The challenges to free and fair elections in India are given below: (i) Use of money power: Elections in India has become a very costly affair. Generally, a candidate in the Lok Sabha election spends about ₹50 lakh to one crore. They do not abide by the ceiling prescribed under the law. Rich candidaRead more
The challenges to free and fair elections in India are given below:
(i) Use of money power: Elections in India has become a very costly affair. Generally, a candidate in the Lok Sabha election spends about ₹50 lakh to one crore. They do not abide by the ceiling prescribed under the law. Rich candidates generally enjoy a big and unfair advantage over smaller parties and poor candidates.
(ii) Use of muscle power: Muscle power is used to force the voters to vote for particular” candidate or not allowing the voters to vote, and for capturing the booth and casting bogus votes.
(iii) Criminalisation of politics : Many candidates contest ng the elections have criminal connections. According to former Election Commissioner G.V.G. Krishnamurthy, in 1990, Lok Sabha elections, 1,500 out of 3,952 candidates for tire Lok Sabha had criminal record.
(iv) Dominance of families: Sometimes tickets are distributed to relatives from some families which dominate political parties. Ordinary members are generally ignored due to one reason or the other.
(v) No choice to ordinary voters/citizens : Very often elections offer little choice to ordinary citizens because the major parties are quite similar to each other both in policies and practice.
(vi) Disadvantages to smaller parties and independent candidates : Suffer parties
and independent candidates suffer a huge disadvantage in comparison to big parties because
they can use their manpower as well as money in the election. The above challenges exist not only in India but in most of the modern democracies.Thai is why the supporters of democracy are demanding electoral and political reforms in the electoral system to overcome these challenges.
(a) People's participation is an important method to check the quality of the election Process. If the election process is free or fair, people will participate in a large number with great enthusiasm. (b) The following are some of the conclusions that are drawn from people's participation in India:Read more
(a) People’s participation is an important method to check the quality of the election Process. If the election process is free or fair, people will participate in a large number with great enthusiasm.
(b) The following are some of the conclusions that are drawn from people’s participation in India: (i) People’s participation is usual)y measured by voter turnout that indicates the per cent of voters who actually cast their votes. In India, the turnout has either remained stable or actually gone up.
(ii) In India, the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger proportion as compared to the rich and privileged sections.
(iii) Common people in India feel that through elections they can bring pressure on political parties to adopt policies and programme in their interest. They also feel that their vote matters in the way things are run in the country.
(iv) The interest of voters in election related activities has been increasing over the years. During the 2oo4 elections, more than one-third voters took part in a campaign-related activities. More than half of the people identified themselves as being close to one or the other political party. One out of every seven voters is a member of a political party.
(a) Composition : The Chief Election Commissioner is appointed by the president of India. But once appointed, the Chief Election Commissioner is not answerable to the president, or the government. It is virtually impossible for the government to remove the CEC. (b) Powers of the Election Commission:Read more
(a) Composition : The Chief Election Commissioner is appointed by the president of
India. But once appointed, the Chief Election Commissioner is not answerable to the president, or the government. It is virtually impossible for the government to remove the CEC.
(b) Powers of the Election Commission: The Election Commission has wide-ranging
powers as mentioned below :
(i) EC takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections.
(ii) lt implements the Code of Conduct and punishes any candidates or party that violates it.
(iii) During the election period, the EC can order the government to follow some guidelines, to prevent use and misuse of governmental power to enhance its chances to win elections. or to transfer some government officials.
(iv) When on election duty-, government officers work under the control of the EC and not the government.
(c) Estimate: (i) The Election Commission has been given wide-ranging powers so that it may conduct the elections in a fair and free manner and no political party not even the ruling party may influence its working.
(ii) It is good for democracy to make Election Commission powerful so that it may work independently.
(iii) The experience of last fifty years or so has proved that the Election Commission has worked successfully. It has reprimanded the government on many occasions and ordered repoll too. The ruling party sometimes do not like the decisions of the commission but they have no choice but to obey the decisions due to independence of the commission.
The aim, time and methods of election campaign in India are as mentioned below: (i) Aim of election campaign: The aim of the election campaign is to give people a chance to know about different candidates and political parties, their policies and to decide which one party or parties will form a bettRead more
The aim, time and methods of election campaign in India are as mentioned below:
(i) Aim of election campaign: The aim of the election campaign is to give people a
chance to know about different candidates and political parties, their policies and to decide which one party or parties will form a better government.
(ii) Time of election campaign: In India, a two-week period between the announcement of the final list of candidates and the date of polling is given for election campaign.
(iii) Methods of election campaign: (A) The following methods are used. for election campaign:
(a) Candidates contact the voters.
(b) Election meetings are held. These are addressed by political leaders and candidates.
(c) Political parties mobilise their supporters.
(d) Advertisements and debates etc. are published in the newspapers.
(e) Slogans on big issues are used to attract the voters.
(B) Some of the successful slogans given by different political parties in various elections are mentioned below : (i) The Congress party led by Indira Gandhi gave the slogan of Garibi Hatao (Remove Poverty) in the Lok Sabha elections of 1971.
(ii) Save democracy was the slogan given by Janata Party in the Lok Sabha elections held in 1977.
(iii) Land to the Tiller in the West Bengal Assembly elections held in 1977.
(iv) ‘Protect the self-respect of the Telugus’ was the slogan used by N.T” Rama Rao, the leader of Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections In 1983.
(a) The day when the voters cast or 'poll' their vote is called the election day. (b) Polling is done in the following way: (i) A voter whose name has been included in the voters' list goes to a nearby polling booth in a school or a government office. (ii) On entering the booth, the election officiaRead more
(a) The day when the voters cast or ‘poll’ their vote is called the election day.
(b) Polling is done in the following way:
(i) A voter whose name has been included in the voters’ list goes to a nearby polling booth in a school or a government office.
(ii) On entering the booth, the election officials identify him/her, put a mark on his/her finger and allow him/her to cast his/her vote.
(iii) Agents of the candidates are present in the polling booth to ensure that polling takes place in a fair way.
(c) Use of EVMs : Earlier the voters used to indicate who they wanted to vote by putting a stamp against the name of the candidate on the ballot paper. Now Electronic Voting Machines (E\Ms) are used to record their votes. The machine shows the names and symbols of the candidates. A voter can cast his vote by pressing the button against the candidate of his choice.
(d) Counting of votes : (i) On a fix day, votes secured by each candidate are counted by opening EVMs in the presence of the agents of all candidates.
(ii) The candidate who secures the highest number of votes in the constituency is declared elected.
(iii) In a general election, usually counting of votes in all the constituencies takes place at the same time, on the same day. T.V. channels, radio and newspapers report this event. Within a few hours of counting, all the results are declared and it becomes clear as to which party or coalition of parties or alliance will form the government.
Describe the challenges to free and fair elections in India.
The challenges to free and fair elections in India are given below: (i) Use of money power: Elections in India has become a very costly affair. Generally, a candidate in the Lok Sabha election spends about ₹50 lakh to one crore. They do not abide by the ceiling prescribed under the law. Rich candidaRead more
The challenges to free and fair elections in India are given below:
See less(i) Use of money power: Elections in India has become a very costly affair. Generally, a candidate in the Lok Sabha election spends about ₹50 lakh to one crore. They do not abide by the ceiling prescribed under the law. Rich candidates generally enjoy a big and unfair advantage over smaller parties and poor candidates.
(ii) Use of muscle power: Muscle power is used to force the voters to vote for particular” candidate or not allowing the voters to vote, and for capturing the booth and casting bogus votes.
(iii) Criminalisation of politics : Many candidates contest ng the elections have criminal connections. According to former Election Commissioner G.V.G. Krishnamurthy, in 1990, Lok Sabha elections, 1,500 out of 3,952 candidates for tire Lok Sabha had criminal record.
(iv) Dominance of families: Sometimes tickets are distributed to relatives from some families which dominate political parties. Ordinary members are generally ignored due to one reason or the other.
(v) No choice to ordinary voters/citizens : Very often elections offer little choice to ordinary citizens because the major parties are quite similar to each other both in policies and practice.
(vi) Disadvantages to smaller parties and independent candidates : Suffer parties
and independent candidates suffer a huge disadvantage in comparison to big parties because
they can use their manpower as well as money in the election. The above challenges exist not only in India but in most of the modern democracies.Thai is why the supporters of democracy are demanding electoral and political reforms in the electoral system to overcome these challenges.
Write a short note on the popular participation in the elections in India.
(a) People's participation is an important method to check the quality of the election Process. If the election process is free or fair, people will participate in a large number with great enthusiasm. (b) The following are some of the conclusions that are drawn from people's participation in India:Read more
(a) People’s participation is an important method to check the quality of the election Process. If the election process is free or fair, people will participate in a large number with great enthusiasm.
See less(b) The following are some of the conclusions that are drawn from people’s participation in India: (i) People’s participation is usual)y measured by voter turnout that indicates the per cent of voters who actually cast their votes. In India, the turnout has either remained stable or actually gone up.
(ii) In India, the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger proportion as compared to the rich and privileged sections.
(iii) Common people in India feel that through elections they can bring pressure on political parties to adopt policies and programme in their interest. They also feel that their vote matters in the way things are run in the country.
(iv) The interest of voters in election related activities has been increasing over the years. During the 2oo4 elections, more than one-third voters took part in a campaign-related activities. More than half of the people identified themselves as being close to one or the other political party. One out of every seven voters is a member of a political party.
“Election commission is an independent and powerful body.’’ In the light of this statement explain the composition and powers of the Election Commission.
(a) Composition : The Chief Election Commissioner is appointed by the president of India. But once appointed, the Chief Election Commissioner is not answerable to the president, or the government. It is virtually impossible for the government to remove the CEC. (b) Powers of the Election Commission:Read more
(a) Composition : The Chief Election Commissioner is appointed by the president of
See lessIndia. But once appointed, the Chief Election Commissioner is not answerable to the president, or the government. It is virtually impossible for the government to remove the CEC.
(b) Powers of the Election Commission: The Election Commission has wide-ranging
powers as mentioned below :
(i) EC takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections.
(ii) lt implements the Code of Conduct and punishes any candidates or party that violates it.
(iii) During the election period, the EC can order the government to follow some guidelines, to prevent use and misuse of governmental power to enhance its chances to win elections. or to transfer some government officials.
(iv) When on election duty-, government officers work under the control of the EC and not the government.
(c) Estimate: (i) The Election Commission has been given wide-ranging powers so that it may conduct the elections in a fair and free manner and no political party not even the ruling party may influence its working.
(ii) It is good for democracy to make Election Commission powerful so that it may work independently.
(iii) The experience of last fifty years or so has proved that the Election Commission has worked successfully. It has reprimanded the government on many occasions and ordered repoll too. The ruling party sometimes do not like the decisions of the commission but they have no choice but to obey the decisions due to independence of the commission.
Describe aim, time and methods of election campaign in India.
The aim, time and methods of election campaign in India are as mentioned below: (i) Aim of election campaign: The aim of the election campaign is to give people a chance to know about different candidates and political parties, their policies and to decide which one party or parties will form a bettRead more
The aim, time and methods of election campaign in India are as mentioned below:
See less(i) Aim of election campaign: The aim of the election campaign is to give people a
chance to know about different candidates and political parties, their policies and to decide which one party or parties will form a better government.
(ii) Time of election campaign: In India, a two-week period between the announcement of the final list of candidates and the date of polling is given for election campaign.
(iii) Methods of election campaign: (A) The following methods are used. for election campaign:
(a) Candidates contact the voters.
(b) Election meetings are held. These are addressed by political leaders and candidates.
(c) Political parties mobilise their supporters.
(d) Advertisements and debates etc. are published in the newspapers.
(e) Slogans on big issues are used to attract the voters.
(B) Some of the successful slogans given by different political parties in various elections are mentioned below : (i) The Congress party led by Indira Gandhi gave the slogan of Garibi Hatao (Remove Poverty) in the Lok Sabha elections of 1971.
(ii) Save democracy was the slogan given by Janata Party in the Lok Sabha elections held in 1977.
(iii) Land to the Tiller in the West Bengal Assembly elections held in 1977.
(iv) ‘Protect the self-respect of the Telugus’ was the slogan used by N.T” Rama Rao, the leader of Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections In 1983.
What is an election day? Describe how polling and counting of votes is done in India?
(a) The day when the voters cast or 'poll' their vote is called the election day. (b) Polling is done in the following way: (i) A voter whose name has been included in the voters' list goes to a nearby polling booth in a school or a government office. (ii) On entering the booth, the election officiaRead more
(a) The day when the voters cast or ‘poll’ their vote is called the election day.
See less(b) Polling is done in the following way:
(i) A voter whose name has been included in the voters’ list goes to a nearby polling booth in a school or a government office.
(ii) On entering the booth, the election officials identify him/her, put a mark on his/her finger and allow him/her to cast his/her vote.
(iii) Agents of the candidates are present in the polling booth to ensure that polling takes place in a fair way.
(c) Use of EVMs : Earlier the voters used to indicate who they wanted to vote by putting a stamp against the name of the candidate on the ballot paper. Now Electronic Voting Machines (E\Ms) are used to record their votes. The machine shows the names and symbols of the candidates. A voter can cast his vote by pressing the button against the candidate of his choice.
(d) Counting of votes : (i) On a fix day, votes secured by each candidate are counted by opening EVMs in the presence of the agents of all candidates.
(ii) The candidate who secures the highest number of votes in the constituency is declared elected.
(iii) In a general election, usually counting of votes in all the constituencies takes place at the same time, on the same day. T.V. channels, radio and newspapers report this event. Within a few hours of counting, all the results are declared and it becomes clear as to which party or coalition of parties or alliance will form the government.