Elections is India is dynamic and challenging task. Many reforms and laws have been brought to make Indian Democracy free and fair. Turning points and landmark changes in elections need much deliberation and new ideas to shape and reignite Electoral democracy

1. ELECTIONS
ELECTION
LAWS
Dr Anna Nath Ganguly
Assistant Professor, Amity University, Noida
anganguly@amity.edu

2. ELECTIONS
AND THE
INDIAN
MODEL
Free Elections don’t always result in fair elections
-Dashanne Stokes
Parliamentary Democracy Federal System
First Past the Post System
Direct Election Indirect
Election
Single-Member
Voting power Participatory
Electoral roll
Independent Autonomous body
Multiparty system
Corruption EC & Body
Secular
Reforms Conduct
Petitions

3.  POSTAL BALLOTS
 ONLINE VOTING
 BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

4. RECENT
DEVELOPMENTS &
IMPACT OF COVID19
 Age lowering for voters for postal ballot from
80 to 65
 Voter ID with Aadhar
 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)
system
 C-VIGIL

5.  Approximately 900 million voters - more than the combined
population of the United States and the European Union
 Approximately 39,000 voters have been identified as "third
gender"
• 38.7 billion rupees ($552m) was spent
to conduct the 2014 elections
• Rs 55,000-60,000 crore was spent in
the Lok Sabha elections, 2019
• Twice amount for the last general
polls in 2014 at Rs 30,000.
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spent
about 45 per cent of the total amount
• Last six Lok Sabha elections between
1998 and 2019 has seen a near six-fold
jump from Rs 9,000 in 1998 to over Rs
55,000 crore in 2019.
• At least 75 to 85 seats where
individual candidates spent more than
Rs 40 crore

6.  EVMs allows vote counting
completed in up to three hours
compared with manual counting,
which could take 30 to 40 hours.
 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail
(VVPAT) machines will be used
along with EVMs
 Electoral bond
 Voter turnout figures and the
number of votes counted- data
discrepancies

7. CHAMPIONS-
BLUEPRINTS-
Essentials and Pillars of Elections
PEOPLE RULES REDERESAL
/GRIEVANCES
who conduct the process for elections related to the process

8.  The Representation of the People
Act, 1950
 The Representation of the People
Act, 1951
 The Registration of Electors Rules,
1960
 Conduct of Election Rules, 1961
 Election Symbols Order, 1968
 Presidential and Vice-Presidential
Rules, 1974
 Representation of the People
(Amendment) Act, 1974
 Election Laws (Amendment) Act,
1975
 Anti-defection Law, 1985
 The Delimitation Act 2002

9.  The Representation of the People Act, 1950
 The Representation of the People Act, 1951
• Voters qualifications
• Electoral rolls preparation, inclusion
and revision
• Delimitation of constituencies
• Allocation of seats
• Electoral officers
• Ordinarily resident
• Civil court barred – electoral roll
• False declarations –electoral roll
• Qualification & Disqualification of
members
• Administrative machinery for Conduct of
elections
• Conduct of Elections
• Disputes Regarding Elections
• Trial
• Withdrawal of petitions
• Corrupt Practices
• Electoral Offences
• Constituencies
• Election Expenses
• Declaration of Assets & Liabilities

10. FALSE
AFFIDAVI
T
RP ACT
1951/ COR
1961
Form-26 (Format of Affidavit to be filed by candidates) appended to the
Conduct of Election Rules 1961
Total assets, Immovable assets, Movable assets, Investments, Bank
balance, Liabilities worth, Criminal cases pending, Land ownership,
Agricultural land, Non-agricultural land, Residential buildings (including
apartments), Commercial buildings, Educational qualification
Property declaration
Assets in joint name indicating the extent of joint ownership,
deposit/investment, bonds/share debentures, 'Dependent' means parents,
son(s), daughter(s) of the candidate or spouse and any other person related
to the candidate
 Section 123 of the RP Act, 1951, only eight types of acts are considered
corrupt practice
 Section125 A- Penalty for filing false affidavit- imprisonment of up to six
months, or fine, or both
 Filing of false affidavit as a “corrupt practice” under the electoral law-
candidate liable for disqualification of up to six years.
 In 2011, term of incarceration to two years, to no avail proposed
 SC moved by PIL(2018) moved by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, filing a
false affidavit in elections is a corrupt practice and should be treated
seriously. Cannot direct the Parliament to include it in corrupt practices.

11.  Writ Petition(() No.784 of 2015 (Lok Prahari Vs. Union of India & Others) and Writ Petition (Civil) No. 536 of
2011 (Public Interest Foundation & Ors. Vs. Union of India & Anr.
 Ministry of Law & Justice Notification No. H.11019(4)/2018-Leg.ll, dated 10 October 2018
 Bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar
 Petitioner alleged(2018) substantial increase in assets of 26 Lok Sabha MPs, 11 Rajya Sabha MPs and 257 MLAs
as reflected in election affidavits.
 Candidates inform party about the criminal cases pending against him/her.
 Political party obligated to put up on its website the aforesaid information pertaining to candidates having
criminal antecedents
 Candidate & concerned political party to issue declaration in the widely circulated newspapers in the locality
about the antecedents of the candidate and also give wide publicity in the electronic media. Wide publicity,
means same shall be done at least thrice after filing of the nomination papers.
 Item (8) of Form-26 - affidavit in respect of dues against Govt. accommodation

12.  Exit polls are tricky in India. Indians are prudent people. Why would they tell a pollster anything other
than what they figure out the pollster wants to hear?
 Should Election commissioners be given immunity from arbitrary removal.
 Is India ready for ONLINE VOTING?
 What is the success of NOTA?
 Is the Election Commission an Independent Body?
 Is Election in India Secular

13.  N. P. Ponnuswami Vs. The Returning Officer, Namakkal Constituency 1952-
election petition to be presented after the election was over and even the High Court had no
jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India during the intermediate period
 Sadiq Ali & Another Vs. Election Commission of India & Others 1971- Election
Symbols – EC final authority - Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 - EC to
recognise political parties and allot symbols. Under Paragraph 15
 Smt. Indira Nehru Gandhi Vs. Shri Raj Narayan 1975 – Corrupt practices - Prime
Minister’s election set aside- . the doctrine of basic structure triumphed in the Kesavanada Bharati
case.
 Mohinder Singh Gill & Another Vs. Chief Election Commissioner & Others 1977-
CEC role -unfair
 Jyoti Basu & Others Vs. Debi Ghosal & Others 1982- concept of a proper party/
respondent was not relevant in election law and that only those persons could be impleaded as parties

14.  Indrajit Barua Vs. Election Commission of India & Others 1984 – Electoral roll & writ
petition
 Shri Kihota Hollohon Vs. Mr. Zachilhu & Others 1992- Anti-Defection Law
 T.N. Seshan Vs. Union of India & Others 1995- CEC was not superior to the election
commissioners, rather of the same position.
 Mohinder Singh Gill v. Chief Election Commissioner was of the view that every
step from start to finish or the total process constitutes election, not merely the
conclusion of culmination.

15. TURNING
POINTS
 Section 100. Grounds for declaring election to be void
 Clause 5 of Article 324 does not provide similar protection to the election commissioners and merely says that they
cannot be removed except on the recommendation of the chief election commissioner.
 Article 329(b) of the Constitution no election shall be called in question except by an election petition
 Section 126A of the RP Act, 1951 – EXIT POLL
 SECTION 123 – Corrupt practices
 Rule 49-O- Elector deciding not to vote
 Section 60 RPA 1951 -proposed to be amended to provide overseas electors the alternative option of proxy voting or
postal ballot voting

17. Thank you