The document discusses several proposed electoral reforms in India. It notes that a high percentage of candidates have criminal charges and election expenditures are rising. It proposes steps to address these issues before, during and after elections such as facilitating NRI voting, limiting campaign spending, setting up dispute resolution courts, and increasing youth representation. Specific solutions proposed include state funding with limits on corporate donations, mandatory disclosure of candidate qualifications, and engaging youth and private organizations to boost voter turnout.

1. MANTHAN Topic: Electoral Reforms
“We did not come to fear the future”
“We are here to shape it”
-Barack Obama
Team Details
Swetha T Chhavi Singhal T Venkateswarlu Aayushi Jha Racharla Amulya
PRESENTATION NAME: “We are the change"
TEAM NAME: भविष्य

2. 15% candidates had criminal charges
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
INC
BJP
BSP
SP
NCP
CPM
JD(U
SHS
ADMK
AITC
BJD
DMK
Percentage of candidates
with pending serious
criminal cases
Percentage of candidates
with pending criminal
cases
CHALLENGES
0
2000000
4000000
6000000
8000000
10000000
12000000
14000000
Year
1952
1957
1962
1967
1971
1977
1980
1984
1989
1991
1996
1998
1999
Election Expenditure
Expenditure Incurred(in '000Rs.)
Ever increasing election expenditure
WE ARE LOOSING ON 25 MILLION EDUCATED NRI VOTES
The average cash hand, according to a CMS survey, rose from Rs 100 in
2004 to Rs. 500 in 2009
Politics on the basis of caste,
religion and background
C
A
S
H
B
R
I
B
E
S

3. Pre Elections
• Getting people to vote
• Restructuring the manifesto
• Transferability of voter cards
• Spreading awareness
• Reforms in Campaigning
During Elections
• Limit on coalition
• NRI voting in Indian embassy
• A candidate should contest
from only one constituency
• Media restrictions
Post Elections
• Setting up of Special Dispute
Resolution Courts
• Annual progress reports
• Youth representation
• Increase voters enrolment
HOW DO WE SOLVE THE PROBLEMS?

4. STEPS TO BE TAKEN BEFORE ELECTIONS
Corporate initiativesGetting people to vote
• Facilitate issuance of voting cards for all its employees
• Notifications should be sent to employees who have spent 6 months in a new constituency for reissuance of voting
cards
Restructuring & distributionManifesto
• Mention budgetary implications and proper time lines for the proposals
• Audit system to calculate the feasibility and the realisticness of the manifesto
• Distribution of compiled manifestos (brief agenda) of all the contesting parties in universities and corporations
The Youth elementIncreasing awareness
• Youth friendly “Voter Education Campaigns” in universities about elections during the election year
• Amassing volunteers from each locality to spread about election candidates, election standards and procedures
Eliminating loop holesCampaigning
• State funding should be more in kind and less in cash
• Compulsory mentioning of educational qualifications in advertisements (hoardings, print media)

5. STEPS TO BE TAKEN DURING ELECTIONS
Increasing Voters Turnout
Provision to vote by NRIs in
Indian embassies
Facilitation of e-voting for
NRIs, secured through
passwords sent by ECI to
mobiles
Free public transportation in
rural areas on the day of
elections
Avoiding malpractices
Limit on number of parties
forming a coalition to reduce
conflicts on national issues
Regulations on media live
updates through opinion
polls to reduce formation of
pre conceived notions among
voters
Cost Reduction
A candidate should contest
from only one constituency
Introduction of preferential
voting where voters rank
candidates in decreasing
order of preference, thus
ensuring reducing the cost of
bye-elections, in case of early
termination of incumbents

6. STEPS TO BE TAKEN POST ELECTIONS
Corporate initiativesGetting people to vote
• Facilitate issuance of voting cards for all its employees
• Notifications should be sent to employees who have spent 6 months in a new constituency for reissuance of voting
cards
Restructuring & distributionManifesto
• Mention budgetary implications and proper time lines for the proposals
• Audit system to calculate the feasibility and the realisticness of the manifesto
• Distribution of compiled manifestos (brief agenda) of all the contesting parties in universities and corporations
The Youth elementIncreasing awareness
• Youth friendly “Voter Education Campaigns” in universities about elections during the election year
• Amassing volunteers from each locality to spread about election candidates, election standards and procedures
Eliminating loop holesCampaigning
• State funding should be more in kind and less in cash
• Compulsory mentioning of educational qualifications in advertisements (hoardings, print media)

7. MANIFESTOThe INC practices the politics of consensus
and cooperation. The BJP practices the
politics of divisiveness and discord.
Instinctively, the INC unites, while the BJP
divides.
The UPA Government’s mismanagement
of the national economy and fiscal
indiscipline has resulted in frittering away
the tremendous gains of the NDA years.
Blame Game
The Indian National Congress will
ensure a comprehensive cover of social
security to all persons who are at
special risk including…..
The BJP will launch a massive
programme, through public-private
participation, to introduce a ‘Health for
All’ scheme based on an innovative
insurance policy.
How & When ??
 Mention proper timelines, budget allocation & beneficiaries of the proposal
 Distribute hard/soft copies comprising of brief description of every party’s
manifestos among college students and employees through universities and
corporates
 All parties should release their manifestos on the same day for preventing
counterfeiting and for effective comparative evaluation by public
SOLUTIONS

8. GETTING PEOPLE TO VOTE
Corporate Initiatives
Moving the youth
Involving NRI population
 There are around 25 million NRIs and it is practically impossible to have 25 million people
travel to India at the same time. So India is losing 25 million votes of the educated
 Introduce provision to vote for NRIs through Indian embassies
 Provision of e-voting – One time passwords (OTP) sent to voters’ mobiles when requested
 People under the age of 30 contesting for elections need not deposit the initial security
 Program should be launched in which youth are asked to volunteer to spread awareness
about the election process in their locality
 Mandatory budget allocation for creating internship opportunities for students with political
parties
 Private & government organisations should ensure that every employee should have a voters
card (like the same way as TDS is implemented)
 Currently voter turn out is 4.1 million. If we make 30 million people employed in the urban
organised sector to vote, the voter turn out ratio can be tremendously increased
 Notifications should be sent to employees who have spent 6 months in a new constituency for
reissuance of voting cards

9. STATE FUNDING
 State funding is provided to the parties which are active for 5 years and
has won a minimum of 4% seats in Loksabha constituency. This will give
leverage to big parties which are already highly resourceful
 In 2009, 36 corporate entities donated more that 1 crore to parties
 Currently donors who contribute less than INR 20,000 have the right to be
anonymous. It allows donors to split their total contribution in smaller
amounts and donate
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Total Income(in cr.)
2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Total
0
500
1000
1500
Donation(in cr.)
Total Income Donation
 Provide state funding to only those parties receiving low private funds
 State funding should mostly be in kind like free electricity, vehicles and
petrol rather than cash
 Take back the funding if parties have received more funds after that
 Set an upper limit on corporate funding to parties and on spending by
each party on a constituency
 Collect PAN details from all the donors who are donating up to INR
20,000 more than once
SOLUTIONS

10. REFERENCES
 “Analysis of Income of Political Parties in India”, National Election Watch in myneta.org
 Manifesto guidelines by Election Commission of India
 Manifestos of BJP and Congress during Lok Sabha Election 2009
 Kriegler and Waki Reports, 2009
 “Enhancing Youth political participation throughout the electoral cycle” by United Nations
Development Programme
 “Corporate funding of elections: A scrutiny of some recent developments” by Samya Chatterjee in
publications of Observer Research Foundation