The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 15th May 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

The Karnataka result, a blow to the BJP’s ‘myth-making’

Why in News?

It would be tempting to reduce the Karnataka Assembly election 2023 verdict to a simple case of State-level anti-incumbency. However, a simplistic anti-incumbency narrative, explained in terms of localised factors, might only obscure how the present ‘national’ polity also embeds itself deeply into ‘State’ results. This is because this election provides an excellent portal to understand certain contradictions in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s post-2014 project of national domination. 

India is a constitutional democracy, which has a parliamentary system of government. Нere elections deals with the elections relating to all state assemblies, union territories, president and as well as vice president elections . According to the people representative act of 1950, the electoral were created to choose representatives from various constituencies to elect the representatives who are having the power to make the making the government and successful running the administration. 

Elections In India - Features

• Articles 324 through 329 of Part XV of the Constitution cover election-related provisions.
• The Election Commission (EC) of India is the sole organization that has been given the authority under Article 324 of the Indian Constitution.
• The President shall appoint the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners.
• India has been divided into geographical constituencies with only one member. For both Parliamentary and Assembly elections, each constituency will have a single electoral roll, and no one will be included or excluded on the basis of religion, race, caste, or sex.
• Every individual who is an Indian citizen and has reached the voting age is eligible to register as a voter. If the person is ineligible due to "non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime, or corrupt or illegal practice," an exception may be made.
• The Constitution gives Parliament the authority to pass legislation governing the creation of electoral rolls, constituency delimitation, and other related procedures.
• In addition, the Constitution forbids courts from interfering in electoral processes. Any law relating to the delimitation of constituencies or the assignment of seats cannot be challenged in court.
• In India, the First Past the Post system of elections is followed in elections to Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. The whole country is divided into constituencies. Voters select a single candidate by marking against the candidate of their choice through electronic voting machines. The candidate who secures the highest number of votes is declared elected

System Of Voting

• The notion of a universal adult franchise is the cornerstone of democracy, as it ensures that every citizen has the right to one vote, with each vote having equal weight.
• Every citizen over the age of 18 has the right to vote, regardless of caste, religion, gender, educational attainment, socioeconomic standing, or other factors.
• To ensure that no one is denied their fundamental right to vote for whatever reason, a list of all voters (qualified to vote) is compiled. The Electoral Roll or Voters' List is the official name for this list.
• The voters' list is distributed to voters in each constituency well in advance of the election for inspection and rectification. On election day, voters cast their ballots according to their names on the voter list.
• This system guarantees that no one is denied the right to vote, and that everyone has an equal opportunity to choose their representatives.
• Before the election, the government is responsible for updating the voter's list: fresh names of all eligible voters are added to the list, and names of those who move out of their residence or have died are eliminated.
• A complete revision of the voter's list takes place every five years.

Education As A Qualification For Contesting Polls

• He must be a citizen of India and must subscribe before the Election Commission of India an oath or affirmation
• He should not be less than 25 years of age in case of Lok Sabha or State legislative assembly and not less than 30 years of age in case of Rajya Sabha or State legislative council
• He must possess such other qualifications as may be prescribed by Parliament
• The Parliament has laid down the following additional qualifications in the Representation of People Act 1951:
• At the panchayat and municipality levels, the age limit for contesting elections is 21 years.

In this regard, govt has enacted the Representation of People Act 1950 dealing with:-

• Qualifications of voters
• Preparation of electoral rolls
• Delimitation of constituencies
• Allocation of seats in Parliament and State Legislatures

Parliament has also enacted the Representation of People Act 1951 dealing with:-

• Administrative machinery dealing with elections
• Election offenses
• Election Disputes
• By-elections
• Registration of Political Parties

Process Of Polling And Counting Of Votes

• The Election Commission of India prepares a timetable for the election. A particular day is fixed for polling in a particular constituency. This is called election day, usually, it is declared as a holiday.
• Nowadays, electronic voting machines (EVM) are used to cast the votes; the machine shows the names of the candidate and the party symbols
• A voter needs to press the button against the name of the candidate who he/she wants to elect.
• Once the polling is over, all the EVMs are sealed and taken to a centralized place where all the EVMs are kept and later on, votes are counted.
• An Electronic Voting Machine was introduced in India to solve the problem of Ballot Box capturing and casting of false vote, which was a common scenario in India while using the Ballot Paper.
• The Indian Parliament decided to use the Electronic Voting Machine by the Election Commission of India to Conduct General and State elections in India.
• EVMs in India consists of a Ballot Unit, buttons in front of the name of respective Candidates or Political Parties, for the voters and a Control Unit which is operated by the booth officer.
• Studies have been conducted which have shown that EVMs have reduced electoral fraud and re-polling due to electoral rigging, and made elections a safe affair, thereby enhancing voter turnout.

Components Of Election Machinery In India

Independent Election Commission :

• Elections in our country are conducted through a powerful and independent institution called the Election Commission of India.
• The Election Commission of India is a constitutional body that is an autonomous body independent of the government. It enjoys the same kind of independence as the judges of the Supreme Court of India.
• The Chief Election Commission of India (CEC) is appointed by the President of India, but after his appointment, the Chief Election Commissioner is not answerable to the President or the government.
• In a matter of election, it has been given wide powers to conduct free and fair elections. They actively use these powers to form a fair government.
• The government or the ruling party has no occasion to influence or pressurize the election commission.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO):

• The Election Commission of India nominates or designates an Officer of the Government of the State/Union Territory as the Chief Electoral Officer in consultation with that State Government/Union Territory Administration.
• The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) supervises the election work related to Assembly and Parliament elections.
• As per section 13A of the Representation of the People Act 1950, read with section 20 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Chief Electoral Officer of a State/Union Territory is authorized to supervise the election work in the State/Union Territory subject to the overall superintendence, direction and control of the Election Commission.

The District Election Officer (DEO)

As per section 13AA of the Representation of the People Act 1950, subject to the superintendence, direction and control of the Chief Electoral Officer, the District Election Officer supervises the election work of a district.

Returning Officer (RO)

The Returning Officer of a parliamentary or assembly constituency is responsible for the conduct of elections in the parliamentary or assembly constituency concerned as per section 21 of the Representation of the People Act 1951.

Electoral Registration Officer (ERO)

The Electoral Registration officer is responsible for the preparation of electoral rolls for a parliamentary / assembly constituency.

Presiding Officer

The Presiding Officer with the assistance of polling officers conducts the poll at a polling station.

Observer

• Under section 20B of the Representation of the People Act 1951, the Election Commission of India nominates officers of Government as Observers (General Observers and Election Expenditure Observers) for parliamentary and assembly constituencies.
• They perform such functions as are entrusted to them by the Commission. Earlier, the appointment of Observers was made under the plenary powers of the Commission.
• But with the amendments made to the Representation of the People Act, 1951 in 1996, these are now statutory appointments. They report directly to the Commission.

Provisions related to model code of conduct

• It is a set of guidelines laid down by the Election Commission to govern the conduct of political parties and candidates in the run-up to an election.
• This is in line with Art. 324 of the Constitution, which gives the Election Commission the power to supervise elections to the Parliament and state legislatures.
• It comes into force the moment an election is announced and remains in force till the results are declared. This was laid down by the Supreme Court in the Union of India vs. Harbans Singh Jalal and Others Case.
• It is intended to provide a level playing field for all political parties, to keep the campaign fair and healthy, avoid clashes and conflicts between parties, and ensure peace and order. So, there are guidelines on general conduct, meetings, processions, polling booths, observers, the election manifesto of political parties.
• Its main aim is to ensure that the ruling party, either at the Centre or in the states, does not misuse its official position to gain an unfair advantage in an election. There are guidelines on conduct of ministers and other authorities in announcing new schemes, using public exchequer for advertisements etc.

Media Policy Of The Commission

• The Commission has a comprehensive policy for the media. It holds regular briefings for the mass media-print and electronic, on a regular basis, at close intervals during the election period and on specific occasions as necessary on other occasions.
• The representatives of the media are also provided facilities to report on the actual conduct of poll and counting. They are allowed entry into polling stations and counting centers on the basis of authority letters issued by the Commission.
• They include members of both international and national media. The Commission also publishes statistical reports and other documents which are available in the public domain. The library of the Commission is available for research and study to members of the academic fraternity; media representatives and anybody else interested.
• The Commission has, in cooperation with the state-owned media - Doordarshan and All India Radio, taken up a major campaign for the awareness of voters.
• The company which manages the national Radio and Television networks, Prasar Bharti Corporation has brought out several innovative and effective short clips for this purpose.

Conclusion

Нe Election system in India is the biggest task which is conducted every five years and is a smooth functioning process due to the effort of the election commission of India. In conclusion, we can say that having the second biggest democracy in India, India is also having the biggest election system in India. Due to this, only we are having the sweet fruits of the democratic system in India.