Elections in India

An Overview

Sanjay Kumar

• Publisher: Routledge India
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000512724
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: American Government
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This book looks at the patterns and trends of participation in Indian elections since 1952 – the first elections held in independent India. It engages with debates around the nature of the multi-party electoral politics in India and its impact on the voting behaviour of Indian voters.

The book uses extensive empirical data from the state and national elections to analyze the history and evolution of the country's electoral systems as well as the challenges and safeguards for conducting fair elections in the world's largest democracy. The author explores the trends in turnout in regional and national elections and its relationship with electoral outcomes. He analyzes electoral patterns over the last seven decades as well as patterns of participation of marginalized groups, the younger population, and the narrowing gap of women's electoral participation. The book discusses the role of money, the criminalization of electoral politics, and its influence on Indian elections. It also focuses on the issue of irregular delimitation of electoral constituencies and its implication on political representation.

Topical and comprehensive, this book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of political studies, political sociology, public administration and governance, and South Asian studies. It will also be useful for journalists and think tanks interested in India's electoral processes and debates. It could serve as a guidebook as well for those interested in the nitty-gritty of Indian elections.

1 The Indian electoral system

DOI: 10.4324/9781003186717-2

Within two-and-a-half years of India attaining Independence in August 1947, the new Constitution of India came into effect on January 26, 1950. It provided universal adult suffrage to all citizens, regardless of sex, caste, community, religion, class, education, etc.¹ It was decided after discussion in the Constituent Assembly that a first-past-the-post (FPTP) system would suit the country best. The system provided for a single-member district simple plurality system in which Indian citizens of age 21 years and above (lowered to 18 in 1989²) were eligible to cast a single ballot to elect a single representative to the Lower House of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and the state legislative assembly (Vidhan Sabha). The candidate who was to gain the most number of votes, even if only a plurality, was to be declared elected to represent the constituency. In order to conduct the election in a free and impartial manner, an independent Election Commission of India was created. It’s been 70 years since the Commission, operating under the authority of the Constitution, came into being, and during this seven-decade-long period, it has overseen the conduct of 17 national (Lok Sabha) elections and over 360 state (Vidhan Sabha) elections along with administering elections to the Rajya Sabha, the state legislative councils and the offices of the president and vice-president.

The Election Commission of India: the agency responsible for conducting elections in India

The Constitution of India under Article 324 provides for an independent Election Commission.³ The Commission is a multi-member body and consists of one Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two Election Commissioners (ECs). This was, however, not always the case as the Commission operated as a single-member body between 1950 and 1989 and then again between 1990 and 1993.⁴ The president of India appoints the CEC and the ECs after the Law Ministry initiates the file for their appointments. The tenure of both the CEC and the ECs in the office is six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They enjoy the same status and receive salaries and perks similar to the Judges of the Supreme Court of India. In its 255th report on electoral reform in 2015, the Law Commission of India had recommended that the appointment of all the Election Commissioners, including the CEC, should be made by the president in consultation with a three-member collegium or selection committee, consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition of the Lok Sabha (or the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha), and the Chief Justice of India. It also said that the elevation of an Election Commissioner should be on the basis of seniority unless the three-member collegium or a committee finds such Commissioner unfit. The precedent is to appoint the senior-most EC as the CEC. A Public Interest Litigation was also filed in the Supreme Court in late 2018 calling for a “fair, just and transparent process of selection by constituting a neutral and independent Collegium or selection committee”. The matter was referred to a larger Constitution bench. The CEC can be removed from office only through impeachment by Parliament. This same protection, however, is not given to the other two ECs, who can be removed by the government at the discretion of the CEC. The president of India in consultation with the Election Commission may also appoint “Regional Commissioners” on the eve of a general election to the Parliament (Lok Sabha) or to the state legislature for assisting the Election Commission.⁵ The Election Commission is insulated from executive interference in the performance of its functions. It is the Commission that decides the election schedules for the conduct of elections and whether a general or by-election is to be held. It is also the Commission that decides on the location of polling stations, assignment of voters to the polling stations, location of counting centres, arrangements to be made around and within the polling stations, the security arrangements, and all allied matters.

The Commission has its own Secretariat at New Delhi, consisting of about 300 officials, set up in a hierarchical manner. Two or three Deputy Election Commissioners, who are the senior-most officers in the Secretariat, assist the Commission. They are generally appointed from the national civil service of the country, and they are selected and appointed by the Commission with tenure. Directors, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, Under Secretaries, and Deputy Directors support the Deputy Election Commissioners in turn. For long, the Election Commission has been insisting on an independent Secretariat, similar to that of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat,⁶ which would protect its staff from various pulls and pressures from the executive. This reform was also recommended by the Law Commission in 2015. There is a functional and territorial distribution of work in the Commission. The work is organized in Divisions, Branches, and Sections; each of these units is under the charge of a Section Officer. The main functional divisions are Planning, Judicial, Administration, Information Systems, Media, and Secretariat Co-ordination. The territorial work is distributed among the separate units responsible for different zones into which the 36 constituent states and union territories of the country are grouped for the convenience of management.

At the state level, the election work is supervised, subject to overall superintendence, direction, and control of the Commission, by the Chief Electoral Officer of the state, who is appointed by the Commission from among senior civil servants, proposed by the concerned state government. The Chief Electoral Officer, in most of the states, is a full-time officer and has a small team of supporting staff. At the district and constituency levels, the District Election Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, and Returning Officers, who are assisted by a large number of junior officers, perform election work. They all have a dual role – they have responsibilities in their actual civil service jobs and the functions relating to elections. However, during election time, they are available to the Election Commission on a full-time basis, more or less. The gigantic task force for conducting a countrywide general election consists of nearly five million polling personnel and civil police forces. This huge election machinery is deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission and is subject to its control, superintendence, and discipline during the election period, extending over a period of one-and-a-half to two months.

The Secretariat of the Commission has an independent budget, which is finalized directly in consultation between the Commission and the Finance Ministry of the Union Government. The latter generally accepts the recommendations of the Commission for its budget. The major expenditure on the actual conduct of the election is, however, reflected in the budgets of the concerned constituent units of the Union – states and union territories. If elections are being held only for the Parliament, the expenditure is borne entirely by the Union Government, whereas for the elections being held only for the state legislature, the expenditure is borne entirely by the concerned state. In case of simultaneous elections to the Parliament and State Legislature, the expenditure is shared equally between the Union and the State Governments. For capital equipment, expenditure related to preparation for electoral rolls, and the scheme for Electors’ Identity Cards too, the expenditure is shared equally.

Election schedule

The Commission normally announces the schedule of elections in a major Press Conference a few weeks before the formal process is set in motion. The Model Code of Conduct for guiding the candidates and political parties takes effect immediately after such an announcement. The formal process for the election starts with the Notification or Notifications calling upon the electorate to elect the Members of a House. As soon as Notifications are issued, candidates can start filing their nominations in the constituencies from where they wish to contest. The Returning Officer of the constituency concerned scrutinizes these after the last date for the same is over after about a week.

The candidates whose nominations are found valid can withdraw their nominations within two days from the date of scrutiny. Contesting candidates get at least two weeks for political campaigning before the actual date of polling. On account of the vast magnitude of operations and the massive size of the electorate, polling is held in a phased manner. The 2004 Lok Sabha elections were held in three different phases, the 2009 Lok Sabha election in five phases, the 2014 election in nine phases, and the 2019 election in seven phases.⁷ A separate date for counting is fixed and the concerned Returning Officer declares the results for each constituency. The Commission compiles the complete list of Members elected and issues an appropriate Notification for the due Constitution of the House. With this, the process of election is complete and the president, in case of the Lok Sabha, and the Governors of the concerned States, in case of State Legislatures, can then convene their respective Houses to hold their sessions. The entire process takes 5–8 weeks for the national elections and 4–5 weeks for separate elections for Legislative Assemblies.

The electoral laws and the Model Code of Conduct

Any authority, independent or not, can hardly discharge its duties in the absence of clearly laid down rules and regulations. This applies to the institution of the Election Commission as well. Like many democratic countries, India too has a comprehensive structure of laws to administer and conduct elections. It is important to note that in India, the electoral laws are derived from certain provisions of the Constitution.

The constitutional provisions from which the Election Commission derives its strength are various Articles of the Indian Constitution, the Representation of the People Act 1950, the Representation of the People Act 1951, the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act 1952, the Delimitation Act 1972, and the various rules and regulations framed, and the orders issued, from time to time by the Indian Parliament under these statutes. In addition to these, there are certain provisions of the Indian Penal Code and a few other acts that also provide for punishment as well as disqualification of candidates and members of the various Houses. Besides these provisions is the Model Code of Conduct or the MCC which, although not legally binding, is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission for conduct and behaviour of political parties and candidates during elections.

Constitutional provisions relating to elections

Various articles in the Indian Constitution are specifically devoted to laying down rules and regulations regarding terms of office and procedures regarding elections for various constitutional authorities. The Election Commission conducts elections for various constitutional authorities from time to time based on these constitutional provisions.

1. i. In the Indian Constitution, Articles 54–58, 62, 66–68, and 71 prescribe the ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of tables
• Preface and Acknowledgements
• Introduction: Trends and patterns in the Indian elections
• 1 The Indian electoral system
• 2 Who conducts the election: History and controversies surrounding the Election Commission of India
• 3 A trend of Increased and broadened electoral participation
• 4 Turnout and electoral outcome: The issue of pro- and anti-incumbency
• 5 Is there a crisis of representation?: Patterns of victory margins
• 6 Emerging challenges: Use of money and muscle power in Indian elections
• 7 The issue of simultaneous election
• 8 The challenge ahead: Delimitation 2026
• Conclusion: The upcoming challenges and the way forward
• Index