Democracy is based on the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in the ordinary people-Harry Emerson Fosdick

It won’t be wrong to say that elections in India is less than any kind of festivities that the citizens of our country engage in. It is that time in the country when massive rallies, catchy and communal slogans, campaigning drives, controversial statements, name- calling game, corruption charges et cetera become no less than a thriller movie. As correctly mentioned by Mr. Harry Emerson Fosdick in the above mentioned quote that the elections are the time when people understand the extraordinary power they possess with themselves.

It has been observed quite a few times that this nation during election forces the politicians to enter in जनता की अदालत which translates into the court of people where the public decides who should come to power and who shouldn’t. However, it is not as easy as it sounds. There are times when these elections are turned to a mockery when corrupt individuals turn this festival to a parade of dishonesty and corruption. Hence, here we will talk of the electoral reforms in the country. The inspiration from this article came from an All India Political Parties Meet (a stimulation) organised by a reputed school in Maharashtra. It was my senior who helped me out throughout the process while making this article a reasonable one. 

Elections in India are no less than a huge festival. This is the festival where the voters have the power to select their representatives to the Parliament. Now apart from the sentimental value the elections hold, there are other aspects that require perusal as well. Hence making it a sine qua non of any democracy. 

It becomes one of the essential factors for the proper functioning of the democracy as there is an array of issues and problems that not only needs the attention of the people but also the political leaders as such. It is these representatives which make policies and programmes for the betterment of the people, hence enabling the formation of a better society. However, it is important to understand the need for such reforms.

The need for these reforms were felt after the devil of corruption and nefarious activities started advancing towards the Indian elections which hampers the very notion of free and fair election. However, it is not just the corruption which gave birth to the notion of electoral reforms as the introduction of various regional parties and the coalition form of government in Indian politics.

One of the prime reasons as mentioned above was the emergence of the regional parties and independent candidates. For a long time in India, there was the rule of a single- party. However, post 1960s, with the emergence of other parties and a sharp spike in the independent candidates a new form of government was born, the coalition form of government. Hence, the journey for a multi- party system made its place in the Indian democracy and the bells of electoral reforms started ushering in. 

Taking cognizance of the need for the electoral reforms, a committee was constituted in the year 1970. But with the circumstances and the near- constitutional crisis at hand, the committee dissolved and never saw the light of the day. However, this was not the end. In the subsequent years, various committees like that of Tarkunde Committee, Dinesh Goswami Committee, V.K. Krishna Iyer Committee and the Indrajit Gupta committee were formed to review the electoral reforms needed for the country. Apart from these specific committees, a lot of times the Election Commission of India has written to the Ministry of Law and Justice about the need for electoral reforms. Efforts were also taken from the side of the Central government when the 15th Law Commission was constituted for the sole purpose of conducting an effective study of the People’s Representation Act of 1951 which had submitted its 170th report on the Electoral reforms for the country. 

The common problems which made the need for electoral reforms a necessity includes Money and Muscle power, misuse of the government machinery, casteism, non- serious nature of the independent candidates or the pseudo- independent candidates, violence, communalism, siphoning of funds, entry of criminals in the democracy, bribery, et cetera. 

Hence, it was due to the above-mentioned primary reasons on why the need for proper electoral reforms arose in the country. However, one must not confine themselves with just a few reasons. We bear witness to an array of reasons on the opinion of electoral reforms in the country. Some of the important ones according to me includes:

1. Election finance issues: The issue of finance has always been a sensitive one. Every political party, in order to garner the votes of the people has to invest in certain ad films, jingles, the tour of a place, et cetera. Now for all these things to happen the party requires a lot of funds, and by lot, it can even go till crores. It becomes essential for us to take this issue under the garb of electoral reforms because many times certain parties make use of black money and then buy the votes of both the literate and illiterate by offering them certain objects, hard cash, liquor, et cetera. And when we talk of funding, the political parties are funded from huge corporations and people with power and influence. As a result of which, this drives the political parties to make policies and programmes (if elected to form a government) for those who have funded in large proportions. There are certain legislations like the amendments brought under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act of 1976 in the year 2013 which leaves certain loopholes to be addressed, Companies Act of 2013 and the entire fiasco of electoral bonds in India. These are certain areas which require the prime attention of the government. Not just this, there have been instances where the Law Commission has recommended the full disclosure of the real income of the leaders, the limits and the expenses incurred both by the individual and the political party. 

2. Campaign PR and ads: This trend for Campaign PR and ads has been an essential part of elections right from the beginning. It is important to talk about this and eventually pay heed to such a topic because at the end of the day a particular political party or a person has to create an image of himself/herself. There has to be creation of the brand of that political leader like certain leaders from the present-day scenario. Similarly, PR plays an equally dominating rule in the sector where the political leader has to reach to the people right from the urban area to the rural area, hence creating good relations with the people. With the dynamic world where we live in, the campaigns and PR activities are done from the print media to digital media to direct (face to face) method. Now the question arises for the need to reform such activities. As mentioned above, the media (Digital or print or any other) yields great power. A power that can change the minds of the people and result in manipulation. Hence, the Election Commission (EC) has sought for various times the need to observe the silent hours before 48 hours of the election day.
    

3. NOTA and Right to Reject:
   On 27th November 2013, NOTA or ‘None of The Above’ was introduced in the Indian Election system after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the PIL filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties [People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) v. Union of India (2013) 10 S.C.C 1] much after the dissatisfaction expressed by the government of that time. Many people saw it as a victory for the Indian Elections. However, much to the surprise of the people, it turned out to be a half-victory victory. In elections, even if the NOTA button is pressed by 99 voters for a particular candidate and the remaining one vote is given to a particular candidate, then the winner would be the candidate who had got the one vote, hence making the NOTA as an invalid vote. People usually confuse the Right to Reject to NOTA. But there is a significant difference between the two. A NOTA essentially means invalid votes, a tool to express dissatisfaction.
   
   Whereas, when we talk of Right to reject, it essentially means that the people in a particular constituency are rejecting the leaders standing for the election for reason(s). The Right to Reject is one such electoral reform which the Election Commission seeks to be a part of the law. Now the Election Commission has recommended that if in a constituency the number of NOTA votes cross the number of votes polled in favour of the candidates, then the registered candidates would be rejected as a whole. Now the Right to Reject in itself comes with a lot of benefits which includes rejecting of a candidate as it empowers voters to express their discontent, Bring Systemic Changes in Political culture, right to reject will check corruption, criminalization, casteism, communalism, linguicism, and regionalism etc.
    

4. Usage of Technology in Elections:
   The emergence of new technology of the casting of votes didn’t see the light of the day till the year 1982, when the EVMs or the Electronic Voting Machines were introduced for the first time in Kerala for by-election. Before the introduction of EVMs, incidents like booth capturing, forgery and manipulation of votes was often seen in the Indian elections. However, after the introduction of EVMs, incidents of booth capturing and flexing of muscle power to manipulate the votes saw a sharp reduction. EVMs came in as a boon, more or less like a paradigm shift from the paper ballot to a digitally driven vote recording system.
   
   It not just facilitated in bringing in a new era of change, but it also enabled and eased the work of the Election Commission and the poll workers with respect to the counting of the votes and maintaining the notion of free and fair election. In order to bring in transparency to the process, recently VVPAT (Voter- Verified Paper Audit Trail) which shows the symbol of the candidate he/she has voted for on the screen. Now this is not enough, at the end of the day, it is technology and technology have its own benefits and loopholes attached to it. In the same fashion, EVMs have been continuously blamed for manipulation, i.e., a barrier for free and fair elections.
   
   The arguments put forth included the alteration of the technology in the EVMs. Hence, this required a reform. An alternative for the same could be the usage of the block chain technology in the election process. Block chain technology provides a platform to create a highly secure, decentralized, anonymous but auditable chain of records, which is currently used in crypto currency systems. The same technology can also be used to register and report votes and prevent multiple types of voter fraud in elections. The block chain technology gained momentum post the 2020 U.S. Elections which questioned the entire system of the EVMs. The block chain technology comes with various benefits and would prove to be a beneficial shift to the 21st century elections like that of India where the malpractices see a spike during the election times.
   
   In its most basic form, blockchain is a digital ledger. The technology draws its power from the peers or nodes on its network to verify, process, and record all transactions across the system. This ledger is never stored, but rather exists on the chain supported by millions of nodes simultaneously. It is because of the encryption and decentralization, blockchain’s database of transactions is incorruptible, and each record is easily verifiable. The network cannot be taken down or influenced by a single party because it doesn’t exist in one place. It’s not only financial transactions that work with blockchain, but any type of data transmission. This kind of system infrastructure is extremely useful for voting because a vote is a small piece of high-value data. Out of necessity, modern voting systems are largely stuck in the last century, and those that want to vote must leave their homes and submit paper ballots to a local authority.
    

5. Poll related violence:
   Poll related violence pre- election phase and post- election phase are not new in India. However, one can’t turn a blind eye towards the violence incited and targeted a particular caste/religion shows the failure of law and order in the particular village/city/state/country. And the issue here is that it is incited in the name of a particular political party/religion. Now after a particular party takes the reign of the state government machinery or the central government machinery, the misuse of the agencies involved is initiated. The matter takes a serious turn when there exists a disparity between the state government and the central government, hence resulting in a total chaos, loss of lives, destruction of property and the miscarriage of law and order. This issue is a matter of concern and cannot be neglected. However, a little attention is paid by those in power as they develop a vituperative stance towards the same, hence relating into a sheer breakdown of the legal repercussions arising from such violent acts.

Laws and organizations governing the elections:
In India, there are various legislations in place which not just talks about the election procedure but about the body governing the elections, the Anti-defection law, et cetera. Mentioned below are some laws and a brief overview about the body governing the elections in India.

1. Presidential and Vice-Presidential Act, 1952- Concerns itself with the election of the President and the Vice- President of the country. 

2. Presidential and Vice-Presidential Election rules, 1974- This concerns the rules for the election of the President and the Vice-President of India. 

3. The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960- These rules talk about the registration of the eligible voters for election and deal with the issuance of the Voter ID cards/Voter Card. 

4. Representation of the People’s Act, 1950- The law is referred prior to the election process. This Act talks about the preparation of electoral rolls and the revision and updating of the same (if any). 

5. Representation of the People’s Act, 1951- This law is referred to during the post- election phase. This law deals with providing remedies and solutions with respect to any and every dispute, act(s) of malpractice(s) arising after the election process. 

6. Conduct of Election Rules, 1961- These rules deal right from written notice for holding elections, nomination registration, withdrawal of candidates, review of endorsements, holding the polls and counting votes.

7. Election Symbols (Reservation and allotment) Order, 1968- This deals with the allocation and recognition of the symbols utilized by the political parties in the election which are eligible to participate in an election. 

8. Tenth Schedule of Indian constitution (Anti-Defection law 1985)- The Anti-defection law was the child of the Rajiv Gandhi era. This law states about the defection committed by the members from one party to another party after their party has lost the election.

9. Offences relating to elections in Indian Penal Code- Even in the Indian Penal Code, certain offences relating to elections are mentioned. Here is a brief about them:

• Section 171D- Whoever at an election applies for a voting paper or votes in the name of any other person, whether living or dead, or in a fictitious name, or who having voted once at such election applies at the same election for a voting paper in his own name, and whoever abets, procures, or attempts to procure the voting by any person in any such way, commits the offence or personation at an election.

• Section 171B- Bribery.

• Section 171C- Undue influence at elections.

• Section 171G- False statement in connection to election

• Section 171H- Illegal payments in connection with elections.

     10. Article 324 to Article 329 A of the Indian Constitution- Part XV of the Indian constitution deals specifically with the process of elections coupled with the formation of the Election Commission along with its powers. 

Conclusion: When we talk of the elections of India, there are certain values attached to it as it resides at the core of the democracy. However, as the world advances in various sectors and aspects, the election system needs to keep up with the pace as well to evolve itself. Now, when we talk about the evolution and the development of the systems attached to the election, it is not the job of one organ of democracy. It requires the support of all the forms of democracy, or at the end, democracy would be perverted to its core. Now as mentioned above, elecoral reforms are the need of the hour. However, there are other angles to pursue within this topic as well. One cannot deny the shortcomings which might come with the notion of "One Nation, One Election" and other ideas which might bubble in the minds of the citizens. Hence, it is in my opinion that India must draw inspirations from the world and bring forth the electoral reforms required in the country coupled with the reccomendations ade by both the Law Commission and the Election Commission. 

References:

1. India’s Election funding system, Drishti IAS (Aug. 02, 2021, 11:38 PM), https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/india-s-election-funding-system  

2. Saumil Shah, Role of advertising and public relations in Indian election 2021, TalentEdge (Aug. 02, 2021, 11:56 PM), https://talentedge.com/blog/role-advertising-public-relations-indian-election-2019/  

3. Anubhuti Vishnoi, Election Commission wants ban on all party E- ads 48 hrs before polls, The Economic Times (Aug. 02, 2021, 12:04 AM) https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/election-commission-wants-ban-on-all-party-e-ads-48-hrs-before-polls/articleshow/67733941.cms 

4. None of the Above Option (NOTA), (Aug.02, 2021, 01:04 AM), https://www.elections.in/none-of-the-above-option.html 

5. Hey voter, here are 5 things you must know about NOTA, India Today (Aug. 02, 2021, 12:52 AM), https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/nota-none-of-the-above-assembly-elections-2016-west-bengal-assam-kerala-311814-2016-03-04 

6. Insights Editor, What is the concept of Right to reject? In what way Right to reject a candidate in elections promises systemic political reforms in India?, Insights IAS (Aug. 02, 2021, 12:59 AM), https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/03/22/what-is-the-concept-of-right-to-reject-in-what-way-right-to-reject-a-candidate-in-elections-promises-systemic-political-reforms-in-india-elucidate/ 

7.  Jitendra Sinha, Technological Intervention in Indian Elections, Reader’s Blog by Times of India (Aug. 02, 2021, 09:35 PM), https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/humblyspeaking/technological-intervention-in-indian-elections-1028/  

8. Joe Liebkind, How Blockchain technology can prevent voter frauds, Investopedia (Aug. 03, 2021, 09:49 PM), https://www.investopedia.com/news/how-blockchain-technology-can-prevent-voter-fraud/  

9. Dr. Rakesh Sinha, What post- poll violence tells us about politics in Bengal, The Indian Express (Aug. 03, 2021, 09:55 PM), https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/post-poll-violence-west-bengal-mamata-banerjee-tmc-vs-bjp-7312734/