The pre-2017 electoral funding system was far from perfect, but distortions like electoral bonds exacerbate the problem The Supreme Court, in a landmark decision on February 15, declared the electoral bonds scheme introduced by the previous Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in 2017, unconstitutional. The judgment has stirred a hornet’s nest with all kinds […]
Will the government bring an ordinance to overrule the SC judgement? Unlikely, because all the amendments done to various acts – IT Act, Companies Act, RPA 1951 – have been struck down as unconstitutional. Moreover, SC has upheld the citizens right to know on sources of political funding. Hence any future scheme introduced to curb […]
A lot of us seem to have forgotten that political parties, elections and democracy existed even before 2017 – and so before the existence of electoral bonds. Though introduced in 2017, Electoral Bonds (EBs) seem to have become a popular topic in the national discourse ever since the recent three-day hearing in the Supreme Court […]
In the age of digital dominance, electoral bonds are a calculated and sophisticated step towards electoral gain. Money is never neutral but it tends to mostly, if not always, favour the most domineering and deep-pocketed. This expression is highly relevant in the context of Indian elections where the stakes are always high and the sole […]
The GoI was prodded after 73 years to table a Bill when the March 2023 SC judgment constituted a three-member bipartisan selection committee comprising the PM, CJI and LOP to appoint the CEC and ECs. But the Bill’s selection panel comprising the PM, LOP and a Union minister allows the Executive to retain control over […]
The problem of cleansing politics has a supply side and a demand side. The latter aspect means that voters need to choose clean candidates. Demand for tainted politicians should decrease. It is a record broken after thirty-four years. Both in terms of numbers of seats and vote share, the Congress Party’s victory in the elections […]
The people have spoken, and we have a new government. Congratulations to the voters who gave a clear majority to one party, thus preventing defections and toppling of the government like in 2018. Voters may have changed their mind because of the ‘40% government’ tag, referring to high levels of corruption. Perhaps they were upset […]
Supreme Court has done what successive governments shied away from. Selection of CEC and ECs by government was problematic. With weighty decisions on conducting elections and adjudicating disputes between parties to be made by this high constitutional office, election commissioner selection is best taken out of Executive’s hands On May 17, 2021, the Association for […]
The proposal for remote voting for migrant resident voters (MRIs) is not new has its origins in an older proposal, to allow Non-Resident Indians to vote. There are serious issues with this. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a new initiative to introduce a ‘remote voting machine (RVM) system’ for migrant voters via its letter […]