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10. Absence of a strong opposition party at the central level.
11. Role of caste and religion in the political process.
12. Alienation and discontentment among the tribal groups.
ROLE OF REGIONAL PARTIES
The following points highlight the role played by the regional
parties in Indian politics:
1. They have provided better governance and a stable
government at the regional level.
2. They have posed a challenge to the one-party dominant
system in the country and led to a decline in the domination
of the Congress party3 .
3. They have made a strong impact on the nature and course
of centre-state relations. The tension areas in centre-state
relations and the demand for grant of greater autonomy
made the central leadership more responsive to the needs of
the regional actors4 .
4. They have made politics more competitive and popular
participation in the political process more extensive at the
grass roots5 .
5. They have widened the choice for voters in both the
parliamentary and assembly elections. The voters can vote
for that party which aims to promote the interest of their
state/region.
6. They have increased the political consciousness of the
people and also their interest in politics. They bring into
focus the local or regional issues which immediately attract
the attention of the masses.
7. They provided a check against the dictatorial tendencies of
the central government. They opposed the ruling congress
party at the centre on certain issues and forced the dominant
party to be more reasonable in its approach to the process
of conflict resolution6 .
8. They have made a significant contribution for the successful
functioning of parliamentary democracy. In a parliamentary
democracy, the minority must have its say, the majority must
have its way, and the regional parties have played this role
9. The have succeeded in exposing the partisan role of the
Governors in the appointment and dismissal of the Chief
Minister, in issuing of ordinances and reservation of bills for
the consideration of the President8 .
10. After the dawn of the era of coalition politics, the regional
parties have assumed an important role in national politics.
DYSFUNCTIONS OF REGIONAL PARTIES
However, there are also negative points in the role of regional
parties. These are as follows:
1. They have given more importance to regional interests
rather than national interests. They have neglected the
implications and consequences of their narrow approach to
the resolution of national issues.
2. They have encouraged regionalism, cas-teism, linguism,
communalism and tribalism which have become hurdles to
national integration.
3. They are responsible for the unresolution of the inter-state
water disputes, inter-state border disputes and other inter-
state issues.
4. They have also indulged in corruption, nepotism, favouritism
and other forms of misutilisation of power in order to
promote their self-interest.
5. They have focused more on the populist schemes and
measures to expand and strengthen their electoral base.
This has adversely affected the state economy and
development.
6. They bring in regional factor in the decision-making and the
policy-making by the coalition government at the centre.
They force the central leadership to yield to their demands10
.
NOTES AND REFERENCES
1. Observation made by Stanley A. Kochnock in Ram
Reddy, G. and Sharma, B.A.V., Regionalism in India - A
Study of Telangana, Concept Publishers, New Delhi,
1979, pp. 87–88.
2. Brass, P.R., The Politics of India Since Independence,
Second Edition, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, UK, 1993, p. 89.
3. Bombwall, K.R., Regional parties in Indian politics: A
Political Parties in India, ESS Publications, Delhi, 1988,
pp. 1–16.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Siwach, J.R., Dynamics of Indian Government and
Politics, Second Edition, Sterling Publishers Private
Limited, New Delhi, 1990, p. 865.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
71 Elections
ELECTORAL SYSTEM
Articles 324 to 329 in Part XV of the Constitution make the
following provisions with regard to the electoral system in our
country:
1. The Constitution (Article 324) provides for an independent
Election Commission in order to ensure free and fair
elections in the country. The power of superintendence,
direction and conduct of elections to the Parliament, the
state legislatures, the office of the President and the office of
the VicePresident is vested in the Commission1. At present,
the commission consists of a chief election commissioner
and two election commissioners2 .
2. There is to be only one general electoral roll for every
territorial constituency for election to the Parliament and the
state legislatures. Thus, the Constitution has abolished the
system of communal representation and separate
electorates which led to the partition of the country.
3. No person is to be ineligible for inclusion in the electoral roll
on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or any of them.
Further, no person can claim to be included in any special
electoral roll for any constituency on grounds only of religion,
race, caste or sex or any of them. Thus, the Constitution has
accorded equality to every citizen in the matter of electoral
franchise.
4. The elections to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies are
to be on the basis of adult franchise. Thus, every person
who is a citizen of India and who is 183 years of age, is
entitled to vote at the election provided he is not disqualified
under the provisions of the Constitution or any law made by
on the ground of non-residence, unsound mind, crime or
corrupt or illegal practice4 .
5. Parliament may make provision with respect to all matters
relating to elections to the Parliament and the state
legislatures including the preparation of electoral rolls, the
delimitation of constituencies and all other matters
necessary for securing their due constitution.
6. The state legislatures can also make provision with respect
to all matters relating to elections to the state legislatures
including the preparation of electoral rolls and all other
matters necessary for securing their due constitution. But,
they can make provision for only those matters which are not
covered by the Parliament. In other words, they can only
supplement the parliamentary law and cannot override it.
7. The Constitution declares that the validity of any law relating
to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats
to such constituencies cannot be questioned in any court.
Consequently, the orders issued by the Delimitation
Commission become final and cannot be challenged in any
court.
8. The Constitution lays down that no election to the
Parliament or the state legislature is to be questioned except
by an election petition presented to such authority and in
such manner as provided by the appropriate legislature.
Since 1966, the election petitions are triable by high courts
alone. But, the appellate jurisdiction lies with the Supreme
Court alone.
Article 323B empowers the appropriate legislature (Parliament
or state legislature) to establish a tribunal for the adjudication of
election disputes. It also provides for the exclusion of the
jurisdiction of all courts (except the special leave appeal
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court) in such disputes. So far, no
such tribunal has been established. It must be noted here that in
Chandra Kumar case5 (1997), the Supreme Court declared this
provision as unconstitutional. Consequently, if at any time an
election tribunal is established, an appeal from its decision lies to
ELECTION MACHINERY
Election Commission of India (ECI)
Under Article 324 of the Constitution of India, the Election
Commission of India is vested with the power of superintendence,
direction and control of conducting the elections to the Lok Sabha
and State Legislative Assemblies. The Election Commission of
India is a three-member body, with one Chief Election
Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. The President of
India appoints the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election
Commissioners.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)
The Chief Electoral Officer of a state/ Union Territory is authorised
to supervise the election work in the state/Union Territory subject
to the overall superintendence, direction and control of the
Election Commission. 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.
District Election Officer (DEO)
Subject to the superintendence, direction and control of the Chief
Electoral Officer, the District Election Officer supervises the
election work of a district. The Election Commission of India
nominates or designates an officer of the state Government as the
District Election Officer in consultation with the state government.
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. The Election
Commission of India nominates or designates an officer of the
Government or a local authority as the Returning Officer for each
of the assembly and parliamentary constituencies in consultation
with the State Government / Union Territory Administration. In
addition, the Election Commission of India also appoints one or
more Assistant Returning Officers for each of the assembly and
Parliamentary constituencies to assist the Returning Officer in the
performance of his functions in connection with the conduct of
elections.
Electoral Registration Officer (ERO)
The Electoral Registration Officer is responsible for the
preparation of electoral rolls for a Parliamentary / assembly
constituency. The Election Commission of India, in consultation
with the state / UT government, appoints an officer of the
government or the local authorities as the Electoral Registration
Officer. In addition, the Election Commission of India also appoints
one or more Assistant Electoral Registration Officers to assist the
Electoral Registration Officer in the performance of his functions in
the matter of preparation / revision of electoral rolls.
Presiding Officer
The Presiding Officer with the assistance of polling officers
conducts the poll at a polling station. The District Election Officer
appoints the Presiding Officers and the Polling Officers. In the
case of Union Territories, such appointments are made by the
Returning Officers.
Observers
The Election Commission of India nominates officers of
Government as Observers for Parliamentary and Assembly
Constituencies. These observers are of various kinds6 :
1. General Observers: The Commission deploys General
Observers in adequate number to ensure smooth conduct of
elections. These Observers are asked to keep a close watch
on every stage of the electoral process to ensure free and
fair elections.
2. Expenditure Observers: Expenditure Observers from
Central Government Services are appointed to keep a close
watch on election expenditure of the candidates and to
ensure that no inducement is offered to the electors during
the entire election process for exercise of their franchise.
3. Police Observers: The Commission deploys IPS officers as
Police Observers at State and District levels, depending
upon the sensitivity of the Constituency, wherever required.
They monitors all activities relating to force deployment, law
and order situation and co-ordinate between the Civil and
Police administration to ensure free and fair election.
4. Awareness Observers: For the first time in the 16th Lok
Sabha Elections (2014), the Commission deployed Central
Awareness Observers to oversee the efficient and effective
management of the electoral process at the field level,
mainly in respect of voter awareness and facilitation.
Awareness Observers are deployed to observe the
interventions undertaken by the election machinery to bridge
the gap in people’s participation in the electoral process
particularly in regard to voters’ turnout. They also monitors
the various media related aspects of RP Act 1951 and
observe the mechanism directed by the Commission at
District levels on checking the problem of ‘Paid News’.
5. Micro Observers: In addition to General Observers, the
Commission also deploys Micro Observers to observe the
poll proceedings on the poll day in selected critical polling
stations. They are chosen from Central Government /
Central PSUs officials. Micro-Observers verify the BMF at
the Polling stations and certify the same before start of
polling. They observe the proceedings at the Polling Stations
on the poll day right from the mock poll to the completion of
poll and the process of sealing of EVMs and other
documents to ensure that all instructions of the Commission
are complied with by the Polling Parties and the Polling
Agents. They also report to the General Observers directly
about vitiation of the poll proceedings, if any, in their allotted
Polling Stations.
6. Assistant Expenditure Observers: In addition to
Expenditure Observers, Assistant Expenditure Observers
are appointed for each Assembly segment to ensure that all
ELECTION PROCESS7
Time of Elections
Elections for the Lok Sabha and every state Legislative Assembly
have to take place every five years, unless called earlier. The
President can dissolve Lok Sabha and call a General Election
before five years is up, if the Government can no longer command
the confidence of the Lok Sabha, and if there is no alternative
government available to take over.
Schedule of Elections
When the five-year limit is up, or the legislature has been
dissolved and new elections have been called, the Election
Commission puts into effect the machinery for holding an election.
The Constitution states that there can be no longer than six
months between the last session of the dissolved Lok Sabha and
the recalling of the new House, so elections have to be concluded
before then.
The Commission normally announces the schedule of elections
in a major press conference a few weeks before the formal
process is set in motion. The Model Code of Conduct for guidance
of candidates and political parties comes immediately into effect
after such announcement.
The formal process for the elections starts with the Notification
or Notifications calling upon the electorate to elect Members of a
House. As soon as Notifications are issued, candidates can start
filing their nominations in the constituencies from where they wish
to contest. These are scrutinised by the Returning Officer of the
constituency concerned after the last date for the same is over
after about a week. The validly nominated candidates can
withdraw from the contest within two days from the date of
scrutiny. Contesting candidates get at least two weeks for political
campaign before the actual date of poll.
On account of the vast magnitude of operations and the
massive size of the electorate, polling is held on a number of days
the results declared for each constituency by the concerned
Returning Officer.
The Commission compiles the complete list of members
elected and issues an appropriate Notification for the due
constitution of the House. With this, the process of elections is
complete and the President, in case of the Lok Sabha, and the
Governors of the concerned states, in case of State Assemblies,
can then convene their respective Houses to hold their sessions.
Oath or Affirmation
It is necessary for a candidate to make and subscribe an oath or
affirmation before an officer authorised by the Election
Commission. For any particular election, the authorised persons
are, principally, the Returning Officer and the Assistant Returning
Officer for the constituency. In the case of a candidate confined in
a prison or under preventive detention, the superintendent of the