The Prayas ePathshala

Exams आसान है !

10 August 2024 – The Indian Express

Fair electoral process in India

Parliament:

The most significant representation of Indian democracy is the Parliament.
It is done by calling MPs and the House to order so they can take part in legislative and other activities by:
discussions, disagreements, committee decisions, and other processes
Through their representatives, the people of the nation can engage in decision-making and hold the government responsible thanks to Parliament.

Qualifications:

Rajya Sabha:

He or she must be at least thirty years old and an Indian citizen.
He or she ought to swear or affirm that they will uphold the Indian Constitution with sincere faith and loyalty.
In accordance with the Representation of People Act, 1951, the candidate for the Rajya Sabha must be registered to vote in the State from where they are running.
A clause was added in 2003 stating that any Indian citizen, regardless of state of residence, is eligible to run for the Rajya Sabha.

Lok Sabha:

He or she must be at least 25 years old.
An oath or affirmation stating one’s genuine faith and allegiance to the Constitution, as well as one’s commitment to upholding India’s sovereignty and integrity, should be made by the individual.
Along with meeting any other requirements set forth by law by the Parliament, s/he needs to be registered to vote in every Indian constituency.
The candidate vying for the reserved seat must, if applicable, be a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.

Political system in India:

India had roughly 4,126 members of the Legislative Assembly, 245 members of the Rajya Sabha, and 543 members of the Lok Sabha.
Activists: more than 1,000 local councils and companies comprising fifty to one hundred wards and over 2,38,000 panchayats (based on data from the Press Information Bureau).
On average, there are 5 to 30 members at the national and state levels.

Problems:

In India, there are far too few lawmakers and assembly members in charge of the welfare of the populace.
In a democratic system, we appear to naturally prefer limited representation.
At the most fundamental level, there is a glaring lack of their sufficient representation to bring up important concerns and facilitate legislation.
The political system is riven by disproportionality, with certain states’ citizens bearing a disproportionate amount of legislative weight.

The US political system:

The political structure of the United States aims to create disproportionality.
With two senators from each state in the U.S. Senate, legislation can be blocked.
It is urged to distribute power disproportionately.
In a nation with a bipartisan political system, where the same parties compete in every State, this is simpler.

Delimitation and the political structure of India:

Delimitation has been used in the past, therefore it might be a viable way to reestablish proportionality.
In order to facilitate redistricting, the Commission was originally established four times as a separate entity.
The number of Lok Sabha seats was fixed in 1976 during the Emergency, and the delimitation was postponed until 2001.
It’s possible that delimitation resumed when parity was enabled by States lowering their fertility rates.
The 84th Amendment Act, which was introduced in February 2002, set a ceiling on the number of Lok Sabha seats until the first Census following 2026 (i.e., 2031).

Resulting from delimitation:

Rajasthan and Kerala had populations of 25 million and 21 million, respectively, in 1971 and 2011.
It has expanded to include 33 million and 68 million people.
Each Uttar Pradesh legislator in the 2019 elections represents almost three million voters.
whereas roughly 55,000 people were represented by a Lakshadweep MP.
In its historical shape, delimitation would have created bias in favour of the Hindi-speaking people in the north.
while permitting the ascent to power of certain national parties.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala, two states that have done well in slowing down population growth, might face consequences.

How may the negative effects of delimitation be minimised?

To prevent any State from losing seats, the number of seats in Parliament must rise dramatically—at least to 848 seats.
It will improve the ratios of democratic representation.
Population-based considerations shouldn’t be the only ones guiding delimitation.
Fairness, language history, economic productivity, and geographic determinism should all be taken into consideration.
Example: Despite Bihar’s larger population, Sikkim’s voice needs to be heard in Parliament as well.
It will also be necessary to reconsider how delimitation may affect future transfers to the States financially.

How can the political system in India be strengthened?

Because of the effects of the previous decades of centralization on Center-State relations, federalism needs to be fostered.
Provide states a forum and a stronger voice to advocate for their issues.
It is possible to pursue constitutional reform to ensure that every state has an equal number of Rajya Sabha MPs.
It is important to encourage direct elections for Rajya Sabha MPs while making sure that a residence criterion is established and strictly followed.
Particularly for the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections, proportional representation may be taken into consideration.
In Australia, voters rate candidates on an alternate preference ballot during the Lower House elections.
The least popular candidate is eliminated and their votes are transferred to the next most popular candidate if they do not receive a majority of the vote in the first round.
This continues until a candidate has the undisputed support of the majority.
In France, elections to the National Assembly are held using a double ballot method.
Only candidates who received more than 1/8th of the total votes cast in the previous round advance to the second round if no candidate wins the first round.
First-past-the-post elections in India could result in faster outcomes.
It guarantees that a lawmaker frequently speaks for a constituent who does not receive a majority of votes.

Way Ahead:

We also need more States: California, the largest State in the Union with the highest resident population, only has 39 million people living there.
About five to six million people living in each state on average.
The population of about 22 Indian States and Union Territories is higher than that.
Six Union Territories and about 14 linguistic States were established in 1953 with the establishment of the States Reorganisation Commission.
India may end up with more states than it currently has (say from 29 to 50 or even 75).
As an illustration, states like Uttar Pradesh are just too large to effectively administer as a single entity.
There would be less reason to worry about large or North Indian states controlling the political system if there were more minor states.
Following the next election, a New State Reorganisation Commission may be established to assess the administrative and socioeconomic feasibility of particular would-be states.
For instance: Saurashtra, Mithila, Karu Nadu, Kongu Nadu, Bundelkhand, Gorkhaland, Jammu, Tulu Nadu, and Vidarbha.
To improve democratic accountability and administrative efficiency, states must be divided or reorganised.
India has more than 8,000 urban communities, however there are still just a few hundred mayors.
A fixed-term mayor may be chosen by direct election in each Census town.
Direct elections have the potential to increase democratic representation and boost urban governance effectiveness.
These mayors need to have authority and the capacity to make decisions regarding important tasks.
For instance, slum improvement, land use laws, fire safety, urban planning, and water supply (described under the Constitution 74th Amendment Act).
It is necessary to press certain states, like Bihar and Rajasthan, to relinquish control over authorities and functions at the municipal level.
Strengthening India’s democracy will involve improving local democratic representation.
Such actions could contribute to strengthening India’s democracy and easing the worries of its residents in different regions.