, even then it will be forced to serve the people.
(ii) Political competition may cause divisions and some ugliness, but it finally helps to force political parties and leaders to serve the people.
The demerits of an electoral competition are given below:
(i) It creates disunity and factionalism in every locality. People often complain of party-politics.
(ii) Different political parties and leaders often level allegations against one another. Parties and candidates often use dirty tricks to win elections.
(iii) It is often said that the pressure to win electoral fights does not allow sensible long term policies to be formulated. Some good people who may wish to serve the country do not enter this arena. They do not like the idea of being dragged into the unhealthy competition.