Lok Sabha Elections Explained

In India, once every 5 years, the masses are omnipotent. Their decision is the final say and it surpasses the circumscribed boundaries of dirty politics and corruption. This year, once again, the world’s largest democracy puts its fate into the hands of its 900 million voters.

But what exactly does this electoral process entail? What are the consequences of the elections? How efficient is it?

Elections form the cornerstone of any democratic process. They are to some extent standard across the globe; yet, India’s election process, many a time, is portrayed as rather abstract. However, this supposedly chaotic and confusing event that leads to the appointment of our Prime Minister isn't all that mysterious. Essentially, the people of our country elect members of Parliament for their constituencies from the Lok Sabha - House of the People - that contains 545 seats (two of which are put in place by the President). The party holding a simple majority in the Lok Sabha elects its leader who is then nominated as the Prime Minister. However, it is possible that a simple majority is not accomplished. In this case, different parties form coalitions until they acquire the requisite number of seats to elect a Prime Minister successfully. It’s that simple. In fact, the only reason this process is projected as complete pandemonium is because of the fiery newshour debates, accusatory political statements and a sudden spotlight on public opinion.

Now it is true that elections, in their truest essence, are the fairest way of putting a government into place. The decision does not depend on a nepotistic monarchy or a hegemonic totalitarian regime; it directly involves the masses and gives them what they want. However, one can argue that India’s electoral process is not all that different from the aforementioned extremes. Ideally, voters are supposed to enter the polling both and select the name of the member of parliament or political party who they rule as the most reliable candidate. But, the reality is that they practically cannot enter that polling booth without being heavily influenced by candidates trying to lure them by promoting otherwise completely unconstitutional ideas such as religious polarisation and social and cultural divides. This, many a time, results in voters choosing, and ultimately regretting their inauthentic choice. Another fallacy with the Indian Electoral system is that, in order to allow a desired party to win majority votes, voters overlook the quality of the leaders in their respective constituencies., This means that voters are willing to compromise on voting for the most efficient leader in their constituency in order to ultimately obtain the wanted Prime Minister. While this may result in a strong central government, it leaves behind a series of poorly organised and incompetently led local governments.

Another aspect one can analyse is the distributed nature of the Lok Sabha Elections. Living in India, it is known to us that there is not a single designated day where all the voters cast their vote. On the other hand, countries like the United States have a stipulated ‘Election Day’. It is statutorily set as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November" or "the first Tuesday after November 1”. Following the aforementioned example, President Modi has advocated the “one nation, one election” policy which is on the similar lines of the “one nation, one tax" rationale for the goods and services tax (GST). This will logistically make the election process much smoother and organised. It will reduce the overall election budget and reduce the exorbitant amounts of money the government spends in organising elections in each constituency during different times of the year.

Essentially, the electoral process in general has its flaws. The voters are not immune to outside influences, shaping and altering their decisions. In specific, the Indian Elections have logistical flaws as well and a few changes in its process could result in greater efficiency. However, as of now, the 2019 Elections are approaching and no major changes in the process have taken place. The only thing the masses can do to ensure the smooth running of elections is to truly introspect and understand who would do the best job. Do your research. Read the news from different perspectives. Be informed voters. Despite the fact that we, the youth, do not directly partake in elections, we strive towards pushing the older generations to be honest and honourable voters and soon, become those honest and honourable voters ourselves.

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Written by Nooran Ahluwalia