state the electoral reformers needed in India
Answers
A transition from FPTP to PR
When it comes to counting votes and instating parties, India uses the First Past The Post (FPTP) system. In this system, any candidate who receives the highest number of votes forms the government. For example, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP formed the government with 31% votes. This means that 69% of the voters did not choose BJP as the ruling party. Despite this the Modi govt. came to power with 282 out of 543 seats in the LS, as all other parties individually received fewer votes.
This system was adopted in India during the drafting of the constitution in 1950 and since then there has rarely been any incentive for reform. This is because; the Indian National Congress (INC) continually received 40-50% of the votes in successive elections after independence.
However, in recent times, there has been increasing demand to replace FTPT with Proportion Representation (PR) in India. In PR, contesting parties are allocated seats in the LS in proportion to the votes received. For example, with 31% of the votes, BJP should have won only 168 seats in the LS (31% of 543).
This spells a more democratic way of conducting elections as opposed to FPTP. For example, Mayawati won 20% of the Uttar Pradesh vote share, but it translated into a mere handful of seats. BJP, on the other hand, won 40% of the vote share and 75% of the seats.
PR has been adopted in several countries including Denmark, Greece, Italy, Israel, Finland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, etc. This system is especially effective in two-party elections wherein it is easier to divide seats between two primary parties. However, in India, where a multi-party system exists, enforcing PR is slightly more complicated. States like UP have up to 20 parties during the assembly elections. Allocating seats to multiple parties will create a lot of clash of ideas and make it difficult to conduct sessions in the Lok Sabha, Moreover, with partisan politics playing a role, it will take longer to pass bills in the LS.
Thus, a system highly proposed and appreciated by political analysts, may still be a complicated affair in India.
2. Organising Simultaneous Elections
General elections in India are conducted over a period of 6-8 weeks to ensure organised voting across different states. While this is a more cost-effective method, it also allows candidates to contest elections from more than one constituency where voting schedules are weeks apart. Under section 33 of the Representation of People Act, 1951, a person is allowed to contest polls from a maximum of two seats. Congress party president Sonia Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav have both done so in the past. However, the Election Commission has further mandated under Section 70 that the said candidate must forfeit one of the seats within 10 days, thus laying the ground for by-elections.
3. Giving HNIs less power
In many cases, parties elect high net individuals (HNIs) to represent them in certain constituencies. HNIs have more power as candidates are able to influence electorate opinion. This facility hampers the process of democracy that states any citizen of India can contest elections. It takes away power from middle-class/common people, as they don’t possess enough money to divulge opinions.
4. A ban on cash donations
Private institutions should be banned from making donations to election campaigns. This mandate should also be fairly executed by the ECI running regular checks on parties’ assets and balance sheets. Such reform will prevent private companies’ hidden agendas from interfering in politics. For example, it has been repeatedly implied by various analysts that BJP’s campaign in 2014 was sponsored by Reliance Industries and other big corporations, in return for business benefits, in the period that followed.
5. Introducing a Two-party system
India follows a multi-party system. States like Haryana have up to 23 parties during assembly elections, leading to too many choices and diverse prejudices. In a Proportional Representation, it will be too difficult to fairly allocate power to each party and maintain a unified vision for the state.
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Need for Electoral Reforms in India. The 2014 general election ushered in a new phase in India's electoral history. ... In the 2014 national election, 79% of the Congress Party's candidates and 73% of the BJP's candidates had declared assets greater than Rs 10 million.