Election Commission vs Political Pressure : The Reality & Challenges

• Superintendence, direction and control of elections to be vested in an Election Commission.

• No person to be ineligible for inclusion in, or to claim to be included in a special, electoral roll-on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex.

• Elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assemblies of States to be based on adult suffrage.

• Power of Parliament to make provision with respect to elections to Legislatures.

• Power of Legislature of a State to make provision with respect to elections to such Legislature.

• Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters.

• After India attained Independence in August 1947, there was a need to hold General Elections to elect a truly representative Government on the basis of universal adult suffrage.
• Article 324, which provides for the setting up of the Election Commission as an independent constitutional authority, was therefore brought into force from November 26th, 1949, whereas most of the other provisions were made effective from January 26th, 1950 (when the Constitution of India became effective).

• The Election Commission was formally constituted on January 25th, 1950, a day before India became a Sovereign Democratic Republic.
• The First Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Sukumar Sen, was appointed on March 21st, 1950.

• The Commission functioned as a single member body from 1950 to October 16th, 1989 but was converted into a three member body on October 16th, 1989 to January 1st, 1990.
• In the year 1990, January 1st, it was reverted to the system of single member body.
• However, since October 1st, 1993, the Commission has been functioning as a three member body.
• The Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners are given the same salary and allowances as of a Judge of the Supreme Court.
• All the three Commissioners have equal powers in decision making and in case of any difference of opinion on any issue, the decision is taken by the majority.
• The term of the office of CEC and ECs is six years or till the age of 65, whichever is earlier.

• For the purpose of first General Elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas, the first delimitation order was issued by the President, in consultation with the Election Commission and with the approval of Parliament on August 13th, 1951.

• To provide a legal framework for the conduct of elections, Parliament passed the first Act on May 12th, 1950 (Representation of the People Act, 1950) providing mainly for the preparation of electoral rolls and second Act on July 17th, 1951 (Representation of the People Act, 1951) laying down the procedure for the conduct of elections to both Houses of Parliament and Vidhan Sabhas for each State.

• Electoral Rolls for constituencies were published in all States by November 15th, 1951.
• The total number of voters (excluding J&K) was 17,32,13,635 as against the total population of India (excluding J&K), 35,66,91,760 according to the 1951 census.
• The first General Elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas were held between October, 1951 and March, 1952.
• The first Lok Sabha consisting of 497 members was constituted on April 2nd, 1952.
• The first Rajya Sabha consisting of 216 members was constituted on April 3rd, 1952.

• After the constitution of the two Houses of Parliament and the State Legislative Assemblies, the first Presidential election was held in May, 1952 and the first duly elected President assumed the charge of office on May 13th, 1952.
• At the time of the first General Election in 1951-52, the Commission had recognized 14 political parties as multi-state parties and 39 parties as the state parties.
• Presently, there are seven recognized National Party and 40 State Party.

• For the first and second General Elections in 1951-52, and 1957, the Election Commission adopted the ‘Balloting System’ of voting.
• Under this system, every candidate was allotted a separate ballot box at each polling station in a screened compartment and the voter was required only to drop his ballot paper, the centrally pre-printed ballot papers into the ballot box of the candidate of his choice.

• From the 3rd General Elections in 1962 onwards, the Commission switched over to the ‘marking system’ of voting.
• Under this system, a common ballot paper containing the names and election symbols of all contesting candidates is printed on which the voter has to put a mark with an arrow cross mark rubber stamp on or near the symbol of the candidate of his choice.

• The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were used for the first time in part of Parur Assembly Constituency in Kerala in 1982, on experimental basis. Later, the extensive use of EVMs started in 1998.
• The EVMs were used at all polling stations in the country in the 14th General Elections to the Lok Sabha in 2004 for the first time.
• Since then all elections to Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies have been held using EVMs.

• To demarcate electoral constituencies in the country on the basis of the Delimitation Commission Act of Parliament.
• To prepare and periodically update electoral rolls and to register all eligible voters.
• To notify the dates and schedules of elections and to scrutinise nomination papers.
• To grant recognition to political parties and allot election symbols to them.
• To cancel polls in the event of rigging, booth capturing, violence and other irregularities.
• To supervise the machinery of elections throughout the country to ensure free and fair elections.
• To register political parties for the purpose of elections and grant them the status of national or state parties on the basis of their poll performance
• ECI appoints the following seats:
• Chief Electoral Officer
• District Election Officer
• Returning Officer
• Electoral Registration Officer
• It regulates the campaign expenditure per candidate of all political parties without any discrimination.

• It acts as a court for settling disputes related to granting of recognition to political parties and allotment of election symbols to them.
• To appoint officers for inquiring into disputes relating to electoral arrangements.
• It defines a model code of conduct for all political parties and candidates and ensures they adhere to it during election season.

• It advises the president on matters relating to the disqualifications of the members of Parliament.
• It advises the governor on matters relating to the disqualifications of the members of state legislature.
• It advises the president whether elections can be held in a state under the president's rule in order to extend the period of emergency after one year.

• The election commission cannot review any result on its own without a proper election petition filed before the High court or Supreme Court.

• Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh said that the Election Commission of India was “scared” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was working “under pressure from them”.
• Mr. Singh also questioned the credibility of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines.
• Mr. Singh also said that the ECI serves notices to Opposition leaders whenever they say something, but it is never served to Mr. Modi no matter what he says.

• Senior AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi alleged that the Election Commission and Delhi Police are shielding the BJP workers who are indulging in "hooliganism".
• As per the Delhi Chief Minister BJP is openly engaging in hooliganism.
• She alleged that instead of taking action against them, Delhi Police is protecting them, while the Election Commission is filing cases against those who are raising complaints.
• AAP’s accusations gained traction after the EC filed a case against Atishi on February 4 for violating the Model Code of Conduct.
• Atishi Marlena also raised concerns with the EC about alleged electoral roll fraud in New Delhi’s Assembly constituency, claiming the BJP was behind large-scale manipulations
• Atishi Marlena criticised the Election Commission for issuing the notice through media channels before formally serving it to her, calling the move suspicious and politically motivated.

• AAP leaders also voiced concerns over the commission’s decision to ban certain campaign materials, including AAP's campaign song, which the BJP claimed violated election guidelines.

• Lawmaker Saket Gokhale from the All India Trinamool Congress said on social media platform X, on May 4 that the commission was “supervising and encouraging the complete destruction of a fair electoral process built over decades”.
• Lawmaker and senior opposition leader Derek O’Brien said the role of the commission was “extremely compromised”.

• Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday levelled serious accusations against the BJP, alleging electoral misconduct and also declaring the Election Commission "dead".
• The former UP chief minister stated that police officials were illegally checking voters' ID at polling centres, which he viewed as voter intimidation.

• Arati Jerath, a journalist and political analyst, said there was a trend of diminishing public trust in the election commission, referring to a pre-poll survey this year by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies that indicated a significant drop in confidence in the commission between the 2019 and 2024 elections.
• Jerath criticised the commission’s failure to address divisive speeches and delays in releasing voting data.
• Media headlines about inflammatory speeches and unresponsiveness have also undermined the commission’s credibility in a way that foreign observers would not alleviate

• Leaders of the Indian National Congress, in Haryana elections (October 2024), met the Election Commission and registered a strong complaint, alleging that Electronic Voting Machines have been hacked.
• Party spokesman Pawan Khera said the hacking took place across 20 seats, for seven of which they have submitted documentary evidence.

• The Election Commission of India (EC) has denied accusations of bias and partiality raised by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections.

• ECI officials have responded, saying that decisions were made collectively by all three members, not just Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

• The commission claimed, “The 3-member commission collectively noted repeated deliberate pressure tactics to malign ECI in Delhi Elections, as if it is a single-member body and decided to have constitutional restraint, absorbing such outbursts with sagacity, stoically & not to be swayed by such insinuations.”

• M1 (model one) of EVM machines were manufactured till 2006 and had all necessary technical features making M1 non-hackable contrary to claims made by some activists.

• On the recommendations of the Technical Evaluation Committee in 2006, M2 model of EVMs produced after 2006 and upto 2012 incorporated with dynamic coding of key codes thereby enabling transfer of the key – press message from Ballot Unit (BUs) to Control Unit (CUs), in an encrypted form as an additional security feature.

• The new model M3 EVMs also have tamper detection and self-diagnostics as added features. Since, software is based on OTP the program cannot be altered, rewritten or Re-read. Thus, making EVM tamper proof.
• If anyone make, attempt, the machine will become inoperative.

• It also contains Real time settings of each key press so that sequencing of key presses including so called malicious sequenced key presses can be detected and wrapped.

• The ECI- EVMs are not computer controlled, are stand alone machines and not connected to the internet and /or any other network at any point of time.
• Hence, there is no chance of hacking by remote devices.

• The ECI-EVMs do not have any frequency receiver or decoder for data for wireless or any external hardware port for connection to any other non-EVM accessory or device.
• Hence no tampering is possible either through hardware port or through Wireless, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth device because CU accepts only encrypted and dynamically coded data from BU.
• No other kind of data can be accepted by CU.

• There is very stringent security protocol at manufacturer level regarding security of software.
• The manufacturers are in no position to know several years ahead which candidate will be contesting from a particular constituency and what will be the sequence of the candidates on the BU.
• Also, each ECI-EVM has a serial number and the Election Commission by use of EVM –tracking software can find out from its database which machine is located where.
• So, any manipulation at the manufacturing stage is ruled out.

• The ECI-EVMs use some of the most sophisticated technological features like one time programmable (OTP) microcontrollers, dynamic coding of key codes, date and time stamping of each and every key press, advanced encryption technology and EVM-tracking software to handle EVM logistics, among others to make the machine 100% tamper proof.

• The ECI faces pressure from political parties and powerful interest groups, which seek to influence electoral outcomes through unfair means.
• The resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel on the threshold of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, ostensibly on account of differences with the Chief Election Commissioner has renewed questions about the independence of the constitutional body with whom vests the superintendence, direction and control of elections.

• Election Commissioner Arun Goel, who was appointed only in November 2022 and was to have a tenure that would last until December 2027, resigned abruptly and his resignation was promptly accepted by the President of India Droupadi Murmu.
• Speculation is rife that political interference in the election process was the cause of the differences between the two.
• Similar questions were raised at the time of the resignation of Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa back in 2020.
• Lavasa, who was seen as being an upright man, too resigned in circumstances that raised more questions than they answered.

• The ECI’s power to enforce its decisions and punish offenders is limited.
• This hinders its ability to effectively implement regulations and ensure compliance with electoral laws.

• The ECI grapples with the perennial challenge of combating electoral fraud and malpractice, such as voter intimidation, use of money and muscle powers, etc.
• According to the report of the Electoral Commission of India on the 2014 national elections , over seventy-five thousand FIR’s were lodged with the police in connection with different kinds of poll-related violations; over three billion rupees in cash, six and a half million litres of alcohol, and almost five hundred thousand kilos of drugs were seized
• Vernacular and national media outlets reported on a wide variety of fraudulent electoral practices.
• In Mumbai for example, two hundred thousand names mysteriously disappeared from the polling lists.

• Instances of electoral violence, voter intimidation, and communal polarization persist in certain regions, undermining the foundational principles of democracy and social cohesion.

• The rise of AI-generated deepfakes poses a significant threat to the authenticity of electoral discourse, enabling malicious actors to manipulate public opinion and disseminate false narratives.

• The proliferation of digital misinformation and manipulation, fueled by artificial intelligence and social media, undermines the integrity of electoral discourse and fosters polarization, challenging the legitimacy of electoral outcomes.

• Appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the other Election Commissioners (ECs) shall be made on the recommendations of a three member committee consisting of the following:
• The Prime Minister,
• The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and
• The Chief Justice of India.
• However, the government had introduced Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 to replace the existing Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991.
• The provisions of the act are:
• The CEC and ECs will be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of a Selection Committee.
• The Selection Committee will consist of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of Opposition/leader of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha.
• Recommendations of the Selection Committee will be valid even when there is a vacancy in this Committee.
• A Search Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary will propose a panel of names to the Selection Committee.

• The grounds for removal of the other Election Commissioners should be the same as that of the Chief Election Commissioner i.e., on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court subject to the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.

ECI as Independent Body:

• Article 324 of the Constitution has made the following provisions to safeguard and ensure the independent and impartial functioning of the Election Commission.

• ECI cannot be removed from his office except in the same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court.

• The service conditions of the chief election commissioner cannot be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.

• Any other election commissioner or a regional commissioner cannot be removed from office except on the recommendation of the chief election commissioner.

• The Election Commission has complete authority on how, where, and when to conduct an election without any interference from the executive, whether it is general election or by-election.

• The Constitution has not prescribed any qualifications (legal, educational, administrative or judicial) of the members of the Election Commission.

• The Constitution has not specified the term of the members of the Election Commission.

• The Constitution has not debarred the retiring election commissioners from any further appointment by the government.

• The President holds the power to amend constituency delimitation orders, but only after consulting the ECI.
• Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have reserved seats in the Lok Sabha, and the ECI determines which constituencies are to be reserved for Scheduled Tribes in certain states.
• Delimitation Commission:
• According to Article 82 of the Constitution, Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act after each census. Subsequently, the Central Government forms a Delimitation Commission, responsible for demarcating parliamentary constituency boundaries.
• The present delimitation is based on the 2001 census data, with the Constitution amended in 2002 to delay further delimitation until after the first census following 2026.

• Every state strives to receive proportional representation in the Lok Sabha based on census figures.

• The 1950 Act allows the registration of residents within a constituency, including certain categories such as armed forces members and government employees posted abroad.
• A proposal to make provisions gender-neutral is under consideration, replacing "wife" with "spouse."

• Chief Electoral Officer (CEO):
• Each state has a CEO nominated or designated by the ECI in consultation with the state government to oversee election activities.
• The District Election Officer (DEO) is similarly appointed, working under the CEO's supervision.
• Electoral Registration Officer (ERO):
• The ERO is responsible for preparing electoral rolls for each constituency, with an appeal process now involving the District Magistrate.

• Returning Officer (RO):
• The RO manages constituency elections and declares elected candidates.
• The ECI, in consultation with the state government, appoints the RO.
• The Central government, in consultation with the ECI, has the authority to establish rules under the act, while civil courts are prohibited from challenging the legality of ERO actions regarding electoral roll revisions.

• First Schedule:
• Allocation of seats in the House of the People.
• Second Schedule:
• Total number of seats in Legislative Assemblies
• Third Schedule:
• Allocation of seats in Legislative Councils.
• Fourth Schedule:
• Local authorities for Legislative Council elections.

• Conduct of elections of the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State.
• Details about the structure of administrative machinery for the conduct of elections.
• Qualifications and disqualifications for membership of those houses.
• Corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections and the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with such elections.

A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the House of the People, unless-

1. in the case of a seal reserved for the Scheduled Castes in any State, he is a member of any of the Scheduled Castes, whether of that State or of any other State, and is an elector for any Parliamentary constituency;
2. in the case of a seat reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in any State (other than those in the autonomous districts of Assam), he is a member of any of the Scheduled Tribes, whether of the State or of any other State (excluding the tribal areas of Assam), and is an elector for any Parliamentary constituency;
3. in the case of a seat reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam, he is a member of any of those Scheduled Tribes and is an elector for the Parliamentary constituency.

• A person shall not be qualified to be chosen as a representative of any State or Union territory in the Council of States unless he is an elector for a Parliamentary constituency.

Found guilty of election offences/corrupt practices.

• Conviction for any offence resulting in imprisonment for 2 or more years.
• Conviction for promoting enmity between different groups.
• Failed to lodge an account of his election expenses within time.
• Having interest in government contracts, works or services.
• If dismissed from government service for corruption or dis-loyalty to the state.
• If punished for practising and preaching social crimes like sati, untouchability, etc.

• Any form of gratification for electors for voting or refraining from voting, and to the candidates for withdrawing or not withdrawing nomination is considered as a corrupt practice.
• It includes any direct or indirect interference with the free exercise of any electoral right by the candidate or his election agent.
• Promoting enmity between classes in connection with election.
• Penalty for filing false affidavits, etc.
• Prohibition of public meetings during a period of forty-eight hours ending with hour fixed for conclusion of poll.
• Restriction on publication and dissemination of results of exit polls, etc.

• According to the section 77 of RPA, 1951, every candidate contesting in election to the House of the People or to the Legislative Assembly of a State, shall, either by himself or by his election agent, keep a separate and correct account of all expenditure in connection with the election incurred or authorized by him or by his election agent.

• Every association or body in order to become a political party must be registered with the ECI whose decision regarding registration will be final.
• Registered political parties, in course of time, can get recognition as ‘State Party’ or' National Party’.
• Change in name and address of a registered political party must be communicated to the ECI.
• The ECI cannot derecognise a party.

• 48 hours before the polling ends or concludes, displaying any election matter by television or similar apparatus in a constituency is prohibited.
• Section 126 is not applicable to the print media, news portals and social media
• Section 126A prohibits the conduct of exit polls and dissemination of its results during the period mentioned.
• The ECI cannot derecognise a party.

• Voluntary contributions by any person or company within India ( other than a government company) can be accepted by the registered political party.
• A company can donate any amount of money to any political party.
• There is no obligation of the company to report such donations in its profit and loss account.
• It is mandatory for the political parties to submit to the ECI a list of donations they received above Rs. 2,000.
• Political parties cannot receive more than Rs 2000 as cash donations.
• Now, political parties are eligible to accept contributions from foreign companies defined under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.

• Individuals contesting elections have to file an affidavit, declaring their criminal records, assets & liabilities and educational qualification.
• After getting elected, MPs are required to file a declaration of assets and liabilities with the Speaker of Lok Sabha and the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
• These declarations have to be made by MPs within 90 days of taking their seats in Parliament.

• India's first Lok Sabha elections were held from October 25, 1951, to February 21, 1952.
• There were 489 seats in the Lok Sabha, allotted across 401 constituencies in 25 states.
• For the 489 Lok Sabha seats, 1,949 candidates competed with each other.

• At the polling station, each candidate was given a ballot box of a distinct colour on which they were to write their name and a symbol.

• Right from the very first election, India granted universal adult suffrage to all its citizens over the age of 21 years, which was further lowered to 18 years in 1989.
• To contextualise, in a developed nation like the United States of America, African Americans had to wait for almost 100 years and women (in some states of USA) almost 150 years after independence to get the right to vote.

• Sukumar Sen was the First Election Commissioner of India.

• He played a crucial role in overseeing the electoral process and ensuring fair elections.
• Symbols were designed and allotted to political parties to make things easier for those who could not read or write, enhancing the accessibility and inclusivity of the voting process.

• Speaking about innovative solutions, the photosensitive indelible ink was developed to mark the fingers of those who cast their vote, to prevent electoral fraud like double voting.
• In total, 3,89,816 bottles of indelible ink were supplied in the first elections to the states for Rs. 2,27,460.

• To this day, the special formula to create this ink has not been made public.
• Mysore Paints & Varnish Ltd. has been licensed to manufacture the ink and has been in the business since 1962.

• A factory in Vikhroli, a suburb of Bombay, built the first-ever ballot box.

• These ballot boxes were crucial in enabling fair and secure elections by providing a means for voters to cast their votes confidentially.
• These ballot boxes were transported to the remotest parts of the country by various means, including trains, cars, camels and even elephants.

• During an election, voters can officially register a vote of rejection for all contenders by selecting the NOTA, or None of the Above, option if they do not wish to vote for any candidate in their constituency.

• In 2013, the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in five states Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Madhya Pradesh introduced the NOTA option for the first time during assembly elections.
• The National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, created the emblem for it.

• According to official ECI data, there will be 96.8 crore voters overall in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024.

• There will be 1.8 crore first-time voters in this Lok Sabha election, and 19.47 crore voters between the ages of 20 and 29.
• More than 85 lakh women who are first-time voters in the Lok Sabha will be exercising their right to vote.
• There are 97 crore voters who have registered to vote, 10.5 lakh polling places, 1.5 crore poll workers and security personnel, 55 lakh electronic voting machines, and 4 lakh cars.

• The Commission has been asking all the political parties and instructed to take adequate steps and measures to not use single-use plastic as campaign materials (posters, banners etc.,) during the elections in the interest of human health and environment.

• In order to move forward in the way of digital India and to minimize scope of mistakes in nomination form and the affidavit (Form-26), the Commission has provided an optional facility to the candidates for online data entry of personal details in nomination form.

• This facility is available for the candidates through the Election Commission's Suvidha portal (https://suvidha.eci.gov.in).

• Rule 27A of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 has been amended vide Notifications dated 22.10.2019 and 19.06.2020.
• By the said two amendments “Absentee voters” have an option entitled to vote by postal ballot.

• “Absentee Voter” has been defined in clause (aa) of Rule-27A of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, and includes persons who are employed in essential services, senior citizens, persons with disability and COVID 19 suspect or affected persons.
• The category of essential service is notified by the Election Commission under Section 60(C) of the RP Act, 1951 in consultation with the Central Government.

• In pursuance of the directions given by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in its Order dated 13.02.2020 the Commission, after due consideration has directed that all political parties, that set up candidates with criminal antecedents, either pending cases or cases of past conviction shall scrupulously follow each of the directions given by Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment in all future elections to the Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures.

• Commission notified a Scheme for use of Govt. owned Electronic media by Political parties, on 16th January 1998 which also holds a statutory basis under Section 39A of the R.P. Act, 1951 which provides free time on DD & AIR.
• The Commission has amended the existing scheme by introducing a provision to issue digital time vouchers through an Information Technology (IT) platform.

• In India, the Criminalization of politics has become a growing concern, with a significant number of elected officials facing criminal charges.
• The 2024 Lok Sabha elections saw 46% of elected members with criminal cases.

• Political parties and candidates use the money generated by criminal activities to influence voters, secure their support, and win elections.

• Money and muscle power are still influencing election outcomes.

• Instances of electoral violence, voter intimidation, and communal polarization persist in certain regions, undermining the foundational principles of democracy and social cohesion.

• The use of religion, caste, community, tribe, and any other form of group identity for electoral gain or for gathering political support should not be allowed.

• The Election Commission's ability to maintain its independence and resist undue political influence is critical.
• Instances of allegations regarding the impartiality of the Commission can undermine public trust in the electoral process.

• Instances of political parties and candidates violating the model code of conduct have been on the rise.

• The Election Commission faces the challenge of effectively enforcing ethical standards, ensuring a level playing field, and swiftly addressing violations.

• It recommended limits on election expenses, voter IDs, and transparent political funding.
• The committee suggested that the funds could be used to provide equal opportunities to all political parties and candidates, reduce the influence of money power in elections, and promote clean and honest election campaigns.

• Advocated for state funding of elections.
• The Committee recommended two limitations to state funding.
• Firstly, that state funds should be given only to national and state parties allotted a symbol and not to independent candidates.
• Secondly, that in the short-term state funding should only be given in kind, in the form of certain facilities to the recognised political parties and their candidates.

• The N.N. Vohra Committee which submitted its report in October 1993 studied the problem of criminalization of politics and the nexus among criminals, politicians, and bureaucrats in India.
• The committee had concluded that agencies, including the CBI, IB, RAW, had unanimously expressed their opinion that the criminal network was virtually running a parallel government.

• The Law Commission of India, in its 244th report, said that instead of politicians having suspected links to criminal networks, as was the case earlier, it was persons with extensive criminal backgrounds who began entering politics.

• The Law Commission said that in the 10 years since 2004, 18% of the candidates contesting either national or State elections had criminal cases against them.

• The committee suggested 15 amendments including insertion of a new Article 82A and Amendment of Article 327.
• It was supported by the Election Commission in 1983 itself.

• Former Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) TS Krishnamoorthy has suggested a “National Election Fund” as an alternative.

• In the United States, electoral funding is largely driven by private donations from individuals, corporations, and interest groups.
• Political Action Committees (PACs) and Super PACs can raise unlimited funds to support political candidates or causes, though with certain restrictions and disclosure requirements.
• The Citizens United Supreme Court decision in 2010 allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts on independent political expenditures, further shaping electoral funding dynamics.

• In the UK, political parties rely on a combination of public funding and private donations.
• Political parties receive public funding based on their electoral performance, known as "Short Money" for opposition parties and "Cranborne Money" for House of Lords opposition parties.
• Additionally, parties raise funds through individual donations, membership fees, and fundraising events, subject to certain regulations and transparency requirements.

• With the formation of the French Republic, the electoral funding architecture had a distinctly laissez-faire approach.
• Business houses are prohibited from donations including corporations and other legal entities.
• Due to introduction of state funding, subsidies, strict disclosure legislations, robust reporting of the donations to political parties by the media and the ban on corporate donations, they are perceived to be more honest and disciplined by the general public.

• The conduct of elections must be 100 percent accurate in enfranchising those who are constitutionally eligible and it must be 100 percent accurate in preventing those who are not eligible from exercising their franchise.

• All citizens should have full information about each step in the voting process.
• They should be able to exercise their vote without any confusion or paucity of information.
• “Where should I go, what ID must I carry, who will authorise me, what is my right?”
• The answers to these questions must be universally known.

• The election process and the media ecosystem should be neutral such that neither is anybody’s content suppressed nor is anybody able to get away with untruths.

• The process should be transparent enough that multiple people can validate that it took place according to the rules and also validate that nothing untoward or illegal took place (such as bogus votes being cast, etc.).

• The system should not discriminate between candidates based on the size of their party or whether they run as an independent.
• The system should not discriminate between candidates based on the size of their party or whether they run as an independent.