Introduction
This is an Election year in India. General Elections for the 18th Lok Sabha are to be announced shortly. Elections are the festival of democracy. Holding the elections in India is a mammoth exercise. As per Special Summary Revision (SSR 2024), there are 968.8 million registered voters who will decide the government at the Centre for the next five years. This number is larger than the population of Europe, and of the continents of North and South America put together. In contrast, there were 911 million voters in 2019 and 834 million in 2014. In the first election in 1951, the electorate was only 173 million. SSR was ordered on January 1, 2024, as the cut-off date. The final roll was published after due diligence and hard work by a dedicated electoral machinery. This stupendous job of house-to-house verification has been accomplished by the booth-level workers (BLOs) who are uniquely connected with the polling station area. Election Commission of India has extensively harnessed the digital technology to complete the task. In the final electoral roll, an overall elector-population (EP) ratio of 66.76% could be achieved which is a healthy indicator. It also shows an increase in gender ratio from 928 to 948 between the two Lok Sabha elections is a positive sign. In the current revision, enrollment of women has been 15% higher than men. Moreover, the electoral roll has 19 million electors in the 18-19 age group, newly qualified to vote in the incoming elections. Further, 197 million are in the 20-29 age group. Thus, the overall youth segment comes to 22-23% of the electorate indicating the important role of youth in the electoral process and the formation of the governments. At the same time, there are 18 million voters over 80 years and 238,000 centenarians. 48,000 voters belong to the third gender. There is a hundred percent registration of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups. 8.85 million voters have been marked as voters with disabilities by the election machinery. An important aspect of the revision of rolls exercise is the removal of over 16 million names of deceased, permanently shifted and duplicate electors. This task is done with utmost caution and diligence.
The Significant Facets of Elections
1. Use of Electronic Voting Machine and VVPAT
Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) was introduced in Elections in India in 1998 and 2001 in a phased manner. Prior to the electronic voting, paper ballots were used, and counting was done manually. Since then, EVMs are used in every election in India. The voter has to press the right button of the machine in favour of his favourite candidate. During the past few years, a tirade has been launched, mainly by the Opposition parties, against these machines, alleging misuse of the machines by the ruling party by manipulating results. The multiple complaints were lodged before the Election Commission of India. Even the petition was filed before the Supreme Court. But the allegations could not be proved anywhere. So, the use of EVMs are still in vogue to conduct elections in India. In order to ensure more authenticity in the voting process, the provision of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was added in 2013 to provide higher verifiability and transparency. The idea behind this innovation is that the voter needs to know that his or her vote by pressing the button on the EVM has, indeed, gone to his or her candidate of choice.
2. One Nation, One Election
Between December 1951 and February 1952, first elections were held in independent India, both to the House of People (Lok Sabha) and the State Legislative Assemblies. This continued until the late 1960s, when unstable non-Congress State governments began to fall. It led to midterm elections and thus, a disruption in the pattern of joint elections to the Lok Sabha and the States. It was, however, in 1971 that marked the clean break from the earlier practice. The elections were scheduled for 1972 but the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ‘keen to make the polls a referendum on her populist measures, chose to advance the dates by an entire year. Thus separated the national and state schedules since the terms of many Legislative Assemblies were yet to end.’ At present, a high-level Committee is deliberating under the chairmanship of Ramnath Kovind, the former President of India, on the viability of one nation, one election. Its recommendations will decide the future course of action.
3. Election Funding
Political parties need massive funds for contesting elections. Political finance is too intricate and multi-dimensional to deal with. At present, India is trying to find a solution which is not only transparent but acceptable to all. Recently, the Supreme Court in a judgment declared the Electoral Bonds Scheme as unconstitutional. The Court held that information about funding to a political party is essential for a voter to express the freedom to vote in an effective manner. The Electoral Bonds Scheme, to the extent that it infringes on this right to information by anonymising contributions through bonds, violates Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution which speaks about freedom of expression. Lack of transparency proved to be a bane for the scheme. Any such scheme will have to be formulated by evolving consensus among the major political parties, at least. Creation of a common pool of funds or state funding could not evolve consensus of all. So, in the case of political finance, India has come back to square one. The problem needs a lot of brainstorming by the political classes, civil society, and the legal and financial experts.
4. Use of Black Money During Elections
Despite repeated guidelines and circulars from the Election Commission of India on the eve of every election, the flow of black money appears to be uninterrupted. In many constituencies, black money is recovered from the representatives or agents of political parties. Needless to say, this money is used for distribution among the unprivileged voters garnering their support for the party. Now, the digital transfer of money is also in practice. Repeated transactions of similar amounts from one digital payment wallet to multiple recipients are being tracked as suspected distribution of money to influence voters ahead of elections. Among the transactions that raised concern were those of amount of Rs. 1,000-Rs.2000 each from a single payment wallet to multiple recipients in a short duration. The Election Commission has stated that a strict vigil would be kept on such transactions. Also, the banks will be keeping a watch on the accounts from where the money is going to multiple accounts, that is the wallet they are using.
5. Fake News
During elections, the role of fake news cannot be underestimated. With the induction of electronic media and the Internet, this malaise has become more nauseating. On the various social media platforms, a plethora of fake news, memes of the candidates and false narratives about the candidates and the strategies of the political parties are floated to change the mindset of the voters. Every political party is nurturing an online portal to spread their appeal to voters on which novel methods are being devised to lure the voters. In some instances of fake news or derogatory posts, police take action by registering first information reports. But to put an effective check on the enormous online content within the short span of time of the electoral process is an uphill task. Even the Election Commission has not come up with any effective solution to this menace. Curbing such derogatory and harmful practices is necessary for the growth of democracy in India.
6. Model Code of Conduct
For conducting free and fair elections in India, the Election Commission has prepared a Model Code of Conduct for the political parties with the intent that the parties will adhere to the guidelines given in the Code. However, this Code needs urgent revision in the light of recent developments. From never-ending social media campaigns to the impending threat of deepfakes, technology is very much instrumental in transforming the process of electioneering in India. Such and many other relevant issues should be dealt with in the Model Code of Conduct.
Conclusion
In spite of several handicaps and problems on the way, the elections in India have become an unstoppable process. The successive governments and the Election Commission have made every endeavour to conduct elections in a free and fair manner. Elections are the backbone to sustain democracy in India. However, with the rapid technological advancements, it has become imperative to review the whole electoral process and to make certain amendments wherever needed. The menace of fake news and deepfakes is really challenging which requires hard thinking and robust laws. An aware citizenry is sine qua non in a democratic polity. Their role is immense, and it is hoped that they will play a lead role in strengthening the pillars of democracy in India.