22nd March 2025 (35 Topics)
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Strengthening India’s Electoral Reforms
Context
The Election Commission (EC) has invited political parties to discuss electoral reforms following allegations of voter roll manipulation and duplicate Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers across States.
Key Issues in the Electoral Process
- EVM and VVPAT Concerns: A PIL demanding a return to paper ballots and 100% VVPAT verification was dismissed by the Supreme Court in April 2024. However, the court allowed 5% of EVM memory units to be checked in case of suspected tampering.
- Electoral Roll Manipulation: Allegations arose during the Maharashtra and Delhi elections regarding fake voters being added to benefit the ruling party.
- Duplicate EPIC Numbers: Identical voter ID numbers have been found in different States (e.g., West Bengal, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab). The EC attributes this to past decentralization before shifting to the ERONET central database but assures that voters can only cast their vote at designated polling stations.
Issues in the Election Campaign Process
- Misuse of Star Campaigners: Political leaders frequently use abusive language, communal rhetoric, and unverified allegations.
- Election Spending Violations: Candidates exceed spending limits, while political parties have no spending cap. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections saw expenses of nearly Rs 1,00,000 crore, fueling corruption.
- Criminalization of Politics: 46% of elected MPs in 2024 (251 out of 543) have criminal cases, with 170 facing serious charges like rape, murder, and kidnapping.
Proposed Reforms
- EVM & VVPAT Verification: Increase sample size for VVPAT-EVM matching based on scientific methods. Even a single mismatch should trigger full manual counting in that region. Introduce ‘totaliser’ machines to aggregate votes from multiple booths for anonymity.
- Preventing Fake Voters: Consider linking Aadhaar with EPIC after stakeholder discussions. Remove duplicate EPIC numbers from electoral rolls.
- Regulating Election Campaigns:
- EC should have the power to revoke ‘Star Campaigner’ status for MCC violations.
- Enforce limits on political party election spending alongside individual candidate limits.
- Strictly implement Supreme Court’s directive requiring criminal antecedents of candidates to be publicized three times before elections.
Current Legal Framework
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