The electoral process in India needs short term and long term medications--II

A Look through the mist : daya sagar

Most of the Indian people have today lost faith in the Parliamentary democracy. Rather the floor of parliament as well as the legislative assemblies have lost the grace and honour. I need not quote any specifics here. Money and liquor are frequently used to buy the vote of the economically weaker people. Rather in many areas the voters flock to vote under the influence of money and liquor. In some areas people flock to vote under the pressure of goons and musclemen. This shows that it is hunger that matters more to economically poor masses and it is physical security that matters more to those who can not hope any security through the existing law and order machinery of the government. Therefore, need is to carry on the corrective measures even beyond the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections at the social, administrative, judicial and prospective levels. Long term measures would surely involve corrections that would need actions at the legislative and executive levels. Ofcourse assistance of judiciary to would be needed.
LONG TERM Approach:
1.Now since the political party leadership has failed to deliver democracy through honest means , we can not expect that the same leadership would venture for making corrections. Therefore, the Voter citizen has to come forward for devising ways and means to root out dishonesty from our political order since the majority of the "vote seeker" would never work for corrections.
2. The candidates for contesting elections are thrust on the voter by the political parties. The criteria mostly used is Caste/ Religion/ family relations and nearness to prime leadership. Even the lower level members of the political parties are not involved while selecting candidates. In addition to this the money and muscle power that the aspiring ticket seeker can display too plays a major role. Political parties need be forced to make selection of the candidate with the involvement of atleast panchayat level party members for MLA and Block level for the MP.
3.(a)Democracy in political parties should also be enforced by law. Indian National Congress need to take lead in this regard. In every Political party elections should be held after every 3 years. The schedule to hold lower level elections and the upper level elections could clearly laid in the bye laws of a Political party. Election commission, if need be Parliament should work for devising such a system.
(b).Recognized Political parties must hold their organisational elections with in 6 months of the earlier term ended Constituency/ Distt/ State/ Regional/ National level
(c). National level parties are getting loaded with leaders who have no base in masses. Leaders are being thrust from elite hierarchy and the common man has lost faith in democracy. The lower level workers of parties feel crushed under the money power as well as the favouritism that the elite leadership shows for the family and friends of each other.
(d) As a condition evaluation and selection of candidates for contesting elections should be made in a transparent manner by National and Regional level parties.
3 The voluntary social non political organisation working for education and awareness of the common Indian citizen about their duties, rights , Indian democratic system, the welfare programmes taken up by the government in the rural and backward areas, the health and medical facilities being rendered by the State , for cultivation of moral values and one ness in Nationality should come out in the field . They should move to villages and approach the interior India . Government should provide them material, physical and social security against the ciminal and tainted elements who may be working for the conventional so called " elite leaders."
4.Information about the damage done to every Indian will have to be cultivated deep through a continued motivation process as regards: (a) Low voter turn out (b) Criminalization of politics (c) the caste and religious divides that the elite leadership promotes amongst the economically weak members of the community ( d ) neglect of national issues by local leaders.
5. Rather the common has to be warned about the ultimate dangers. "Warning Process" has to be continuous and not only for 30days when an election is announced. It has not to be only one time.As long as the movement will not be taken to the villages tab tak janta jagae gee nahin. Lok tantra badee kurbaniyon ke baad milaa hai ab esae kurbani de kar hi bachana hai. Rather job can only be accomplished by bringing reforms and awareness at the lower levels. The crown is showing no intention for mends.
6. Voter education has to be given priority. Some say that in India Voter turn out is poor. But the fact is that voter turn out may be low but is not poor. Rather the voter percentage is much higher in the rural and backward areas that lack literacy and awareness. In the urban educated and better informed areas too the voter turnout is very low. Nov/ Dec2008 J&K elections have demonstrated the desire of Indian voter to participate in elections . The thing that should concern us more is the importance of sound, serious and honest elections as they concern security and integrity of a Nation/ Country like India..
7.Other thing that need serious consideration is material and physical security to a common voter citizen against the pressures of rich, musclemen and criminal- politician nexus. Voter is to day terrorised. The criminal and the rich have set roots very deep. Hard effort are needed both at the social and executive level to defeat such forces. Voters are terrorized and exploited mentally and physically. So security has to be practically ensured to the common man. The existing executive structure has failed to deliver. Security has to be provided continuously before the elections to cultivate faith of the common man in the law an order machinery . Ofcourse it has to be more ensured materially and politically after the elections..
8.The Electoral officers have to be brave, should devise methods & ways to reduce the time and distance involved in voting.
9.Voter has very little access to the information regarding the contesting candidates , particularly for Lok Sabha. Rather voter feels helpless for getting involved seriously. Election Commission of India must evolve a method for distribution of hand bills in the constituency mentioning all the particulars of the qualification, assets and any criminal record of the contesting candidate. This could be done atleast for the candidates belonging to Regional Parties ,Regional parties and those who may be contesting as independents but had earlier represented in Lok Sabha or Vidhan Parishad some Regional or National Party.
10 All these years many more suggestions have come. Some of them do need serious and honest consideration but may also require involvement of the Legislature. So exercise must be started right now so that reforms and correction are made well before next elections.
(a).It has been observed that money power too has started playing major role in nomination of candidates for Rajay Sabha and Vidhan Legislative Councils ( Vidhan Parishads). The objective with which these superior advisory institutions were created appears lost in most of the cases. The status of these institutions should be reviewed even to re assess the need for retaining these institutions.
(i) Any person who has lost a Lok sabha Election or Assembly Election should not be nominated as a candidate by any party or as independent with in a period less than one year after he lost the Assembly or Parliamentary election.
(ii ) Any one who gets elected to a State Assembly Seat should not be nominated by any party for Rajay Sabha or Lok Sabha Election unless he has worked as an MLA for atleat one year. And that too he should resign from MLA or MLC seat before the day of voting for Rajay Sabha or Lok Sabha. Presently the voter citizen is being deceived by the candidate.
(b) No Government servant who retires from government service or takes voluntary retirement should be allowed to contest elections to parliament or state legislature with in two years of his retirement on the ticket of a political party.
(c) (i) There is a need to delete the provision of registering the name parentage voter number and signatures in form 17C before election officer by those who want to register that they do not want to vote for any of the candidate seeking election since it is against the principle if secrecy and has not been used by the people in significant numbers.
(ii) There is demand for introducing a provision for negative voting. In case some one does not want to vote in favour of some particular candidate but has particular reasons/ information about the unsocial/ criminal/ not suitable record of some candidate he could vote against that particular candidate so as to reduce the votes secured by that candidate by one. Presently there is one button in EVM against the name of one candidate, in the new system there could be two buttons. Similarly in case a voter finds no candidate worth election there should be a provision for recording his opinion in the EVM. Or any method that could meet this need could be deliberated.
(d) In the present sytem the candidate securing the highest number of votes is declared elected even if he has secured less than one sixth of the total votes polled ( otherwise a candidate securing less than one sixth votes loses security deposit). In case there in only 50 % polling and a candidate polls only 20% of polled votes he may get elected to represent a constituency of 100 voters from where only 10 have voted for him. How funny. In 2004 Lok Sabha Elections there were 23 MPS who one with a margin of just near 5000 votes and nearly 325 MPs out of 543 did not get even 50% of the total polled votes. On an average there were 10 candidates for each Lok Sabha Seat. When averaged out one candidate each from a Nation and a Regional party, two candidates out of every un recobnised party and 4 independents who contested lost security deposit for every Parliamentary seat contested. So this aspect has to be examined and some convincing basis evolved. One such method could be that (i) .winning candidate must secure more than 50% of the polled votes (ii) in case it does not happen method of added weightage could be adopted. (iii) the votes polled by last candidate be added to the votes polled by the first candidate and the votes polled by the last but one could be added to 2nd candidate. (iV) in case still the number is not more than 50% polled votes for any of the two, then the votes polled by the remaining candidates be added further two the first and 2nd candidates in the same manner (v) process repeated till the votes in account cross 50% for one candidate. This is open for discussion could be taken to start the exercise.
(e) Suggestions are also in the tray for evolving a method to call back a MP /MLA when he does not perform or gets involved in criminal / corruption cases. This provision sounds attractive but requires hard brain storming and deliberations.
(f) Disturbed with the dishonest attitude of the politicians of the day some people suggested very harsh remedial measures like enforcing upon the political parties to declare their alliances before the elections along with pre decided CMP so that the voter could make a proper choice and the MP/MLA for whom one voted does not change his policy / loyalties thereafter by joining another party whose ideology did not suit the voter. In a democracy like India where we have so many parties and regional parties have practically dismantles national party like Congress, for running a government parties will have to come together. It may not be that easy to come out with some workable method unless some system like limited number of parties is worked out and enforced through parliamentary legislation. The anti defection law is already in force and has not been able to work that fruitfully. Regional parties succeed in getting votes in the name of caste / creed / regional issues since the muscle men from castes / creeds manage votes from minority groups taking advantage of their low economic levels or limited interest in national issues. Many people feel disinterested in the election process and show no concern for the electoral process, this is bad but is hard reality today. So a good number of people who may have information about the social and political values that a candidate may carry stay away from polls and their this attitude helps those who work to buy the vote of the poor with money or of the innocent in the name of religion / casre /sect. Voter awareness would provide some solution.
(g)To some estimates over Rs.400 to 500 crore may be spent during 2009 Lok sabha election through those who would manage the Election Event of Big Bosses through electronic and other media. If true this promotes unfair means. The projects executed by the State are projected through advertisements as individual achievements of the politicians. Money for advertisements is also paid from State Exchequer. This has to be ofcourse banned.
(h) No welfare programme or project or scheme should be named after a leader of political party who came into prominence after 1947. This practice has so far exploited the innocence of rural india more to the advantage of Congress Party. All such programmes / schemes /projects should be renamed .
(h) Suggestions for fixing maximum age limit for a MLA /MP do not appear that wise. Similarly setting educational qualification too needs debated since more that matters in a democracy is management of social / material needs of the people on the ground and this has more relation to one's coming from masses . The professional and educated brains are available in the government executive infrastructure for the use of the Legislators/ Government. Some suggestions have also come for conducting the elections only for the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister and let them then appoint their governments . This too needs to be put to regular celebrations.
.*( Daya Sagar Senior Coloumnist on Kashmir affairs and a social activist dayasagr@yahoo.co.uk alookthroughthemist.blogspot.com).