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Over the seven decades of our experience with democracy has revealed its many flaws, the largest being poor electoral process and defection.
Ours is not a representative democracy under the-first-past-the-post system. As a result parliament or assembly representation is not indicative of prorata vote share of political parties. By taking example of parliament election results of Kerala..UDF secured roughly 45% of popular votes but won 95% of seats, LDF secured about 40% of popular votes but won only 5% of the seats. BJP front garnered about 15% of votes but won nil seats. The MPs representing Kerala is not reflective of the will of the people as revealed in vote share%.
I suggest the following to remedy this anomaly, eliminate defection practices, money power and by-elections.
1. State as a whole is considered as a single constituency.
2. No candidates in the fray. Only symbols of registered parties on the EVMs.
3. Pre-poll and post poll alliances can be formed as is now.
4. Election result will show total votes and % of each symbol/ party. Based on the %, the parties will be entitled for prorata seats from each state. Suitable algorithm can be developed to deal with fractional values by aggregating at pre poll alliance level etc.
5. Each party will nominate persons to occupy the assembly/ parliament seats. Death, defection, resignation of a nominated person will lead to the concerned party nominating another person.
Yogendra Yadav’s suggestion for re-election is an unwanted financial burden on the state. Re-election will cost 500 times more than the horse trading involving few crores. I am not surprised that Yogendra Yadav has lost rational thinking.
Let’s not be too academic and too legal and let’s have simple solution.
We are a Parliamentary Democracy which is based on party system. Lawmakers are elected on a party ticket, with the party ethos, ideology and programmes for a term of five years. Any defection or split must totally be banned, with the option to only resign from the legislature and get reelected. There must not be any mid term election for him and the seat may remain vacant till expiry of his term – why should the state take so much of trouble and incur so much of expenses for him. The said constituency’s interest may be looked after by any of the neobouring lawmaker. At the time of general election let everybody be free to resign from the party and opt for another of his choice.
This is simply because role of so-called conscience or ideology is almost zero in these defections and splits and only money and power remain factors. Otherwise how many defections and split took place to join and sit as opposition? Yes, during Nehru’s time people not agreeing to him left Congress, either formed their parties or join the opposition. Gone are the days!
Parties have to be given the supremacy even at the cost of Party’s tyranny. One must be honest to the party they joined with all his senses and they have to be with them at least till the end of the term. This the cost of some goodness that we have to pay!
All parties follow nearly identical policies of freebies subsidies reservation loan waivers. So there must be only one party- leftist party. If this happens there won’t be defections.
Aren’t these the same Yogendra Yadavs/pseudo-seculars/so-called liberals, who shout and protest for ‘Freedom of Choice’, ‘Freedom of Expression’ and ‘Freedom of Everything’? Cannot these representatives who want to move away from corrupt parties, have freedom?
So true! As long as these MLAs were shifting from other parties to Cong-culture parties, it was fine. As soon as they shift to BJP, put curbs. But, they should remember if such curbs are put in place, they would apply to everyone Cong as well as BJP. I think current anti-defection laws are stringent enough.
Ideally there should be no anti defection laws. Legislators should be freely allowed to cross parties and let the electorate decide if it is willing to tolerate such practices. Once the law of diminishing returns sets in, both the electorate and political parties will stop accepting political defections. At the most there can be a rule that defectors, irrespective of their numbers, have to resign and seek re-election. Secondly maybe it’s time to experiment with a fixed term legislature, rather than frequent re-elections.
The voters would re-elect because many who vote rarely follow ethics in their own lives. Moreover the leader can always say that he wanted to serve them as minister but his original party declined his chance etc. Everyone now want their MPs or MLA’s to become minister without realising that they can do a lot even without being in cabinet.
Electoral history shows that defectors easily get re-elected from their new party, so Yadav’s solution is redundant. Perhaps the only solution would be to debar defectors from standing for any election for a period of about a year, and not to be given any Govt office either.
All the views expressed by the author are utopian and not practical. The Indian electorate, whom, many sitting In their air conditioned room think ,are gullible and illiterate, have the wisdom to choose correct persons. That is why democracy has survived in this nation for the last seven decades.
Over the seven decades of our experience with democracy has revealed its many flaws, the largest being poor electoral process and defection.
Ours is not a representative democracy under the-first-past-the-post system. As a result parliament or assembly representation is not indicative of prorata vote share of political parties. By taking example of parliament election results of Kerala..UDF secured roughly 45% of popular votes but won 95% of seats, LDF secured about 40% of popular votes but won only 5% of the seats. BJP front garnered about 15% of votes but won nil seats. The MPs representing Kerala is not reflective of the will of the people as revealed in vote share%.
I suggest the following to remedy this anomaly, eliminate defection practices, money power and by-elections.
1. State as a whole is considered as a single constituency.
2. No candidates in the fray. Only symbols of registered parties on the EVMs.
3. Pre-poll and post poll alliances can be formed as is now.
4. Election result will show total votes and % of each symbol/ party. Based on the %, the parties will be entitled for prorata seats from each state. Suitable algorithm can be developed to deal with fractional values by aggregating at pre poll alliance level etc.
5. Each party will nominate persons to occupy the assembly/ parliament seats. Death, defection, resignation of a nominated person will lead to the concerned party nominating another person.
Why don’t the voters then punish the defectors? They can get all the information about the defectors from the media.
Yogendra Yadav’s suggestion for re-election is an unwanted financial burden on the state. Re-election will cost 500 times more than the horse trading involving few crores. I am not surprised that Yogendra Yadav has lost rational thinking.
Let’s not be too academic and too legal and let’s have simple solution.
We are a Parliamentary Democracy which is based on party system. Lawmakers are elected on a party ticket, with the party ethos, ideology and programmes for a term of five years. Any defection or split must totally be banned, with the option to only resign from the legislature and get reelected. There must not be any mid term election for him and the seat may remain vacant till expiry of his term – why should the state take so much of trouble and incur so much of expenses for him. The said constituency’s interest may be looked after by any of the neobouring lawmaker. At the time of general election let everybody be free to resign from the party and opt for another of his choice.
This is simply because role of so-called conscience or ideology is almost zero in these defections and splits and only money and power remain factors. Otherwise how many defections and split took place to join and sit as opposition? Yes, during Nehru’s time people not agreeing to him left Congress, either formed their parties or join the opposition. Gone are the days!
Parties have to be given the supremacy even at the cost of Party’s tyranny. One must be honest to the party they joined with all his senses and they have to be with them at least till the end of the term. This the cost of some goodness that we have to pay!
All parties follow nearly identical policies of freebies subsidies reservation loan waivers. So there must be only one party- leftist party. If this happens there won’t be defections.
Abolish parties and let elected representatives be independents.
Aren’t these the same Yogendra Yadavs/pseudo-seculars/so-called liberals, who shout and protest for ‘Freedom of Choice’, ‘Freedom of Expression’ and ‘Freedom of Everything’? Cannot these representatives who want to move away from corrupt parties, have freedom?
Pure hypocrisy!!
So true! As long as these MLAs were shifting from other parties to Cong-culture parties, it was fine. As soon as they shift to BJP, put curbs. But, they should remember if such curbs are put in place, they would apply to everyone Cong as well as BJP. I think current anti-defection laws are stringent enough.
Ideally there should be no anti defection laws. Legislators should be freely allowed to cross parties and let the electorate decide if it is willing to tolerate such practices. Once the law of diminishing returns sets in, both the electorate and political parties will stop accepting political defections. At the most there can be a rule that defectors, irrespective of their numbers, have to resign and seek re-election. Secondly maybe it’s time to experiment with a fixed term legislature, rather than frequent re-elections.
The voters would re-elect because many who vote rarely follow ethics in their own lives. Moreover the leader can always say that he wanted to serve them as minister but his original party declined his chance etc. Everyone now want their MPs or MLA’s to become minister without realising that they can do a lot even without being in cabinet.
Electoral history shows that defectors easily get re-elected from their new party, so Yadav’s solution is redundant. Perhaps the only solution would be to debar defectors from standing for any election for a period of about a year, and not to be given any Govt office either.
All the views expressed by the author are utopian and not practical. The Indian electorate, whom, many sitting In their air conditioned room think ,are gullible and illiterate, have the wisdom to choose correct persons. That is why democracy has survived in this nation for the last seven decades.