Civics Chapter 3- Electoral Politics:

Why Do We Need Elections?

We need elections in any democratic country so that people can choose representatives who will
decide on their behalf. Currently, more than a hundred countries conduct elections regularly. But the
question is, is there any other way to choose representatives other than conducting elections? For
instance, think of a scenario wherein people are sitting together from all groups and diversities and
making important decisions for the country. However, according to the explanation in Chapter 1, this
is not the right approach and might lead to serious repercussions. Also, let’s assume a situation
wherein people are selected based on their knowledge, experience, or age. In such a scenario, we
may not need elections. But we cannot call this process a democratic process because the people will
not know whether the elected person will work as per their wishes. Let’s list down some of the crucial
points:

• In an election, voters can choose the person who will make laws on their behalf.
• Moreover, voters can decide who will form the government and the supreme
authority will make all the decisions
• Furthermore, voters can handpick the party according to its principles, guiding the
representatives to run the government successfully

What Makes an Election Democratic?

Elections can be conducted in various ways. For example, democratic countries conduct elections, but
there are lots of non-democratic countries which conduct elections as well. There is a need to
distinguish between democratic elections and non-democratic elections.

• Everyone should be able to select their leader. For instance, everyone must give
their vote and every vote must have equal value without any discrimination also
known as the universal adult franchise
• Voters must be given something they can choose from. Parties and candidates
should have the right to contest in the elections and offer some real choices to the
citizens.
• Elections must be conducted regularly after a gap of every five years. Also, these
real choices should be offered to the voters at regular intervals.
• The candidate selected by the people should be elected and must contain
supreme authority. It has the power to make decisions, similarly, it can enforce
decisions.
• Elections must be free and fair and people can choose the candidate according to
their wishes.
Is it Good to have Political Competition?:
Elections are always about political competition. It has various forms. At the level of the constituency,
it takes the shape of competition between several candidates. Here are a few reasons in favour of
political competition.

1. Regular elections and electoral competitions provide incentives to political parties

and leaders.
2. Political parties know very well that if they raise issues that people want to raise,
their chances of victory will increase in the upcoming elections. On the contrary, if
they fail to meet the demand of the voters, they might not win elections again
3. If the motivation of the political party is the desire to remain in power, despite that,
it will be forced to serve the people.

What is our System of Elections?

In India, Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections are conducted after every five years. After the five-
year term is over, all Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha candidates’ terms come to an end, and later Lok
Sabha and Vidhan Sabha get dissolved. This is known as general elections. Moreover, sometimes
elections are conducted only for a few specific constituencies due to the death or resignation of the
leader. These elections are known as by-elections.

Electoral Constituencies:
India is divided into different regions because of elections. These regions where elections are held are
called electoral constituencies. The voters living in the region elect one representative. They choose
their representatives through an electoral process.

• For Lok Sabha elections, India is divided into approx. 543 constituencies. The
representative who gets elected from each constituency is known as the Member
of Parliament or an MP.
• Each state is divided into a certain number of assembly constituencies. In this case,
the person who is elected is known as the Member of Legislative Assembly or
MLA. Every Parliamentary constituency has several assembly constituencies
within it.
The same principle and system apply to the Panchayat and Municipal elections. Each village or town
is subdivided into various ‘wards’ which represent constituencies. Every ward elects one member
from the village. Moreover, these constituencies are sometimes counted as ‘seats’, for every
constituency depicts one seat in the assembly.

Reserved Constituencies:
Some constituencies are reserved for backward classes and people who are from the Scheduled
Castes [SC] and Scheduled Tribes [ST]. Similarly, in the Lok Sabha, 84 seats are reserved for the people
of SC and 47 for the people of ST.
 • In SC reserved constituency, only a person who belongs to the Scheduled Caste
or from that region contests for election.
• Only those members belonging to the Scheduled Tribes can stand in an election
from a reserved ST constituency.
In several states, seats in rural areas (panchayat) and urban areas (municipalities and corporations)
local bodies are reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and women candidates as well.

Voters list:
In a democratic election or electoral competition, the list of those people who are eligible to vote is
prepared before the election and later given to everyone. This is called the Electoral Roll and is
generally known as the Voters’ List. It is the utmost responsibility of the working government to
prepare the names of all the eligible people or voters to put on the voter’s list.

It is necessary for the voters to carry an Election Photo Identity Card or voter ID when they go out to
vote on the day of the election so that one person can give only one vote. But the card is compulsory
for voting and voters can also show other identification proofs, like the ration card.

Nomination of Candidates:
Anyone who is eligible to become a voter can also become a candidate and contest in elections. The
candidates must be 25 years of age. Every person who wishes to take part in or contest an election
has to fill out a ‘nomination form’ and give some money as a ‘security deposit’. Moreover, the
candidate has to make a legal declaration, giving details of:

1. Any serious criminal case pending against the person or candidate

2. Details of the candidate’s assets and liabilities and also his or her family
3. Educational qualification details of the candidate
This information is made available and accessible to the public so that voters can think and make their
decision based on the information provided by the candidates.

Election Campaign:
The election campaigns are conducted with a vision to have a free and open platform for discussion
about who is going to be a better representative and which party will form a better government.
Election Campaigns are held for a two-week period between the declaration of the final list of
candidates and the date of the election. During this period the candidates or representatives contact
their voters, citizens, and political leaders conduct election meetings and political parties use their
supporters.

Some of the famous and prominent slogans given by different political parties:

• Save Democracy
• Land to the Tiller
 • Protect the Self-Respect of the Telugus
As per India’s election law, no party or representative can:

1. Bribe, threaten or harass voters

2. Appeal to them by taking the name of caste and religion
3. Use governmental resources like cars, money etc., for their election campaign
4. Spend more than 25 lakh in just one constituency for a Lok Sabha election and 10
lakh in just one constituency for an assembly election
If any Political Party violates the above-mentioned rules, their election can be dismissed by the court.
Apart from the laws, all the political parties in India have agreed to an ideal or Model Code of Conduct
for the election campaign. According to this, no party or candidate can:

• Utilise any place of worship like a temple for their election propaganda
• Make use of government vehicles, aircraft and government officials for elections
• Once elections are announced, Ministers will not declare any new project or
scheme

Polling and Counting of Votes:

The day when the voters give or ‘poll’ their vote is called the election day or the day of the election.
The voting is done in the following order.

1. Every person or individual whose name is present on the voters’ list should go to
any nearby ‘polling booth’.
2. Once the voter goes inside the nearby polling booth, the election officials identify
her/him, put a mark on her/his finger and allow her/him to give a vote.
3. An agent of each candidate or political party is allowed to sit inside the polling
booth while elections are going on to make sure that the voting takes place in a
free and fair manner.
A ballot paper is a sheet of paper on which the names of the contesting candidates along with party
names and symbols are listed. The ballot paper was used earlier. Nowadays, electronic voting
machines (EVM) are used to record votes.

• The machine shows the names of the candidates and the party symbols.
• The voter has to just press the button against the name of the candidate she wants
to give her vote to.
• Once the polling is over, all the EVMs are sealed and taken to a secure place.
• A few days later, all the EVMs are opened and the votes secured by each candidate
are counted.
• The candidate who secures the highest number of votes from a constituency is
declared elected.
What Makes Elections in India Democratic?
1) Election Commission

In India, elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India (EC). The Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC) who heads the election commission is appointed by the President. Election
Commission is an independent body and has a huge range of authority and powers which are:

1. EC can take decisions on every aspect of conduct, rule and control of the elections
starting from the announcement of elections till the declaration of results.
2. It implements the Code of Conduct to punish any candidate or party which violates
the regulations.
3. During the period of election, the EC can order the government to follow some
specific guidelines, to prevent the misuse of governmental power to enhance its
chances to win the elections or to transfer some government officials deliberately.
4. When officials are on election duty, government officials work under the control of
the Election Commission.
2) Popular Participation

The quality of the conduct of the election process can also be checked and observed by seeing the
participation of people. People’s participation or how many people came to vote in the election can
be measured by voter turnout figures. The turnout shows the percentage of eligible voters who
actually did cast their vote.

1. It is a fact that in India, the poor, and underprivileged population vote in larger
proportion when compared to the rich and privileged sections of the society.
2. Common people or citizens in India believe that through elections they can
pressurise the political parties to adopt new policies and programmes favourable
to the poor.
3. Over the years the interest of voters in election-related activities has been
increasing.
3) Acceptance of Election Outcome

One last and final test of the freedom and fairness of the election is the outcome or result of the
election.

1. The ruling parties commonly lose elections in India both at the national level and
state levels.
2. In the US, an incumbent or a ‘sitting’ elected representative rarely loses any
election. On the contrary in India, about half of the sitting MPs and MLAs lose
elections.
3. Candidates who are unpopular and are known to have spent a lot of money on
‘buying votes’ in the election campaign and candidates with criminal connections
most often lose elections.
4. Barring some disputed elections, the electoral outcomes are usually accepted as
‘people’s verdict’ by the defeated party.