INDIAN POLITY

ELECTIONS IN INDIA

Overview

• India is the largest democracy in the world (in terms of electorate)
• The 2009 General Elections had an electorate of 714 million. This is larger than the electorates of the EU and the US combined
• The first General Elections were held in 1951
• The control and conduct of all elections to the Parliament, to the state legislatures and to the offices of the President and Vice-President fall under the purview of the Election Commission of India
• Panchayat elections are conducted by respective State Election Commissions
  

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Constitutional provisions for elections

• Article 324 stipulates that the superintendence, direction and control of elections shall be vested in the Election Commission
  
• Article 325 provides a single electoral roll for every constituency. Also stipulates that no person shall be eligible or ineligible for inclusion in electoral rolls on the basis of race, religion, caste or sex
  
• Article 326 stipulates that elections shall be held on the basis of adult suffrage. Every person who is a citizen of India and is not less than 18 years of age shall be eligible for inclusion
  

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Election process

• The Election Commission announces the schedule of elections, but the election process only starts with the notification by the President (or Governors)
• Model Code of Conduct comes into force the day election dates are announced. 
  
• No party is allowed to use government resources for campaigning. Campaigning to be stopped 48 hours prior to polling day
  
• The Collector of each district is in charge of polling
• The indelible ink used to mark fingers is produced by the Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd.
• Currently, India does not have an absentee ballot system. To enrol as a voter, a person needs to be an ‘ordinary resident’ i.e. reside in a particular constituency for at least 6 months
  
• A period of eight days is allowed for filing nominations. Two days are allowed for withdrawal of candidature
  
• Candidates to a particular constituency can be from anywhere in the country. However, voters in the constituency must be residents of that constituency
• A candidate may contest from two constituencies at most
  

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Political parties

• Registration of the People Act 1951 provides for registration of political parties with the Election Commission
• To be recognised as a National Party, a party must satisfy all the following criteria
  • secure 6% of votes polled in four or more states (in General Elections of Assembly Elections)
  • win at least 4 seats to the Lok Sabha
  • win at least 2% of Lok Sabha seats from at least three different states (i.e. min of 11 MPs in the Lok Sabha)
• There are currently six national parties: INC, BJP, BSP, CPI (M), NCP, CPI
• To be recognised as a State Party, a party must satisfy all the following
  • Secure at least 6% of votes polled in that particular state
    
  • Wins at least 3 seats to the Legislative Assembly or at least 3% of Assembly seats, whichever is higher
    

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Judicial Review of election disputes

• Technically, the decisions of the Election Commission can be challenged in High Courts of the Supreme Courts
• However, by tradition, the Judiciary does not intervene in the conduct of elections once the process of elections has begun
• After declaration of election results, the Election Commission cannot reverse the results on its own
• The results of the elections to Parliament and state legislatures can only be reviewed by filing election petitions at the High Courts
• For elections of President and Vice-President, election petitions can only be filed with the Supreme Court

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ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

About the Election Commission

• The Election Commission is autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body
• Its mission is to conduct free and fair elections in India
• The Election Commission was established on 25 Jan 1950 under Article 324 of the Constitution

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Powers of the Election Commission

• The EC enjoys complete autonomy and is insulated from any interference from the Executive
• It also functions as a quasi-judiciary body regarding matters related to elections and electoral disputes
• Its recommendations are binding on the President of India
• However, its decisions are subject to judicial review by High Courts and the Supreme Court acting on electoral petitions
• During the election process, the entire Central and state government machinery (including paramilitary and police forces) is deemed to be on deputation to the Commission
• The Commission takes effective control of government personnel, movable and immovable property for successful conduct of elections

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Functions of the Election Commission

• Demarcation of constituencies
• Preparation of electoral rolls
• Supervision, direction and control of elections to Parliament, Legislatures, President/Vice-President
• Scrutiny of nomination papers
• Scrutiny of election expenses of candidates
• Establish rules for elections
• Issue notification of election dates and schedules
• Determine code of conduct
• Allot symbols and accord recognition to political parties
• Render advice to the President and Governors regarding disqualification of MPs and MLAs
• Postpone or countermand elections for specific reasons
• Resolve election disputes
• Allot schedules for broadcast and telecast of party campaigns
• Grant exemptions to persons from disqualifications imposed by judicial decisions

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Composition of the Election Commission

• The Election Commission is a multimember Commission, the Chief Election Commissioner acts as the Chairperson
• All members of the Election Commission enjoy equal vote, while the CEC additionally also enjoys casting vote. Decisions of the EC are to be based on unanimity or majority
  
• The CEC is appointed by the President
• Other members of the Commission are appointed by the President in consultation with the CEC
• The CEC can be removed from office only in the manner of a Judge of the Supreme Court. Other members can be removed by the President in consultation with the CEC
  
• The President may appoint Regional Election Commissioners in consultation with the CEC before elections to the Parliament or Assemblies. Upon conclusion of elections, the REC steps down

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Terms of service

• The tenure of Election Commissioners is six years or up to age of 65 years, whichever is earlier
• The CEC cannot hold any office of profit after retirement. Other ECs cannot hold any office of profit after retirement, except as CEC
• The CEC cannot be reappointed to the post
• The allowances and salaries of the CEC are drawn from the Consolidated Fund of India

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Chief Election Commissioners of India

S. No.	CEC	Tenure	Notes
1	Sukumar Sen	1950-1958	First CEC Served as CEC for Nepal and Sudan
2	K V K Sundaram	1958-1967
3	S P Sen Verma	1967-1972
4	Nagendra Singh	1972-1973	Born into Royal family of Dungarpur, Rajasthan Padma Vibhushan 1973 President of the International Court of Justice (1985-1988)
5	T Swaminathan	1973-1977
6	S L Shakdhar	1977-1982
7	R K Trivedi	1982-1985
8	R V S Peri Shastri	1986-1990
9	V S Ramadevi	Nov 1990 – Dec 1990	Only female CEC
10	T N Seshan	1990-1996	Introduced innovative electoral reforms Envisioned voter ID card Ramon Magsaysay Award 1996 After retirement, founded Deshbkat Trust for social reforms
11	M S Gill	1996-2001	Padma Vibhushan 2000 Currently, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports
12	J M Lyngdoh	2001-2004	Ramon Magsaysay Award 2003
13	T S Krishnamurthy	2004-2005	Served as IMF advisor in Ethiopia and Georgia As CEC, served as observer to elections in Zimbabwe and USA
14	B B Tandon	2005-2006
15	N Gopalaswami	2006-2009	Observer to US elections
16	Navin Chawla	2009-present

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DELIMITATION COMMISSION

• Established under the Delimitation Commission Act to redraw the boundaries of assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies based on recent census
• The representation of each state to the Lok Sabha is not changed. However, the number of SC and ST states may change
• The orders of the Commission are laid down before the Lok Sabha and respective state Legislatures
• The Commission is a powerful body – its orders cannot be changed by Parliament or Legislature, nor can they be challenged in a court of law
• The Delimitation Commission is expected to be constituted every ten years (following every census), however in practise it has only been constituted four times since Independence: 1952, 1963, 1973, 2002
• The Delimitation Commission 2002 was headed by Justice Kuldip Singh as chairperson. The Karnataka Assembly elections 2008 were the first elections to be conducted under newly delimited constituencies. The General Elections 2009 also used these new constituencies.
• Breakdown of constituencies
• Largest (population): Outer Delhi (3 million)
• Smallest (population): Lakshadweep (37,000)
• Largest (area): Ladakh (173,000 sq km)
• Smallest (area): Chandni Chowk, Delhi (10 sq km)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

Overview

• Local government in India falls mainly under two categories: rural self government and urban self government
• There are about 3 million elected representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), about one third of them women
• There are more than 640,000 village panchayats, about 6000 intermediate bodies and 500 district level bodies. Panchayats cover about 99.6% of India’s rural population
• The powers and functions of PRIs vary from state to state

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Evolution of local government

• The earliest references to self government are found in the Rig Veda, which mentions ’sabhas’ at the village level
• Over time, these bodies evolved into Panchayats (council of five persons)
• Under British rule, local governance was authorised by the Mayo Resolution of 1870 (under Lord Mayo)
• However, it was the Ripon Resolution of 1882 (under Lord Ripon) that prioritised local government and recognised the twin objectives of administrative efficiency and political education
• The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms (1919) led to the establishment of village panchayats in the provinces and even princely states
• Panchayat system in post-independence India developed slowly. Multiple committees were constituted to study panchayat system
• Panchayat system was institutionalised with the passage of the 73^rd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1992

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Hierarchy of local government

LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN RURAL AREAS

Overview

• Local government in rural areas is enabled by the Panchayat system of governance involving Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)
• The Panchayat is a three-tier system involving governance bodies at three levels:
  • Gram Panchayat at the village level
  • Panchayat Samiti at the Block level
  • Zilla Parishad at the District level
• The Panchayat system exists in all states except Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram. It also exists in all Union Territories except Delhi
• Panchayat system is provided for all states having a population more than 2 million
• Function of the panchayat include
  • Planning and implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice relating to the 29 subjects in the Indicative List
  • To levy and collect taxes, duties, tolls and fees

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Committees to study Panchayat system

Committee		Established	Mandate	Recommendations
Balwantrai Mehta		1957	Community development projects	Establish local bodies Devolve power and authority Basic unit of decentralised government to be Block/samiti Body to be constituted for 5 years by indirect elections from village panchayats Functions to include agriculture, local industry
K Santhanam		1963	Panchayat finance	Panchayats to have powers to levy tax on land revenue etc Panchayati Raj Finance Corporation to be set up
Ashok Mehta		1978	Effective development of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI)	District to be viable administrative unit for planning PRIs as two-tier system with Mandal Panchayat and Zilla Parishad 4 year term, participation of political parties
GVK Rao		1985	Development of PRIs	PRIs to be activated and supported Block Development Office (BDO) to be center of rural development
LM Singhvi	1986	– same-	Local self government to be constitutionally recognised Non-involvement of political parties

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73^rd Constitutional Amendment Act 1992

• The Constitution of India did not have originally have provisions for panchayat system of government
• The 73^rd Constitutional Amendment Act (1992) formally established Panchayat Raj Institutions in the country
• The Act was meant to provide democracy at the grassroots level
• The mean features of the Act include
  • Establishment of Panchayats as elected bodies
  • A three tier structure of panchayat institutions: village level, Block level and District level
  • Not less than one third of panchayat seats to be reserved for women. Additionally, reservations also for SC/STs
    
  • Panchayat elections to be supervised by State Election Commissions
  • District Planning Committees provided Constitutional status
  • Indicative List of 29 subjects introduced in the 11^th Schedule of the Constitution. Panchayats to plan and implement works related to this List.

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VILLAGE LEVEL GOVERNMENT

• The panchayat at the village level is known as Gram Panchayat, or simply as Panchayat
• The Gram Panchayat is the basic level of the Panchayat system, and hence of the system of governance in India
• Gram Panchayats can be established in villages with a minimum population of 300. If individual villages have small populations, they can be grouped together to form a group-gram panchayat
• The Gram Panchayat is elected by the Gram Sabha.
• Gram Panchayats are elected for a period of 5 years
  

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The Gram Sabha

• The Gram Sabha consists of all residents of a village above the age of 18 years
• It meets twice a year
• The annual budget and development schemes for the village are placed before the Gram Sabha for consideration and approval
• The Sarpanch and his assistants answer questions posed by the people

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Constitution of Gram Panchayats

• The number of members ranges from 7 to 31
  
• The Sarpanch or Chairperson is the head of the Gram Panchayat
• The Sarpanch and Deputy Sarpanch are usually elected from and by the elected members of the panchayat. Sometimes, they are elected directly by the people

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Responsibilities of the Panchayat

• Attend to street lights, construction and repair works of roads etc
• Keep records of births, deaths and marriages in the village
• Attend to public health and hygiene by providing sanitation and water facilities
• Provide for education
• Implement development schemes for agriculture and animal husbandry

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Sources of income

• The main source of income for panchayats is property tax
• Other sources include profession tax, taxes on pilgrimage (if applicable), animal trade etc
• Also, the panchayats receive grants from the state government as well as Zilla Parishads

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BLOCK LEVEL GOVERNMENT

• The panchayat at the intermediate level is known as Panchayat Samiti
• It works at the Tehsil or Taluka level, also known as Development Block
• The Panchayat Samiti acts as the link between the gram panchayat and the district administration
• The Panchayat Samiti is also known as Mandal Parishad, Taluka Panchayat, Mandal Panchayat
• The main source of income of the Samiti are grants and loans from the state government

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Constitution of Panchayat Samiti

• The Panchayat Samiti is composed four types of members
  • Ex-officio members: all sarpanchas of the Development Block, the MPs and MLAs of the area and Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO)
  • Coopted members: representatives of SC/STs and women
  • Associate members: one farmer, one representative of cooperative societies and one representative of marketing services
  • Elected members
• The samiti is elected for a period of 5 years
• There is a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman
• There is an officer in charge for every department of the Samiti including administration, finance, public works, agriculture etc

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Functions of the Panchayat Samiti

• Implement schemes for agriculture development
• Establishment of primary health centres and primary schools
• Supply of drinking water, sanitation, construction/repair of roads
• Development of cottage and small scale industries
• Establishment of cooperative societies
• Establishment of youth organizations

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DISTRICT LEVEL GOVERNMENT

• The Zilla Parishad is the local government body at the district level. It is also known as the District Council
• The Parishad is responsible for administration of the rural areas of the district
• It is located in the district headquarters

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Constitution of the Zilla Parishad

• The members of the Zilla Parishad are Chairmen of the Panchayat Samitis falling under the area
• They serve for a period of 5 years
• Zilla Parishads have min 50 and max 75 members
• Seats are reserved for SC/STs, backward classes and women
• The Zilla Parishad is headed by a CEO (who is an IAS officer)

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Sources of income

• Taxes on water, pilgrimage, markets etc
• Money from the state government for works and schemes assigned to the Parishad
• Fixed grant from the state government in proportion to the land revenue

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Functions of the Zilla Parishad

• Planning and execution of development projects for the district
• Provide essential services and facilities to the rural population
• Agriculture projects such as supply of seeds, irrigation, new techniques of farming etc
• Education projects such as setting up and running of schools, adult literacy, running libraries
• Establish primary health centres, hospitals, mobile health centres
• Carry out vaccination drives and family welfare campaigns
• Construct/repair bridges and roads
• Development plans for SC/STs, hostels for SC students, ashramashalas for adivasis
• Encourage entrepreneurship in small scale industries such as handicrafts, dairy farms etc

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN URBAN AREAS

Overview

• There are more than 3000 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in India
• Based on the 74^th Constitution Amendment Act, there are three types of ULBs
  • Municipal Corporation (nagar nigam)
  • Municipality (nagar palika)
  • City Council (nagar panchayat)
• According to the Act, there needs to be a City Council for areas in transition from rural to urban, a Municipality for small urban areas and a Municipal Corporation for large urban areas
• The functions and powers of ULBs vary from state to state
• Municipal governance in India was first introduced in Madras in 1688. The Madras Municipal Corporation was the first municipal body in the Commonwealth outside the UK. The Bombay and Calcutta Corporations were established in 1726

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MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

• Municipal Corporations are established in cities with population greater than 1 million
• Municipal Corporations function under the provisions of the Corporation Act 1835
• The Corporations are elected directly by the people. Elected members serve a term of 5 years
• Municipal Corporations provide necessary community services such as health care, educational centres etc
• Municipal Corporations interact directly with the state governments
• The head of the Corporation is the Mayor. The principal executive officer is the Municipal Commissioner (an IAS officer)

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Sources of income

• Taxes on property, water, markets, entertainment
• Taxes on vehicles
• Grants from the state government

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Functions of Municipal Corporations

• Water supply
• Hospitals
• Urban planning
• Roads
• Street lighting
• Sanitation
• Waste disposal
• Fire services
• Records of births and deaths

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MUNICIPALITY

• A municipality administers an urban area of population 200,000 or less
• Municipalities interact with the state government through the Directorate of Municipalities or the District Collector
• Members of Municipalities are elected for a period of five years
• The head of the Municipality is the President, elected by and from the members
• The state government also appoints a Chief Officer and other officers such as Health Inspector, Sanitation Inspector etc to assist the President
• Their sources of income and functions are pretty much the same as that of Municipal Corporations

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CITY COUNCIL

• City Council administer urban areas having population greater than 30,000 and less than 100,000
• However, as an exception, all previous Town Area Committees (more than 5000 less than 20,000) have been reclassified as City Councils
• City Councils have a Chairman and ward members
• Ward members included elected members (min 10) and nominated members (min 3)