Electoral Reforms in India SUBMITTED TO MR. KISHORE DERE BURH!"UD"DI! S#RI
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c$no%ledgement
Firstly, I would like to express my profound sense of gratitude towards the almighty for providing me with the authentic circumstances which were mandatory for the completion of my project. I feel myself highly delighted, as it gives me incredible pleasure to present an assignment work on “EE!"#$% $EF#$&' I( I()I%*. I would like to enlighten my readers regarding this topic and I hope I have tried my best to pave the way for bringing more luminosity luminosity to this topic. I am grateful to my Election aw "eacher &r. +ishore )ere who has helped me to venture this project as well as the library of Faculty of aw, amia &illia Islamia. I would like to thank all concern for their interest in providing me a good back up material.
-urhan d )in 'alaria -.%..- /0ons1 2 th 'emester 3th 4ear
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TB#E O' (O!TE!TS 5. Introduction 6. Functions of Election !ommission 7. Electoral $eforms in India 3. $otation of reserved seats 8. (eed %mendment #f %nti9 )efection %ct :. ;rounds #f )efection <. =roblems #f "he =olitical Instability, 0ung =arliament %nd %ssemblies >. 'teps "aken -y "he ;overnment 2. Electoral $eforms 5?. 'uggestions 55. ;oswami !ommittee@s $ecommendations 56. !onclusion 57. -ibliography
Introd)ction Elections are an important part of democratic government. If the elections for electing the representatives are not fair and impartial, people lose faith in the entire democratic system. "hus, to make sure that elections are free and fair, the !onstitution of India /%rticle 7631
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provides for an Election !ommission. It consists of a !hief Election !ommissioner and some other members /at present, there are two other members1. "hey are appointed by the =resident of India. "heir terms and conditions of service are determined by the =arliament. "he normal tenure of the Election !ommissioners is : years. 0owever, they can be removed from office by the same procedure by which a judge of the 'upreme !ourt can be removed.
Functions of Election Commission: "he main functions of the Election !ommission are as underA 5. "he superintendence, direction and control of elections. "o conduct elections and to look after all the problems connected with elections. 6. "o prepare electoral rolls and get them revised before every election. 7. "o supervise the machinery of elections throughout the country so that the elections are held in a free and fair manner. 3. "o conduct the elections of =resident, Bice9=resident, members of both the 0ouses of =arliament, members of egislative %ssemblies and egislative !ouncils of various 'tates. 8. )elimitation of !onstituencies. :. "o give recognition to political parties as %ll India =arties or $egional =arties on the basis of the votes received by them in the last elections. <. "o allot symbols of various political parties and independent candidates. It hears and settles all the disputes with regard to symbols. >. "o cancel polls in case of large scale rigging, irregularities or violence. 2. "o give opinion to the =resident of India about the possibility of holding elections in a 'tate under =residentCs rule after the expiry of six months. 5?. "o advise the =resident or a ;overnor on matters pertaining to disDualification of a legislator. 55. "o conduct by9elections for filling up vacancies in =arliament or any 'tate legislature Bery few Election !ommissions in the world have such wide ranging powers as the Election !ommission in India. Initially the Election !ommission did not use all its powers but in the last 58 years or so it has begun to exercise all the powers given to it by the constitution and has been even asking for more powers. (ow, it is very common for the Election !ommission to reprimand the government and the administration for their lapses and negligence. If the Election !ommission feels that the election in a particular constituency was not fair, it often cancels the polling and order a re9 poll in some polling booths or even the entire constituency and order for fresh polls.
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Electoral Reforms in India 'uggestions for reform relating to changes in electoral procedure were made by the Election !ommission in its reports on ;eneral Elections, brought out after the completion of each election. 0owever, it is since the fourth ;eneral Elections in 52:< that the issue of electoral reforms became a national agenda. $ising incidents of electoral malpractice as evident from instances of booth capturing, snatching of ballot papers, intimidation or luring of voters based on muscle power and money power, etc., demanded a wide range of electoral reforms. In 527, the Election !ommission and the representatives of political parties arrived at a consensus on certain areas which needed reforms. 'ome of the important matters on which consensus was reached wereA 5. 6. 7. 3.
owering of the age for candidates contesting in the elections. $estriction on contesting election from more than one constituency. 'tate funding of election. Empowering the Election !ommission to countermand or cancel elections on the
basis of the report from the election observer. 8. Empowering the Election !ommission to withhold the candidature of a person guilty of corrupt practices.
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Rotation of reserved seats Increase in reDuirement of minimum number of votes polled to save security deposit. !hange of present electoral system to majoritarian or list system. "hough most of these points are yet to be implemented, in the year 52>> some of the above mentioned proposals were implemented. For instance in 52>> the Election !ommission was empowered to countermand the election in the entire constituency, if booth capturing took place in a considerable number of polling stations, and this would certainly influence the result of the election. In the same year, the :3th !onstitutional %mendment, reduced the voting age of citiens from 65 to 5> years. Electoral reforms continued to take place in 522:. It was in this year only that certain important changes were made in the $epresentation of the =eopleCs %ct. For instance, the amount of security deposit was increased. "his was done to check the multiplicity of non9serious candidates from contesting elections. (o liDuor or other intoxicants shall be sold, given or distributed at any shop, eateries etc. within a polling area, during 3> hours after the conclusion of poll. %nother significant step taken by the Election !ommission in order to bring about electoral reforms was that the !ommission issued an order in 522<, making it mandatory for every candidate to file affidavit about his or her convictions in cases under the law. In support of the step taken by the !ommission, the 'upreme !ourt on &ay 6, 6??6, ordered the government to bring about necessary amendments so that it becomes obligatory for candidates contesting for ok 'abha and 'tate %ssemblies to provide information about their assets and liabilities, Dualifications and criminal antecedents if any. "he Election !ommission implemented the directives of 'upreme !ourt by an order on &ay 53, 6??6. &oreover, to check the use of muscle power in election, the Election !ommission has taken certain steps likeA 5. #rdering fresh elections in cases where activities like booth capturing etc. have taken place. 6. !arrying arms near election booths have been made a cogniable offence. 'imilarly, to ensure adeDuate representation of women in politics, an initiative was taken through the <7rd and <3 th %mendments of the !onstitution. "hese amendments provided for 77 reservation of seats for women in =anchayat $aj Institutions and municipalities. 0owever, seats are not reserved for women in the ok 'abha and 'tate %ssemblies.
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-esides these, the Election !ommission has suggested various reforms to make the election process as transparent as possible. 0owever, most of the time it is the lack of political will which becomes a major stumbling block to bringing about electoral reforms.
Need Amendment of Anti- Defection Act (ow a day, in India, regional parties are playing a vital role in the %lliance in forming the governments. -efore elections numbers of new political parties are formed. In the elections, all parties members contest in every constituency of egislative assembly and =arliament. %ll the political parties blame each other in the public. 5. %fter completion of election, if no party gain a sufficient majority for forming the government, a few of the parties collectively form government. 6. #r if some GHC political party needs a few members support to form a government, it takes support from another party. If, supported parties are not satisfied by the government they withdraw their support to the government. 0ence the government offers some benefits to that party, to please them aid this leads to corruption. 7. 'ome of the political parties are established for the purpose of dividing votes, it becomes, a person owned by a simple majority in elections. %fter the completion of election these parties are merged in their mother parties. "he above analyses explained that, all the regional and (ational =olitical parties are playing a political game with voter. 0ere all the parties are not giving importance to the voter they give importance to their victory. 0ence, the need to %mend the %nti J defe ction %ct 52>8
Grounds of Defection 5. "he grounds on which disDualification can be incurred are as underA a. &embers belonging to political parties % member of a 0ouse belonging to any political party shall be disDualified for being a member of 0ouseA 9 b. If he has voluntarily given up his membership of such other political party here no need to wait for decision of 'peaker or !hairman of 0ouse. c. (o person acts against their political party agenda, if he acts, votes or abstains from voting contrary to the direction issued by the =olitical party, their membership automatically gets canceled, there is no need to wait for the decision of 'peaker or !hairman of 0ouse.
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d. % member elected independently, he should not support any political party by directly or indirectly. If he does, hisK her membership should canceled automatically. %n elected member of a 0ouse shall be deemed to belong to the political party, if any, by which he was set up as a candidate for elections as such member. India has the distinction of being the largest democracy of the world. Elections are the most important and integral part of politics in a democratic system of governance. Lhile politics is the art and practice of dealing with political power, election is a process of legitimiation of such power. )emocracy can indeed function only upon this faith that elections are free and fair and not rigged and manipulated, that they are effective instruments of ascertaining popular will both in reality and in form and are not mere rituals calculated to generate illusion of difference to mass opinion, it cannot survive without free and fair elections. "he election at present are not being hold in ideal conditions because of the enormous amount of money reDuired to be spent and large muscle power needed for winning the elections. Lhile the first three general elections /52869:61 in our country were by and large free and fair, a discernible decline in standards began with the fourth general election in 52:<. (o such events were reported till the fourth general election. #ver the years, Indian electoral system suffers from serious infirmities. "he election process in our country is the progenitor of political corruption. "he distortion in its working appeared for the first time in the fifth general elections, 52<5. %nd multiplied in the successive elections especially those held in eighties and thereafter. 'ome of the candidate and parties participate in the process of elections to win them at all costs, irrespective of moral values. "he ideal conditions reDuire that an honest, and upright person who is public spirited and wants to serve the people, should be able to contest and get elected as people s representatives. -ut in actual fact, such a person as aforesaid has no ‟
chance of either contesting or in any case winning the election. Free and fair elections are essential in a healthy democracy. It is an essential condition for the success of democracy that people maintain their allegiance towards the democratic institutions based on rule of law. "he more the elections are free and fair, the stronger the allegiance the people will have towards democratic institutions. !ontrary to this, if the elections aren@t free and fair, the people will not have faith in democracy.
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Indeed, the battles of ballots have been turned into battles of bullets. #n the election days booths are captured, polling agents attacked and bombs thrown to prevent weaker sections from ever wising their franchise.
PROB#EMS O' THE PO#ITI(# I!STBI#IT1 HU!2 PR#IME!T !D SSEMB#IES "here has been a great deal of political instability during the last decades. "he result has been unstable administration and unstable policies, the hallmark of minority governments. "he reasons are not far to seek. "he Lestminster &odel adopted by us, works mainly on the basis of a limited number of political parties. In the nited +ingdom, there are only two major political parties. !ontrarily in India, politicisation at ground level coupled with a highly fragmented society, has given rise to a multiplicity of political parties. Each one of these exists not on a different ideology or economic programme, but on the basis of having nursed a narrow parochial, mostly caste or religion based, identity for itself and its band of followers. Even this support is usually earned not by doing some constructive work for the concerned group but negatively by bad9mouthing others and all the time pitting one group against the
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other. "he resultant divided vote has made it increasingly difficult for single parties to get a workable majority to form a government at the centre, In order to cobble up a workable majority to form governments, compromises have had to be made and all ideology or notions of Duality of governance have disappeared from the scene. "his has had a very negative repercussion on the Duality of governance with several conseDuences. !orruption has flourished, law and order has suffered and control mechanisms have broken down or become very loose. "he common citien has been the victim of all resultant misgovernance5 "his situation has generated its own debate and suggestions have been made to limit the number of political parties as well as independent candidates that are allowed to contest for national elections. CastismA %lthough there is hardly any instance in India of a political party being
totally identified with any particular caste group, yet there are cases of certain castes lending strong support to particular political parties. "hus while political parties struggle among themselves, to win different caste groups in their favour by making offers to them, caste groups too try to pressurie parties to choose its members for candidature in elections, If the caste group is dominant and the political party ,is an important one, this interaction is all the more prominent.6 In many political parties, in place of ideological polariation there occur the determinations of policies and programmes as well as the nomination of electoral candidates and the extension of support to them on caste consideration. !aste dominates the political field, especially at the lower level 7."he emergence of regional parties and the Mwithering away of national outlook and spirit thus sets off another crisis. !andidates come to be ‟
selected not in terms to accomplishments, ability and merit but on the appendages of caste, creed and community. ltimately caste becomes the deciding factor on selection. !aste based politics and castism are eroding the Munity principle in the name of regional autonomy. ‟
& Panandi$ar. 4. Pai and Kas56a71 S)85as5 (. 9*00&:. Political Reforms; sserting (iRe1 (ons)ltation Pa7er1 !e% Del5i1 !ir%ac5an Sadan1 *00&1 7. ,*-. @|Page
CommunalismA "he emergence of India as a Msecular
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state, the politics of
communalism and religious fundamentalism in the post9independence period has led to a number of separate movements in various states and regions of the country. !ommunal polariation, rather multi9polariation, has posed a threat to the Indian political ethos of pluralism, parliamentarianism and federalism. )espite the adoption of the principle of 'ecularism as a constitutional creed, which ironically allows communal parties to compete, the trend towards communalism and fundamentalism in Indian politics have been growing day by day. "he spirit of tolerance that is essential for a Msecular society seems to have ‟
completely vanished from the body politics of India. "he dynamics of national and state politics of the Mlast decade is a mute witness of the clashes and conflicts between the so9 called 'ecularist and the communalist. %lthough a comprehensive constitutional amendment -ill />#th %mendment -ill1 and $epresentation of the =eople /%mendment1 -ill 5227 were introduced to de9link polities from communalism, castism, and linguism etc. by the minority ;overnment, these could not pass through the =arliament. !aste and religion have in recent years emerged “as rallying points to gain electoral* support. nfortunately there is a tendency to play upon caste and religious sentiments and field candidates in elections with an eagle eye on the caste eDuations and communal configurations. Lack of Moral Values in PoliticsA "here has been very sharp erosion in the
ideological orientation of political parties. =arty dynamics in India has led to the emergence of valueless politics much against the ideals of the father of the nation, &ahatma ;andhi, who suggested that the !ongress party should be disbanded after the achievement of Independence and its members should engage themselves in the service of the people. Lhile ;andhi taught us tremendous selflessness, self9sacrifice and service, to the people, such inspirational values, the democratic norms and institutions have been destroyed systematically over the last years of the working of the !onstitution. In the process, both the politicians and political parties have lost their credibility, the ultimate value that should bind them with the masses. "here seems to be a crisis of character amongst the politicians, as the system does not encourage the honest leader. -ecause of the falling moral standards both in the public and among the leaders, criminalisation of politics and politiciation of criminals has become the norm. )ue to degeneration of leadership, parties have been entangled in power struggle for the sake of personal ends. In a moral pursuit of power polities, every major player seems to be playing a no holds barred game. "he ;andhian value of the spirit of
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service to the nation has become completely extinct from the present day politics. "he money and muscle powers are the basic evils that pollute and defile the process and motivate participants to resort to mal practices in elections. "his leads to the decline of moral values in the arena of electoral politics. $adical measures9 legislative administrative and reformatory are needed to stem the root that is eating vitiate of the democratic process. % game can be fair only if the players are honest and true to its spirit.
Steps Taken ! t"e Government "he reports of various E! and a number of formal informal group discussions at various forums and by individuals have categorically pointed out the defects in the electoral system, some of them have ventured to come out with some useful suggestions, yet the problems remaining to be as critical and challenging as ever. "he oint =arliamentary !ommittee on %mendments to Election aw /52<59<61, the "arkunde !ommittee $eport of 52<8, the ;oswami !ommittee $eport of 522?, "he !onstitution -ill 5223 and the $epresentation of the =eople /'econd %mendment1 -ill, 5223 /passed by =arliamentary1, the Election !ommission s $ecommendations in 522> and ‟
Indrajit
;upta !ommittee $eport of 522> etc. produced comprehensive set of
recommendations regarding electoral reforms. % few reforms have been implemented but Ma lot has to be done. "he whole country is now expressing serious concern over the anti9social and criminal elements entering into the electoral arena. %n indomitable &r. ".(. 'eshan tried his best to cleanse the system, but he failed &r. 'eshan s successor, &r. ;ill faced the same ‟
problem. "he Ex9!E!, &r. ingdoh also found himself in such a pitiable position, that he has found no suitable remedy to malpractices in elections. "his leads to cleans the system but, to appeal the voters not to vote for the criminals. &r. ".'. +rlshnamurtby, (. ;opalaswami and (avin -. !hawala the !E!s also faced the same problem. !E!, ". '. +rishnamurthy has in a proposal letter suggested to =& &anmohan 'ingh a set of poll reforms that anyone charge sheeted at least six months before elections should be barred from contesting elections. "he E! has taken several new initiatives in the recent past as a use of state owned Electronic &edia for broadcast or telecast by political parties, checking A criminalisation of polities, providing with electoral identify cars, streamlining the procedure for registration of political parties and reDuiring them to hold regular organiational elections, a variety of measures of strict compliance of &odel !ode of !onduct for providing a level playing field to contestants during the elections, and so on. In India, the -! has established a set of guidelines known as
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the &odel !ode of !onduct that must be obeyed by political parties and candidates in the run9up to an election. "hese guidelines are intended to ensure that the ruling party at both the national and state levels 9 does not misuse its official position to gain an unfair advantage in an election. "here is a pervasive feeling that something is wrong with the way elections are conducted in India. +eeping in mind the centrality of elections in renewing the legitimacy of the democratic political system and its vital role in the !onstitution of the =olitical !ommunity, It is expected that the distortions adversely affecting the conduct of free and fair elections will be immediately controlled and eliminated if by nothing else, than, at least, by making suitable changes in the law governing the conduct of elections. (ow, time has come to provide some hard rules and laws in our constitution to keep away those anti9social evils from legislative and parliament.
Electoral Reforms "he following electoral reforms have been introduced in out electoral system in the last few years. 1. Lowering of voting Age: "he constitution %ct. 52>> amends %rticle 76: by
substituting the words @5> years@ for @65 years@. "his came into force on 6> &arch, 52>2. "hus parliament through a constitutional amendment in 52>2 reduced the minimum voting age from 65 to 5>. For the first time, as many as 78.< million voters in this age group exercised their right to elect representatives in the 52>2 elections. 2. Deputation to Election Commission A nder the $epresentation of the =eople %ct, 52>>, a new section 57cc was inserted which provides that officers or staff engaged in preparation, revision and correction of electoral rolls for elections shall be deemed to be on deputation of Election !ommission for the period of such employment and such personnel shall during that period, be subject to control, superintendence and discipline of Election !ommission. . !ncrease in num"er of proposers A (umber of electors who are reDuired to sign as proposers in nomination papers for elections to council of states and 'tate egislative !ouncil has been increased to ten percent of the electors of the constituency or ten such electors whichever is less to prevent frivolous candidates. #. Electronic Voting Mac$ine: "he $epresentation of the people %ct, 5285 was amended to facilities use of electronic voting machines in elections.
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%. &oot$ capturing A 'ection 8> % has been inserted in the $epresentation of the people
%ct 5285 by %ct 5 of 52>2 providing for adjournment of pole or countermanding of elections because of booth capturing. -ooth capturing ha: been defined in section 578 % of the $epresentation of the people %ct 5285. If because of booth capturing result of poll result of counting cannot be ascertained returning officer will report the matter forthwith to Election !ommission. Election !ommission on such report may either declare the poll at the particular polling station as void appoint a date for fresh poll or count remand election in that constituency. '. Poll Law (r)inanceA % notable hurdle in holding elections in =unjab in the eventuality of the death of an independent candidate was effectively removed on anuary 3, 5226 with the promulgation of an ordinance under which the parliamentary and state assembly elections will not be countermanded in such cases. "he ordinance amends, the $epresentation of the people %ct.
Su##estions "o stream line the system we want radical reforms in the entire electoral system. Electoral reforms and other measures have become imperative to overcome the threat to democracy and carry democracy process forward. "o improve the draw backs and loopholes in the electoral system we propose these reforms. 5. *eorgani+ation of Election CommissionA "o start with let us consider the appointment of the !hief Election !ommissioner which as per the present procedure cannot be considered to be totally free from political bias as the appointment is made on the advice of the leader of the ruling party in the 0ouse. !onsidering the various suggestions regarding the appointment of chief Election !ommissioner, the following mechanism would seem to be a good compromise and a practical proposition. "he appointment of the !hief Election !ommissioner can be made through a committee consisting of the !hief ustice of India, the leaders of the ruling party and main opposition party in parliament. "he committee can make a panel of few eminent persons each one of them selected unanimously, and forward it to the president for final selection. In this way the over whelming say that the ruling party has in the appointment of the !hief Election !ommissioner can be neutralied. Further, it should be made mandatory that the !hief Election !ommissioner on completion of his term will not be eligible for consideration for any office of profit.
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0owever, a retiring !hief Election !ommissioner may be provided an adeDuate compensation package. "he members of the Election !ommission should be appointed by the same committee as was proposed for the selection of the !hief Election !ommissioner, but with the !hief Election !ommissioner as an ex9officio member, $etired ;ovt officials should not be allowed to occupy this office. 6. !n)epen)ent Election Mac$iner, A "he Election !ommission should have its own administrative machinery at the state level and its powers should be considerably augmented. %t present the Election !ommission is completely at the mercy of the central and state govts. It cannot even maintain the electoral rolls up9to9date without assistance from the state govt. In these circumstances, the independence of the election system would always be under constant threat from the vested interests dominating the party in power which in fact controls administration. 7. -imultaneous ElectionsA "o curb the election expenditure it would help much if elections are simultaneously held for the ok 'abha. 'tate %ssemblies and also the local bodies. "his would drastically reduce election expenditure of all kinds and would incidentally promote development of a healthy party system at all levels of administrative structure. 3. -tate un)ing of Electoral Campaigns A In addition to the simultaneous holding of elections, some system of funding of electoral campaigns is absolutely necessary. % simple procedure can be adopted. !andidates of a recognied political party and independents who have received more than, say 68 of the valid votes polled in a particular constituency in a previous election, would be entitled to receive a fixed contribution in two instalments eDual to three9fourth of the limit imposed by the Election !ommission on the election expenditure. "hese limits should be revised on the eve of every ;eneral Election. -ossism prevails in all parties. (ew candidates will, of course not benefit by this arrangement. 8. Discouraging ake Can)i)ates A "o curb trivolous candidatures the Election !ommission made various recommendationsA a. $aise the security deposit for the ok 'abha and 'tate %ssembly b. denial of facilities like telephone connection, subsidied printing paper, etc., to independent candidates, c. )isDualifying candidates who fail to poll at least 6? valid votes. "he first two suggestions may be considered, but the last one is absolutely vicious so is the suggestion that there should be complete ban on independents. :. Elections /ime /a"leA In order to help reduce the heavy expenses incurred by the candidates in election evering. the scrutiny of nomination should be taken up on the
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day after the last date for making nominations, the interval allowed after the scrutiny of nominations for the withdrawal of candidatures should be reduced to 6 days and the minimum period prescribed for the election campaign should be reduced to 58 days. <. 0ol)ing &,electionsA It was alleged that some by9elections are not held for a very long period which naturally created suspicion on the part of the authorities. "he ok 'abha joint parliamentary committee recommended that a statutory limit of : months should be introduced in the constitution for the holding of all by9elections. >. Electronic Mac$ines: "here is a need to introduce electronic machines in the voting process. "he only difference here is the voter has to press a button instead of marking a ballot paper. "he use of electronic gadgets for election purpose will in the long run add to the savings. 2. Disposal of Election case A Election petitions also take a long time to be disposed of. %lthough it is reDuired by aw that the election petition should be disposed of within : months of its filing, yet seldom this is done. 5?. !ntro)uction of proportional *epresentation wit$ List -,stem A "he present majority system should be replaced by a system of proportional representation of all the system of representation, proportional representation will be best suited to our conditions to ensure that legislative bodies. 'eats should be allotted in proportion to the valid polled votes of the different political parties. #f the various forms of the proportional representation, the most democratic and feasible for our conditions will be list system. "he electorate votes for the party list as a whole. 55. *otation of *eserve) -eats A It is proposed rotation of reserved seats for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. 56. Care taker ovt3 at t$e centre an) in t$e states A In the case of the ok 'abha and %ssembly elections, the central govt, as well as the state govt should function only as caretaker govt during a minimum period immediately preceding the election and it should include some leaders of the opposition parties. 1. 4se of *a)io an) /.V.: $adio and "elevision should be allowed to be used by all political parties for election propaganda on some considered formula. "he votes secured by the political parties in earlier elections could be a rational basis. 1#. Dela, in Elections: "his creates a lot of bitterness and suspicion. % mandatory provision should therefore be made to hold such elections within six months from the day of vacancy or dissolution. 58. 1'. Election E5pen)iture: Expenses incurred by the candidate and the party should be taken into consideration while accounting for election expenditure. 0aving regard to the present costs, proper limits on expenditure should be fixed in consultation with the
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opposition parties. %ll these expenses must be reDuired to be examined by charactered accountants and any false entries should be made rigorously punishable.
2os%ami (ommitteeAs Recommendations % special committee under the chairmanship of &r. )inesh ;oswami then aw &inister, had been set up early in 522? to study the problem in detail and suggest measures for remedying the flows in the system. "he committee has made the following recommendations. 5. #n booth capturing, the committee felt that even after the 52>> amendment of the $epresentation of the people@s %ct the evil persisted and recommended a series of legislative measures to eradicate booth capturing, rigging and intimidation. "he recommended steps include ordering of repoll or countermanding not only on the report of the returning officer but even otherwise and giving the commission the power to appoint investigating agencies, prosecuting agencies and ask for the constitution of special courts. 6. "he committee also called for amendment of the antireflection laws to restrict disDualification only to those cases where on elected member voluntarily gives up his membership of the political party. "he power of deciding the legal aspect of disDualification should be taken away from the speaker or chairman and entrusted to the president or ;overnor who will act according to the Election !ommission@s recommendations. 7. "here was difference of opinion on switching over from the present electoral system to proportional representation or the list system. "he committee has. In this case,
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recommended constitution of an experts committee by the aw ministry in consultation with the Election !ommission. 3. % fresh delimitation on the basis of the 52>5 census and a provision for rotation of seats reserved for scheduled castes. =hoto identity should be made a multi9purpose card and a time9bound programme for covering the entire country with the proposed scheme should be drawn up. 8. % person should not be allowed to contest election from more than two constituencies. %ge Dualifications for contesting elections to egislative %ssemblies and ok 'abha should be reduced to 65 years and egislative councils and council of states to 68 years. :. "he committee has said that there should be statutory backing for some of the important provisions of the model code of conduct like use of official machinery and personnel, including aircraft and vehicles, issues of advertisement matter at the cost of the encDurer, use of official media for partisan coverage of political news, announcement or sanctioning of financial grants in any form or making payments out of discretionary funds and laying of foundation stones for projects. <. It called for a ban on transfer of officials and staff connected with election work and giving the commission@s observers statutory powers. >. "he panel called for fixing of a six month time limit for holding bye9elections. 2. Enabling the %rmy personnel and those in para9military forces and persons outside India in diplomatic service to vote through proxy was also recommended by the committee. 5?. "he other recommendations include extensive restructuring of the election expenses account to restore the position as it existed before 52<3 and making unauthoried expenditure an offence. 55. "here should be appointment of adeDuate number of ad9hoc udges to relieve regular judges entrusted with the expeditions trial of election petitions. 56. It also said that a standing committee of parliament should be constituted to go into all matters from time to time as electoral reforms were a continuous process. "he proposed legislation is expected to be based on this report and the proposals submitted by Election !ommission.
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(oncl)sion "his projects deals with the Electoral $eforms in India. In which the Elections are an important part of democratic government. If the election for electing the representatives is not fair and impartial, people lose their faith in the entire democratic system. "he 'uggestions to reform relating to changes in electoral procedure was made by the Election !ommission in its reports in ;eneral Elections is brought out after the completion of each election. Further it also concentrated on the functions of Election !ommission, electoral reforms in India and rotation of reserved seats. It also emphasied the need to amend the %nti9 )efection %ct on grounds of defection.
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