(Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is In-Charge of BJP's National Good Governance Cell and Director of Public Policy Research Centre, New Delhi.)As we pat our backs for an improved vote percentage for the elections to the 16th Lok Sabha, questions concerning the efficacy of democratic institutions continue to be ignored. This is bound to happen when, in popular perception, democracy is reduced to mere elections and opinion-makers too refuse to dwell at length on the need for wide-ranging democratic reforms.
To start with, the Election Commission has to very seriously look into the issue of names missing from voter lists. Why do such instances happen repeatedly? Unless removed by some agency, how can names get deleted automatically? Voters must understand the value of eternal vigilance as some public declaration or the other always precedes the final deletion. Besides, why can't there be an inbuilt mechanism facilitating coordination between the Election Commission and the offices that register births and deaths, as also the census commissioner? Why can't we decide to use both Republic Day and Independence Day holidays as National Electoral Roll Scrutiny days? A more imaginative approach rather than just a blame-game can help tackle this issue.
Similarly, the gruelling schedule and inhuman conditions which Election Duty staff undergoes on voting day also require a serious review. It is high time that the Election Commission has at least a skeletal permanent staff of its own in every district office
The agenda for election-management reforms also requires a relook at the dreaded Code of Conduct.
The subject of reforms for political parties is also crying for attention. The brilliant observations and practical recommendations of the Venkatchelliah Commission are gathering dust. The need to have well-laid down laws for de-registering a political party has been crassly neglected.
We have to cope with hundreds of parties allowing Toms, Dicks and Harries to acquire nuisance value almost for free. It's hard to expect that political class will strive to achieve consensus on this issue, but what prevents our opinion-makers from evolving a narrative on such issues? The quality of democracy hinges upon the standard of politicians and thereby the character of political parties. To improve their standard, we need to institutionalize them, and for that, a slew of reforms are required.
Elections - with politics at the centre - continue to interest almost all Indians. But when did we last introduce a new legislative tool or configure a way to increase the accountability of an elected representative? New-age democracy demands new methods and innovative ways of making our conduct of business at the elected chambers more responsive, less opaque and thereby highly participative. Continuity without change has made our temples of democracy worn out and jaded. This status-quoism has brought in stagnancy.
In India, while institutions are working, the process of the institutionalization of democracy itself appears to have been stymied. Elections are routinely held in a fairly conducive atmosphere, Parliament functions and state legislatures also conduct their meetings regularly, courts continue to give verdicts and yet many wonder what is that element of significance that democracy is bringing to the table? People are hungry for change, but they are not looking only for a change in government, with some new faces replacing old ones. People want to see a change in the culture and efficacy of our democratic governance.
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