Indian General Election, 2024

Indian General Election, 2024

GS-2: Polity & Governance

(UPSC/State PSC)

Important for Prelims:

18th Lok Sabha, Election Commission, Chief Election Commissioner, Democracy, Representatives of People's Act-1951, President and Vice President Election Act-1952, Tarkunde Committee and Goswami Committee, EVM, Model Code of Conduct.

Important for Mains:

Indian General Election-2024, about Election Commission (ECI), its role, Way forward, Conclusion.

19/03/2024

Why in news:

Recently, the Election Commission of India has announced to hold elections for the 18th Lok Sabha along with the assembly elections in select states.

  • According to the Chief Election Commissioner “Rajeev Kumar”, the results of this Lok Sabha election will be declared on 4 June 2024 as the tenure of the 17th Lok Sabha will end on 16 June 2024.

Indian General Election, 2024

  • Election period: These Lok Sabha elections will be conducted in seven phases from 19 April to 1 June 2024.
  • Seven phases: First phase-19 April, Second phase-26 April, Third phase-7 May, Fourth phase-13 May, Fifth phase-20 May, Sixth phase-25 May and Seventh phase-1 June 2024.
  • This year, along with the Lok Sabha elections, assembly elections will also be held in four states (Odisha, Sikkim, Arunachal and Andhra Pradesh).
  • It is noteworthy that in 2019, Lok Sabha elections were held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19, whereas in 2014, elections were held in nine phases.
  • The voter list of this time's Lok Sabha elections includes 82 lakh voters above 85 years of age and 2.18 lakh centenarian voters.

Guidelines of Election Commission of India:

Maximum limit on election expenditure:

  • To maintain fairness in elections, the Election Commission sets a maximum limit on election expenditure for each candidate:
  • A Lok Sabha candidate cannot spend more than Rs 95 lakh.
  • At the same time, in states where Lok Sabha elections are being held, an assembly candidate cannot spend more than Rs 40 lakh.
  • Senior citizens above 85 years of age and Persons with Disabilities (PwD) voters with 40 per cent benchmark disability can vote from home.

About Election:

  • Election is the process by which people vote and choose representatives to represent them and act on their behalf in a legislative body.
  • Elections are held on the basis of universal adult suffrage, which means that all Indians aged 18 and above have the right to vote, irrespective of their caste, colour, religion, sex or place of birth.
  • Elections enable every adult citizen of the country to participate in the process of government formation.

Election scenario in India:

  • Elections are held frequently in India. These include elections to elect members of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state legislative assemblies (Vidhan Sabhas), Legislative Councils (Vidhan Parishad) and the President and Vice President of India.
  • Elections are also held for local bodies like municipalities, municipal corporations and Panchayati Raj.

About Election Commission(ECI):

  • The Election Commission of India is an autonomous and quasi-judicial constitutional authority responsible for the administration of election processes in India. It is a three-member body.

Role:

  • Delimiting constituencies,
  • To give recognition to political parties,
  • Allocating symbols and
  • To appoint officers for the conduct and supervision of elections.

Election Process:

Notification for Election:

  • The election process officially begins when the President in the case of the Lok Sabha and the Governor in the case of the State Assembly issues notification for the elections on the recommendation of the Election Commission.

Filing Nomination:

  • A person who intends to contest an election has to file a nomination form in the prescribed form, stating his name, age, postal address and serial number in the electoral roll.

Security Deposit:

  • Every candidate has to deposit security amount at the time of filing nomination.
  • There is different security amount for every election. The security deposit for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections is mentioned in the Representatives of the People's Act, 1951, while the security deposit for Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections is mentioned in the President and Vice-President Election Act, 1952.
  • In Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, there are different security amounts for general category and SC-ST category candidates. Whereas, in the election of President and Vice President, the amount is the same for all categories of candidates.
  • Lok Sabha Elections: General category candidates have to deposit a security deposit of Rs 25,000. Whereas for SC and ST category candidates this amount is Rs 12,500.
  • Assembly Elections: The amount of security deposit for general category candidates is Rs 10,000, while SC and ST category candidates have to deposit Rs 5,000.
  • President and Vice President elections: For the election of President and Vice President, candidates of all categories have to deposit Rs 15,000.
  • According to the Election Commission, when a candidate does not get 1/6 i.e. 16.66% of the total votes cast in the seat, his deposit is confiscated.

Enrollment Check and Withdrawal:

  • All nomination papers received by the Returning Officer are scrutinized by the Election Commission on a day fixed by the Election Commission. Candidates can also withdraw their nomination.

Election campaign:

  • Election campaigning is the process by which a candidate attempts to induce voters to vote for him rather than others.
  • During this period, candidates travel to their constituency and try to influence as many voters as possible to vote in their favor.

Model Code of Conduct:

  • During the campaign period, political parties and contesting candidates are expected to follow the Model Code of Conduct developed by the Election Commission of India on the basis of consensus among political parties.
  • It comes into force as soon as the election schedule is announced by the Election Commission.

Voting, counting and declaration of results:

  • A large number of polling stations are set up in each constituency to conduct voting.
  • Each booth is placed under the charge of a presiding officer along with polling officers to help in the process.
  • The candidate who receives the highest number of votes in a constituency is declared elected.

Commission for Electoral Reforms:

  • A number of electoral reforms have been recommended from time to time by the Tarkunde Committee and the Goswami Committee headed by the then Chief Election Commissioner T N Seshan to restore public confidence in the democratic electoral system. Some of the improvements are:
  • The voting age has been reduced from 21 years to 18 years.
  • Security deposit increased
  • Photo ID cards introduced
  • Electronic voting machines were used

Way forward:

  • The Election Commission of India has so far made many impressive reforms in the election system to maintain the dignity of democracy in the country. However, some more steps can still be taken, such as-
  • There should be strict provisions to control the role of money in electoral politics.
  • Candidates with any criminal cases should be barred from contesting elections
  • There should be a complete ban on the use of caste and religious appeals in campaigning.
  • People themselves will have to be more alert, more actively involved in political activities.

Conclusion:

India has the distinction of being the world's largest democracy. India has attempted to make its election process free and fair, based on the acceptance of adult franchise and freedom to contest elections. The elections conducted by the Election Commission of India in a free and fair manner have played a special role in this achievement of India. However, despite this, there is a need for drastic electoral reforms in the Indian electoral system. The recent declaration of election donations by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional can be called an important step towards the reform of the electoral system.

Source: The Hindu

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Mains Question:

Discuss the important points of Indian General Election, 2024

Critically examine the functioning and role of the Election Commission of India.