Chapter 3
Electoral Politics
Mr Devi Lal, the chief of Haryana Sangharsh Samiti, has been preparing for the state assembly
election in Haryana. In the 1987 election, he formed a new party, Lok Dal, which joined opposition
parties to form a front against Congress. He promised to waive the loans of farmers and small
businessmen if his party won the elections. The people were unhappy with the existing government
and were attracted to his promises. Lok Dal won 76 out of 90 seats in the state assembly, while
Congress won only 5 seats. After the election results, he was appointed as chief minister, and he
issued a government waiving outstanding loans of farmers and small businessmen. His party ruled
for 4 years before losing support in the 1991 elections, and Congress won this election.
Why do we need Elections?
Elections take place regularly in any democracy.
There are more than 100 countries in the world in which elections take place to choose people's
representatives.
The mechanism by which people can choose their representatives at regular intervals and change
them whenever they wish is called an election.
Elections are needed to elect representatives.
The need for elections can be understood by imagining a democracy without elections.
In the absence of an election, all the people have to sit together every day and make all the
decisions.
But this is not possible in any large community.
Nor it is possible for everyone to have the time and knowledge to make decisions on all matters.
Therefore, in most democracies, people rule through their representatives.
In an election, the voters make many choices like:
● They can choose who will make laws for them.
● They can choose who will form the government and make major decisions.
● They can choose the party whose policies will guide the government and lawmaking.
What Makes an Election Democratic?
Elections are held in all democratic countries and also in most non-democratic countries in many
ways. But there is a simple list of the minimum conditions that make an election democratic:
● Everyone should have the right to choose a representative. It means everyone has one vote,
and every vote has equal value.
● Political parties and candidates should be free to contest elections and offer some real
choices to the voters.
● The choices should be offered at regular intervals. For that, elections must be held regularly
after every few years.
● The candidates preferred by the people only should get elected.
● Elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner where people choose those
representatives whom they wish.
, Is it good to have Political Competition?
Elections are all about competition. Without competition, elections would become meaningless.
An electoral competition has many demerits:
● It creates a sense of disunity and 'factionalism' in every locality.
● Different political parties and leaders often level allegations against one another.
● Parties and candidates often use dirty tricks to win elections.
● The pressure to win electoral fights does not allow sensible long-term policies to be
formulated.
● Some good people who may wish to serve the country do not enter this arena. They do not
like the idea of being dragged into unhealthy competition.
Our Constitution makers were aware of these problems. Yet they opted for free competition in
elections as the way to select our future leaders because this system works better in the long run.
Political leaders are required to work hard if they want to remain in power or gain power.
Political competition is a system where political leaders are rewarded for serving the people and
punished for not performing their duties.
Regular electoral competition provides incentives to political parties and leaders.
So if a political party is motivated only by the desire to be in power, even then it will be forced to
serve the people.
What is our System of Elections?
In India, Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) elections are held regularly after every five
years.
After five years, the term of all the elected representatives comes to an end. The Lok Sabha or
Vidhan Sabha stands 'dissolved'.
Elections are held in all constituencies at the same time, either on the same day or within a few
days. This is called a general election.
Sometimes an election is held only for one constituency to fill the vacancy caused by the death or
resignation of a member. This is called a by-election.
Electoral Constituencies
In India, an area-based system of representation is followed, where the country is divided into
different areas for elections. These are called Electoral Constituencies.
The voters who live in an area elect one representative.
For Lok Sabha elections, the country is divided into 543 constituencies.
The representative elected from each constituency is called a Member of Parliament or MP.
One of the features of a democratic election is that every vote should have equal value. That is why
our Constitution requires that each constituency should have a roughly equal population living
within it.
Similarly, each state is divided into a specific number of assembly constituencies.
In this case, the elected representative is called a Member of the Legislative Assembly or MLA.
For Panchayat and Municipal elections, each village or town is divided into different wards that are
like constituencies.
Electoral Politics
Mr Devi Lal, the chief of Haryana Sangharsh Samiti, has been preparing for the state assembly
election in Haryana. In the 1987 election, he formed a new party, Lok Dal, which joined opposition
parties to form a front against Congress. He promised to waive the loans of farmers and small
businessmen if his party won the elections. The people were unhappy with the existing government
and were attracted to his promises. Lok Dal won 76 out of 90 seats in the state assembly, while
Congress won only 5 seats. After the election results, he was appointed as chief minister, and he
issued a government waiving outstanding loans of farmers and small businessmen. His party ruled
for 4 years before losing support in the 1991 elections, and Congress won this election.
Why do we need Elections?
Elections take place regularly in any democracy.
There are more than 100 countries in the world in which elections take place to choose people's
representatives.
The mechanism by which people can choose their representatives at regular intervals and change
them whenever they wish is called an election.
Elections are needed to elect representatives.
The need for elections can be understood by imagining a democracy without elections.
In the absence of an election, all the people have to sit together every day and make all the
decisions.
But this is not possible in any large community.
Nor it is possible for everyone to have the time and knowledge to make decisions on all matters.
Therefore, in most democracies, people rule through their representatives.
In an election, the voters make many choices like:
● They can choose who will make laws for them.
● They can choose who will form the government and make major decisions.
● They can choose the party whose policies will guide the government and lawmaking.
What Makes an Election Democratic?
Elections are held in all democratic countries and also in most non-democratic countries in many
ways. But there is a simple list of the minimum conditions that make an election democratic:
● Everyone should have the right to choose a representative. It means everyone has one vote,
and every vote has equal value.
● Political parties and candidates should be free to contest elections and offer some real
choices to the voters.
● The choices should be offered at regular intervals. For that, elections must be held regularly
after every few years.
● The candidates preferred by the people only should get elected.
● Elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner where people choose those
representatives whom they wish.
, Is it good to have Political Competition?
Elections are all about competition. Without competition, elections would become meaningless.
An electoral competition has many demerits:
● It creates a sense of disunity and 'factionalism' in every locality.
● Different political parties and leaders often level allegations against one another.
● Parties and candidates often use dirty tricks to win elections.
● The pressure to win electoral fights does not allow sensible long-term policies to be
formulated.
● Some good people who may wish to serve the country do not enter this arena. They do not
like the idea of being dragged into unhealthy competition.
Our Constitution makers were aware of these problems. Yet they opted for free competition in
elections as the way to select our future leaders because this system works better in the long run.
Political leaders are required to work hard if they want to remain in power or gain power.
Political competition is a system where political leaders are rewarded for serving the people and
punished for not performing their duties.
Regular electoral competition provides incentives to political parties and leaders.
So if a political party is motivated only by the desire to be in power, even then it will be forced to
serve the people.
What is our System of Elections?
In India, Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) elections are held regularly after every five
years.
After five years, the term of all the elected representatives comes to an end. The Lok Sabha or
Vidhan Sabha stands 'dissolved'.
Elections are held in all constituencies at the same time, either on the same day or within a few
days. This is called a general election.
Sometimes an election is held only for one constituency to fill the vacancy caused by the death or
resignation of a member. This is called a by-election.
Electoral Constituencies
In India, an area-based system of representation is followed, where the country is divided into
different areas for elections. These are called Electoral Constituencies.
The voters who live in an area elect one representative.
For Lok Sabha elections, the country is divided into 543 constituencies.
The representative elected from each constituency is called a Member of Parliament or MP.
One of the features of a democratic election is that every vote should have equal value. That is why
our Constitution requires that each constituency should have a roughly equal population living
within it.
Similarly, each state is divided into a specific number of assembly constituencies.
In this case, the elected representative is called a Member of the Legislative Assembly or MLA.
For Panchayat and Municipal elections, each village or town is divided into different wards that are
like constituencies.
