Indian electoral system: Redefining republic

Yenning *

Voter Pledge - A sign posted near a polling station at Kangpokpi on the eve of polling in Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency on April 09 2014 :: Pix - David M Mayum

The functioning of Indian electoral system has experienced a number of disadvantages and shortcomings. The inconsistency between the votes registered for a party and the seats conquered in State Assembly or Parliament, the multitude of political parties, personality cult in party system, utilization of communal allegiances and armed hoodlums, excessive employment of muscle and money power, wrongful utilization of governmental machinery, corruptive exercises like booth-capturing, intimidation and impersonation of voters are ubiquitous negative features of Indian electoral system.

Election offences range from the physical conquest of booths to the mobilization of youth organs of parties or armed thugs who could target and intimidate certain sections of people or communities prior to the election either to give votes in favour of the candidates they are working for or completely stay away from voting. It is also not untrue that sometimes the polling officials are bribed and cajoled into indirect acceptance at certain levels of the election process.

Only the polling officials can give a satisfactory explanation for the sheer large number of mismatching photographs as well as for the photographs taken in certain polling stations of Andro AC which have mysteriously turned out blank in the last Assembly election of 2012. The threat of booth occupation has been prevalent from the days of second general election of 1957, particularly in Bihar. The incident slowly and steadily was diffused throughout the country in various kinds and degrees.

Growing nexus between politicians and businessmen

The growing tendency for criminalization in elections obliged parallel ballooning of election expenditures. In addition to bribing voters individually, it has also come into vogue to hire musclemen or armed hoodlums who could assure triumph by seizing booths or frightening voters. This practice significantly accelerated the pace of criminalization of politics and the rise of politician-underworld network. In the course of time, the criminals themselves began participating in elections instead assisting or sponsoring others. On some occasions the politicians considered it essential to politicize the bureaucracy to operate in consonance with the ruling party on the eve of election. The official machinery is exploited to amass data on political competitors.

The official machinery serves useful in hiring crowds, intimidating targeted sections of voters, creating local tensions, conditioning staff for poll duties, enrolling additional voters or removing certain names from there etc. The recent case of deleting MLA Vungzagin Valte's name from the electoral roll though later re-registered at the intervention of the Election Commission of India serves as a fine example. They too, alternatively encourage the bureaucracy to coin money with a view to remain vulnerable.

In due course, considerable segments of bureaucracy are encompassed into the politician – underworld – bureaucracy web. In its attempts to purge of the electoral procedure, the Election Commission has prohibited transfers and promotions with the announcement of election dates. Notwithstanding its importance, the same step is not quite effective as election preparations are generally undertaken much ahead in time. Despite the model code of conduct that has been even more rigidly implemented starting from the days of TN Seshan as the Chief Election Commissioner, all sorts of election malpractices continue to dog the Indian electoral system as witnessed in the State today. Election scenes in Manipur are rather more complex as many militant outfits are directly or indirectly involved in the process.

Electioneering, of course is a costly affair. Mass illiteracy being an important factor, a candidate is asked to make large scale personal intimations with the voters which employ enormous expenditure. The increasing distance of political parties from the people is another cause for making elections to be so costly in the present day. Transport, publicity and organizing the campaigners require huge amounts of money. The ambition to win an election at any cost and the ever deepening dependence on the muscle power in elections have facilitated unexpectedly large spending amassed through questionable methods, by the political parties and their candidates.

The gap between expenditures spent in an election and legally constrained limits on spending is also widening amazingly. Ceilings on campaign expenses being limited, black money in shape of donation to election funds of political parties or influential leaders have assumed to be an admitted reality. About 90 per cent of all election funds are accrued from big business houses in exchange for special favours or patronage. In Manipur it is the smugglers and contractors who are investing heavily in prospective candidates.

What they expect in return is obviously a protective political shield against their not so legal or socially acceptable business enterprises. This does not only eliminate capable and efficient men and women from electoral contests in absence of financial backing but also fosters criminalization of politics. At first big businessmen and wealthy contractors extended monetary assistance to prospective candidates for political patronage and special favours. Later on, they joined electoral politics and transformed themselves as politicians. This is not just some assumption.

One can easily understand its veracity by simply counting the number of contractor turned politicians presently sitting in the power corridors of Manipur Legislative Assembly. Being wealthy, these businessmen and contractors have some sorts of clout of their own and they are influential enough. But to many of them, such influential position is not enough. They want the ultimate power, the political power. This completes the nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen.

Republic or oligarchy

Mere conducting of elections periodically does not mean that we are republic and have an effective democracy. It is the way elections are held, the quality of people elected, their performances that would determine whether the existing political set-up is a republic or not. In current scenario, the widespread disillusion in the existing political system is quite comprehensible. Poverty, unemployment, illiteracy levels indicate the inefficiency of the political system.

Even after 60 years of independence, people in this part of the country suffer from lack of basic amenities in life. It was reported that if a law is passed as to those with criminal and corruption charges are to be disqualified then around 93 MPs and 10 Ministers in Dr Manmohan Singh's ministry stand disqualified. Acts of the Indian State particularly elections in Manipur and North East is a sheer hypocrisy. These are not elections but periodical systematic selection of the most suitable, politically uneducated politicians who work for personal profits and interests in the name of public office.

The whole election drama is a pre-arranged and pre-determined ritual of the ruling class which is sine qua non for continuance of the existing system. With all the processes of election and ruling the State confined within a small clique of super-rich and powerful people, the notion of India being a republic takes a beating before the concept of oligarchy. One pertinent question is, where does the idea of republic fit in the whole scheme of Indian electoral system. Having said all these, we can only add, as someone said, politics is the last refuge of a scoundrel and many more scoundrels.

General attitude of voters

The general attitude of voters in Manipur is summed up by one common question they ask amongst themselves "Which candidate offers you more money?" at the time of elections. But, when the people are revolving around the issue of free food, money, enjoyment and also planning what to be extracted from the intending candidates, they miss to raise the crucial basic needs which will shape their future. Amartya Sen called this basic need as 'Freedom' which he sees through development.

In order to achieve development, he argues for the requirement of removing poverty, tyranny, lack of economic opportunities, social deprivation, neglect of public services, and the machinery of repression. But the construction based ministers see construction as the only development in Manipur. We all are aware that we hardly gets six hour of continuous electricity even in Imphal city except the VIP lines. The situation is same for the government employees who are forced by the government to pay the electricity bills whether they get electricity properly or not. What is surprising is that the bill is almost same as those who are getting the VIP lines.

Manipur particularly Imphal areas is facing water crisis. If it continues for long, there might be a conflict for water. In addition, a person hardly gets their share of PDS items. If after a long time it comes, then also you get in less quantity. The reason given by the agents are numerous. The inability of the state also contributes to the failure of PDS system. For instance, the state regularly failed to lift the Kerosene oil according to the routine extending for several months at a stretch. This has severely affected the common people who are forced to buy the kerosene oil at Rs 70-80 per litre instead of Rs 14, which is the subsidised rate fixed by the Government.

The Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) is defunct for more than a couple of years whereas the women commission is left with no support. But neither ruling nor opposition or intending candidates are raising the issues. The people have filed PIL to revive the MHRC but both the ruling and opposition parties are indifferent to it. It is an open secret that Rs 15-20 lakh are mandatory fees for recruitment as Sub Inspector (SI), the prices for subordinates posts are little lower. But in-spite of raising the issue of removing corruption, no one pin-point this issue openly.

The reason could be, many of them must have been involved in getting things done or their children are running for the post. The issue are endless but it does not mean the people are demanding everything but the basic minimum needs. The disappointing part is, this existential reality is never given its proper place and attention in the periodic elections held in Manipur. Those who are enjoying the periodic election like a carnival also suffer the same problem of basic needs. Eating a free food or getting some money or anything free of cost in the name of election will not change anything.

It is like the more you eat, the more they (politicians) will eat the public money. So we should not take this opportunity as a festival but an opportunity to negotiate the basic needs that are confronting us in our existence. This does not mean that they will address the issue but at least we can sensitise the reality to these intending candidates and their sympathisers.