What is the issue?
Prime Minister has been repeatedly emphasising on ‘One Nation, One Election’ as a necessity for development.
What are the challenges in Election Process?
- Elections are held at least every year for some State Assembly or the other.
- Recently, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur and Bihar had elections & this involves huge expenditure.
- Elected representatives switch over parties for money and power.
- Aaya Rams and Gaya Rams is termed for switching the parties.
- Anti-defection law failed in India & often there is tussle between Speaker’s jurisdiction and the court’s role.
- This leads to instability of elected governments & ruling party in the centre uses tactics to dismiss State governments run by opposition parties.
- At once, 9 State governments were dissolved at one stroke under Article 356 of the Constitution.
- Elected representatives enjoy Resort Politics-Koovathoor, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Jaipur.
- This creates a situation for repeated election & imposing Model code of conduct.
How is the election system in the world different from that of India?
- In England, the king reigns but does not govern.
- In the US, the President both reigns and governs & State Governor is elected directly.
- He is not vulnerable to the whims of the federal government.
- Russian President has altered the law to enable himself to be the President of Russia till 2036.
- China adopted one candidate election where party-chosen delegates cast their vote only for the leader of their party without any other option.
- But India is a quasi-federal country- neither unitary like Britain nor fully federal like the US.
- Minority government is always at the fear of execution in any time.
- The Charan Singh government was overthrown within four months.
- Last year, the Fadnavis government in Madhya Pradesh had to quit in three days.
Source: The Business Line
