Dutta | 17

Elections in India: Free and Fair

Project submitted by: Mahua Dutta Project submitted to: Mrs. Alka Mehta Semester I, BA. LL.B. (Hons.) (Faculty of English) Section A Roll No. 93 Subject: English Submitted on: 25.08.2015

Hidayatullah National Law University New Raipur, Chhattisgarh

`Declaration

I Mahua Dutta, hereby declare that, the project work entitled, India has Free and Fair elections? submitted to H.N.L.U., Raipur is record of an original work done by me under the guidance of, Mrs. Alka Mehta mam (Faculty: English), H.N.L.U., Raipur.

Name: Mahua Dutta Roll No. : 93 Semester: I Section: A

Acknowledgements

I feel highly elated to work on the topic Elections in India: Free and fair. I express my deepest regard and gratitude for our Faculty of English. Her consistent supervision, constant inspiration and invaluable guidance have been of immense help in understanding and carrying out the importance of the project report. I also want to thank the University for providing free and unlimited use of internet and the well-stocked library which played a very important role in completion of this project.I want to thank the Respected Vice Chancellor of the University for giving us the opportunity of being a part of this institution.

Abstract

Elections are a defining characteristic of democracy, and thus form an integral part of the democratization process. Independent India is only 68 years old. But, among all the countries newly liberated from the colonial yoke, India alone has earned the singular distinction of not only being the worlds largest functioning, effective democracy but also of setting an example by conducting as many as twelve free and fair elections at the national, and more than 300, at the state level. Viewed from any aspect, political, social or psychological, elections in India, whether at the national or state levels, have invariably been a fascinating story. Successive elections have both enhanced and deepened the peoples commitment to democracy.

Each election has also exposed certain inherent weaknesses and inadequacies of the electoral system, The perception that an election has not been free, fair and credible develops where there is fraud, violence and intimidation at any of the stages critical to the electoral process. It can also be undermined if the process is chaotic and poorly organized leaving largenumbers of voters disenfranchised and confused about the process, issues and candidates. The role of media in elections is indispensible. No doubt the Media has over the years played a crucial role in safeguarding the democratic rights of the people by educating and informing voters about their electoral duties. But its power to influence public opinion has, of late, also encouraged its blatant misuse by parties and candidates, who connived with obliging editors and media house owners to encourage paid news.

Our election commission has always tried to make rules which can help in conducting free and fair elections and also there has been many changes made from time to time on our electoral system, yet there were no significant and substantial reforms brought about.

Table of Contents

1.Research Methodology .................................................................1

2.Objectives ................................................................. 1

3.Introduction .................................................................2

4.Elections in India: A fascinating story ............................................ 3

5.Indian elections: corruption and logistics ..........................................4

6.Fairness of Indian elections ...............................................................6

7.Modern day rigging .................................................................9

8.Are Electronic Voting Machines above suspicion? ...........................9

9.Elements of unfair elections .............................................................10

10.Discrepancies in 2009 General Elections ..........................................13

11.Discrepancies in 2014 General Elections ..........................................14

12.Conclusions ..............................................................18

13.Webliography ..............................................................19

Research Methodology

The project is based on research from secondary sources, mainly books and web pages. I owe my sincere gratitude to the respected faculty of English and the well-stocked library of the University.The content of this project is not copied from any source other than the citations provided and is purely genuine and authentic and is a result of extensive research

Objectives

The broad objective of this project is to study Indian election system and analyse its fairness. The specific objective of the study is to

1. Effects of corruption on fairness of elections.2. Poll violation in India during elections.3. Various factors leading to unfair election.4. To study in detail discrepancies in General Elections.

Introduction

When Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru declared India as an independent democratic country in his Tryst with Destiny speech in the midnight of 14th August 1947, the whole world looked at India in askance. In spite of Pt. Nehrus strong belief in democratic norms, the road to democracy in India was not smooth. The modern democratic institutions were not allowed to be functioned effectively in British-India. The representative democracy, as envisaged in the Constitution of India, was to be the new experience for majority of Indians. Thus there were lots of apprehensions about the future of democracy in newly independent India, which declared itself as sovereign, democratic and republic. Democratic in the sense that a government is elected through free and competitive elections based on adult suffrage.The largest electoral exercise in the world by far is elections in India as it makes close to one billion people exercise their franchise. The results of the elections in India have a bearing on the lives of 1.25 billion people. The whole world takes a keen interest when the elections are underway in the worlds largest democracy. Therefore, there has to be a platform where the electors of this country could find ample information and fodder for considering both attenuating and extenuating factors contributing to the formation of the government in India. Elections. In is committed to help people, right from a layman to the most erudite member of any community, to get all the past, present and intended information related to politics and elections at a single platform.

Elections in India: A Fascinating Story

India is not only the worlds largest democracy. It is also enormous in population and area and diverse in language, religion, and class, with a spirited press, concentrations of great wealth, a large number of poor and illiterate voters, and a long history of political violence. The Election Commission is charged with the daunting task of ensuring that Indias federal elections are free, fair, and peaceful.

The very fact that as a people, Indians renew their faith in the power of the vote through successive peaceful and fair polls is testimony to their entrenched belief in the efficacy of the democratic system. This is the reason why, notwithstanding the huge expenditure involved in the exercise, which a poor and developing country like India can ill afford, elections are regarded not as a luxury but as an essential component of democracy. Viewed from any aspect, political, social or psychological, elections in India, whether at the national or state levels, have invariably been a fascinating story. Politically, these have contributed immensely to national cohesion and the growth of democratic temper. Socially, these have been a great equalizer, offering identical opportunities for exercising choice to the entire electorate - poor or rich, rural or urban, educated or illiterate, skilled or unskilled, male or female. Psychologically, their outcome has mirrored the complexities of the worlds largest democracy and helped to provide the most reliable insight into the voting behavior of the population and the factors which influence its choice. Administratively, these have posed formidable challenges in sheer organization and logistics which no other democracy in the world has to contend with. And, above all, news-wise, there is possibly no other single event relating to India which offers greater interest, excitement and thrill.

Independent India is only 68 years old. But, among all the countries newly liberated from the colonial yoke, India alone has earned the singular distinction of not only being the worlds largest functioning, effective democracy but also of setting an example by conducting as many as twelve free and fair elections at the national, and more than 300, at the state level. , elections have become a way of life and an exercise of faith for the Indian masses. Successive elections have both enhanced and deepened the peoples commitment to democracy. They have also made the Indian voter fully conscious of the value of his vote and the power of the ballot as the most potent instrument of change. Compared to the simple voter of 1952, when the first general elections were held, the voter of 1999, who will witness the thirteenth, is far more discerning, sophisticated, alert and politically aware. He knows his mind, and he is mindful of his own and the countrys interests. Each election has also exposed certain inherent weaknesses and inadequacies of the electoral system, thus helping to highlight the imperative of constant systematic reform and refinements through amendments to the Peoples Representation Act enacted by Parliament in 1951. Indian elections: corruption and logistics

Every time it runs an Indian general election, the Election Commission (EC) has to manage the largest democratic exercise in history. This time it will have dealt with up to 825m voters by the time ballots were counted on May 16, and the EC is understandably proud of its logistical efficiency and of its record of ensuring free and fair procedures on the days that people vote.

What the electoral authorities cannot guarantee, officials sadly admit, is the probity of politicians during the campaign or after they are elected. Many of these politicians will do everything possible with money and muscle-power to ensure victory and undermine the very notion of fairness regardless of spending limits monitored by the EC and of the model code of conduct endorsed by political parties.

The logistical statistics are certainly awe-inspiring. H.S. Brahma, one of the election commissioners, reminded business leaders this week that EC staff have to organize 1m polling stations at altitudes ranging from 16,000 feet in the Himalayas to sea level on the coast, in temperatures between minus 10 and plus 48 degrees centigrade.R. Balakrishnan, a deputy commissioner, said at the ECs headquarters in New Delhi that one of the biggest challenges was planning the calendar so that voting days clashed neither with local festivals nor with school examinations: school buildings are often used as polling stations, and teachers often supervise the voting.

Too many variables are there, Balakrishnan said. You have to plan, taking all these variables into consideration.

Last years voting, on nine separate days in different districts over five weeks between April 7 and May 12, will require the deployment of more than 10m people including troops and police for security and 1.4m electronic voting machines.Some people go by foot, some people go by boat, some people go by elephant, some people go by helicopter, Brahma told this weeks annual conference of the Confederation of Indian Industry (although his colleagues later said they did not think elephants would be used this time). Its one of the biggest event management [operations] of the country. This entire operation of 35 days or 45 days does not allow a single instance of a mistake.

Brahma, however, went on to lament the darker side of this festival of democracy. Of the 1,600 political parties registered with the EC, only 80 or 90 were active in politics. Most of the rest had really been established by jewelry traders and other entrepreneurs for the purposes of tax evasion. Its for income tax exemption, he said.

It gets worse. He told the story of a candidate whom he did not name who had come to see him 10 days earlier to complain about the campaign spending limit of Rs7m per candidate. This man had declared he would fight with a minimum of Rs350m, and knew of another candidate who would spend Rs1bn.

The more the muscle you have, the more the money you have, the more the chance of winning, Brahma said. The election is a big opportunity for a huge amount of underhand dealings.

Coming from one of the three election commissioners, that is quite an admission of how far India has to go before its elections can truly be said to be free and fair

Fairness of Indian Elections

The Election Commission would like to have you believe that poll rigging and booth capturing are history. But this election has seen plenty o Is the electoral process in India truly free and fair? Given that polling proceeds peacefully in most of the country despite the overwhelming logistics of exercise, that's largely true. In fact, the Election Commission wants India's 814 million voters to believe that polling is entirely controversy-free.

Booth capturing and other poll violations are history, said SY Quraishi, former chief election commissioner of India, as he listed for Scroll. in a slew of measures that the EC has been taking over the past decade to ensure smooth elections. Before the polls, through vulnerability mappings, we ensure that suspicious characters are arrested in advance, pending non-bail able warrants are executed and legal and illegal arms are deposited with the police, he said. During the polls, paramilitary forces are deployed throughout the country, cameras are placed at all booths and if there is any suspicion or complaint of unfair polling, each case is looked into and a re-poll is ordered.

However, the headlines emerging from election coverage across the country tell a slightly different story. For one, booth capturing is evidently not history. There have been complaints of proxy voting and voter turnouts greater than 100%. There are thousands of complaints about names missing from the voters list, which some voters suspect might be politically motivated. In several cases, re-elections have already been conducted.

What is true, though, is that these violations have been brought to light by the EC's staff and cameras, which has allowed them to be dealt with swiftly.

Here are some of the poll violations India has seen during the ongoing general election 2014.

Uttar Pradesh: This week, the EC announced re-polling at five centers in UPs Firozabad and Etawah constituencies, after receiving several complaints about booth capturing, bogus voting and intimidation of voters. The constituencies happen to be Samajwadi Party strongholds, and Bharatiya Janata party candidate VK Singh alleged on April 10 that SP workers had threatened his booth agent in Ghaziabad.

Meanwhile in Rampur, where polling was held on April 17, police arrested two miscreants for booth capturing. The two were allegedly part of a larger group of 30 to 40 people who took over the polling centre and voted at the booths themselves. Last week, the EC declared the voting at those poll centers null and void.

Assam: The Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency had to have a re-election after a team of polling officials were caught rigging the exercise. At one booth, a village defense party member Bimal Boro could be seen on CCTV camera accompanying voters right up to the voting machine and guiding them as they voted. After a local news channel aired the footage, the whole polling team was arrested, along with Boro. The six are now in judicial custody.

Nagaland: More than 40 polling stations in Nagaland, which voted on April 9, recorded a voter turnout of more than 100%. At many booths, the turnout was more than 90%. On April 24, armed with video clips and photographs, local Congress leaders filed a complaint with the chief election commissioner alleging proxy voting and poll rigging in about 1,000 of the states 2,049 polling stations. The ruling party, Naga Peoples Front, has dismissed these allegations.

Haryana: Although the Mewat district in Haryana saw a 78% voter turnout, very few residents had inked fingers to display after voting on April 10. There have been widespread allegations of booth capturing, poll rigging, bogus voting and of voters particularly women and dalits being prevented from entering poll booths by local goons. Most of this allegedly took place with the complicity of the police and polling staff. The EC is now studying these cases, although Mewat locals claim such violations have been common practice in the region during every election.

Maharashtra: Newspapers reported widely on Instances of names going missing from the voters list in Mumbai, but there is still no conclusive figure of how many eligible voters could not cast their votes on April 24. While some reports say thousands found their names deleted, others claim up to 200,000 Mumbaiites were denied the chance to vote. Across the state, six million voters are said to have been taken off the list. Pune, which voted on April 17, also saw complaints of mass deletions from the voters list. Although a preliminary report from the Pune collectors office revealed that only 1,200 of the deletions were genuine cases, the furor around the missing names forced election commissioner HS Brahma to apologies to voters in Mumbai and Pune.

Rajasthan: the Times of India reported multiple instances of proxy voting in Dausa, Rajasthan, where poll officials are said to have accompanied voters into the polling booth, pressing the button for them. They were seen to be doing this largely for illiterate women who did not know how to operate the EVM.

Odisha: In Odishas Kendrapada district, too, TV footage of a polling booth showed a man assisting women voters to press a button on the EVM, while a polling official looked on. The official was suspended and other polling officers and agents at the centre are also being probed.

Madhya Pradesh: When several constituencies went to the polls on April 17, two reports of booth capturing were reported. Miscreants from the Chambal valley allegedly took over two polling centers in Sagar constituency, cast several votes and threatened poll officials. The police are yet to trace the absconding poll violators.

Jharkhand: Dalits attempting to cast their votes in Gardih village in Koderma constituency on April 10 were allegedly beaten up by upper-caste Bhumihars. The dalit were attempting to vote for the Communist Party of India (MarxistLeninist) while the Bhumihars were BJP supporters

Modern Day rigging [footnoteRef:2] [2: www,indiaopines.com]

I am not talking of bogus voting, though that has also taken place and even shown in media and is known to people. Modern day election rigging is different than what we witnessed in past when booths were captured and few persons were casting entire votes on gun point. Now, the call center era is in, where big political parties hire paid trolls to do Photoshop, distort facts in their favor, pay the media to alter poll survey, confuse voters in booth polls by various tricks, shadow candidates to offset few hundreds to thousands votes in the name of caste/religion and even do bogus voting in favor of their masters. I must add, Rs 300-500 and liquor is distributed among poor voters to cast their votes to the desired candidates and that is very effective. The last method is used widely to get crowd to listen to their loved leaders.

Are Electronic Voting Machines above Suspicion? [footnoteRef:3] [3: http://www.elections.in/bloghow-fair-is-the-indian-election-process]

Consider these facts: In last years general election, people of Kendrapada in Odisha hit the streets and staged demonstrations after the seizure of 28 EVMs from outside the residence of a government official. The BJP accused the authorities of attempting to tamper with the machines. 50 dummy EVMs, displaying ruling Biju Janata Dals election symbol Conch, were seized from a jeep in Kantamal Assembly constituency in Odisha, in April last year. The EC had to order a repoll at four booths spread across three Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra because of non-clearance of votes cast during mock polls which resulted in the EVMs showing more votes cast than the actual number.

Indeed, the above instances of irregularities could be brought to light and promptly addressed. Yet they hint at a larger question: Are EVMs above suspicion of poll rigging?Actually the problems with EVM security are well known particularly after the large-scale irregularities in Florida during the 2000 US elections. Countries such as the Netherlands, Ireland and Germany have scrapped them and gone back to paper ballots.

In fact during 2009 general election itself, concerns were raised over the reliability of EVMs when it was discovered that the files on the EC website displayed election results days before votes were actually cast and counted. A team of IT specialists, thereafter, used an actual Indian EVM to demonstrate two ways they could be hacked and subsequently the Supreme Court of India passed a ruling that the Indian EVMs would at least have to prove a paper trail. However, it is a huge task and only eight of 543 constituencies in this election had a Vote Verifier Paper Audit Trail system.

Elements of unfair elections

Fake Votes:

Now consider these facts: A television sting operation in Gurgaon last year exposed how the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and agents were hand in gloves to make multiple voter IDs on a single voters photograph so as to facilitate fake and bogus voting. The same sting operation showed an agent saying that the election ink removers were available in open market. 3 poll officials were arrested after the sting operation.

The whole incident exposes the prevalent malpractices and it would be nave to assume that these were isolated cases of corrupt election practices.

Corrupt Practices to Lure Voters:

`Reports suggest that thousands of crore of unaccounted money was used to lure the voters and that the EC can do little because the money is distributed clandestinely. The purchase of vote is at the individual level and there are hundreds employed by political parties in the name of bandobastfor this nefarious activity in every constituency. Unless the political parties get into self regulation, can this poll malpractice be ever checked?

Missing Voters Names in the List[footnoteRef:4]: [4: www.sify.com]

Over six million voters failed to cast their vote in Maharashtra this time as their names were missing from the voters list. While the EC could only tender an apology for the lapse, doesnt the way political parties hammered each other on the issue, suggest a larger political conspiracy? Silent Booth Capturing

Attempts were made this election to create fear in the minds of the enforcing agencies. A case in point is the attack on Marshaghai BDO Sushanta Pati in Odisha this elections. The Odisha Administrative Service Officers Association did condemn the assault but also threatened that it would not take part in any poll related activities if the government failed to take action against the assaulters.

Moreover, incidents of an innovative Silent booth capturing came to light in West Bengal and UP when the BJP on May 5, raised this issue with the EC. It claimed that agents of Opposition parties were threatened and turned away from booths since the Central forces were being used for non-election purposes, and the local police and home guards were managing polling booths.

Paid Media

Consider these facts: The unaccounted advertisements dressing up as news were estimated to be worth 50 billion rupees per month in the 2009 general election. A sting operation earlier this year by a private news channel exposed a leading opinion poll agency and reveals how opinion polls are misleading the people and running the Ballot-game. In April this year, the EC warned the media houses against telecasting or publishing exit polls by showing them as opinion polls. In all 694 cases of paid news (which are published as news but are advertisement in nature for which the media organisations charge money) were detected in this election.

No doubt the Media has over the years played a crucial role in safeguarding the democratic rights of the people by educating and informing voters about their electoral duties. But its power to influence public opinion has, of late, also encouraged its blatant misuse by parties and candidates, who connived with obliging editors and media house owners to encourage paid news. This came to light during elections in 2004 and 2009. Today, it is a major challenge in the way of fair elections because on one hand it provides wealthier candidates with an edge over other candidates, on the other it defeats the very principle of fair elections by denying equal opportunity to other candidates. The EC does have some powers to deal with the problem of paid news. However, the measures and guidelines are not enough as the media houses or publications are beyond the ECs purview and it can only forward these cases to the Press Council of India and the News Broadcasting Standards Association.

Discrepancy in 2009 General Elections

SP workers booked for alleged booth capturing[footnoteRef:5] [5: India|Press Trust of India|Updated: May 12, 2009 17:18 IST]

manipur:One hundred and twenty five supporters of the Samajwadi Party have been booked for allegedly attempting to capture two booths during repolling in the Manipuri Parliamentary constituency. The repolling at the two booths had been ordered after complaints of irregularities in polling. Reports suggest that during repolling, some local residents had a scuffle with the police. Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is contesting from Manipur.

Earlier, the Chief Development Officer of Manipur B B Singh had said that repolling was ordered late evening at booth number 227 and 228 at Parsana polling station in the Jaswantnagar assembly segment of the Manipur Lok Sabha constituency. Singh said that the decision was taken after complaints from the Samajwadi Party that Bahujan Samaj Party workers captured the booths during the voting.

Discrepancy in General Election 2014

Re-polling in five booths in Uttar Pradesh[footnoteRef:6] [6: Election News|Indo-Asian News Service|Updated: April 26, 2014 11:49 IST]

LUCKNOW:Re-polling was held at five polling stations of Firozabad and Etawah Lok Sabha constituencies as the Election Commission (EC) has received complaints about booth capturing and intimidation during the election.

Several complaints were sent to the poll panel about bogus voting and booth capturing during the election, especially in the belt of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Following the complaints, the Election Commission has sent observers to assess the situation in the constituencies. The EC observers in their report have confirmed about illegal means of voting at booth no. 160, 161 and another polling booth in Sirsaganj legislative assembly of Firozabad from where Akshay Yadav, nephew of the SP chief is contesting the election. Re-poll was recommended for booth no. 10, 14 in Dibiyapur assembly segment in Etawah, the native place of the SP chief. Sources told IANS that the EC has taken a grim view of these incidents. "In times of the EVMs, such incidents are very unfortunate," said an official. Officials also said the fact that these incidents, including an earlier one, where re-poll was held at some booths after the second phase of election in Rampur Lok Sabha constituency, the stronghold of another SP minister Azam Khan, "has put the SP in bad light". Opposition parties accused the ruling SP of indulging in such illegal means."What else justifies the fact that all such incidents have taken place in the areas touted to be pocket boroughs of the SP and the Yadav clan," questioned Vijay Bahadur Pathak, state spokesman of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Uttar Pradesh former chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has twice in the past has aired her apprehension that the SP chief could rig the polls.

"I am informed that the SP knows its fate in the general election and can resort to anything...I therefore urge the EC to take note of the situation and ensure deployment of more paramilitary forces in the remaining phases of polls in the state," she said.

EVM that 'votes' only for BJP stuns poll staff in Assam[footnoteRef:7] [7: Prabin Kalita, TNN|Apr 3, 2014, 05.30 AM IST]

GUWAHATI: An electronic voting machine raised many eyebrows across the state during a mandatory mock poll in Jorhat on Tuesday. Every time a button was pressed, the vote went in favour of BJP.

The Jorhat parliamentary constituency returning officer and deputy commissioner Vishal Vasant Solanki told TOI that all EVMs in his custody are being put through a second level of test by engineers of the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL), one of the two companies from Hyderabad, which manufactures EVMs.This Jorhat Lok Sabha seat has Congress stalwart and former Union minister Bijoy Krishna Handique locking horns with BJP youth and tea tribal leader Kamakhya Tasa. This will be Handique's record seventh successive attempt for the Lok Sabha election. Jorhat goes to the polls on April 7. State chief electoral officer Vijyandra on Wednesday said, "An EVM in Jorhat was found malfunctioning yesterday. It is a defective machine and it was noticed when EVMs were readied in front of representatives of all political parties. We will not send the faulty unit to any polling station." An EVM consists of two units, a control unit and a balloting unit. Both unites are connected with cable. The balloting unit is a small box-like device, on top of which each candidate and his or her election symbol appears. The voter selects his candidate by pressing the blue button. The returning officer said, "These EVMs were here for long. Usually, EVMs are kept in the custody of the deputy commissioner and during elections they are taken to strong rooms."Congress lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India on Wednesday and demanded thorough inspection of all EVMs in just not Jorhat, but the entire state. Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Ranjan Bora, who lodged the complaint with EC, said, "The mock poll was done at random and the EVM for Teok assembly constituency took everyone by surprise. When the hand symbol button was pressed for Congress, the vote was found to be recorded in favour of BJP."He said the incident has fuelled suspicion in their minds that EVMs may have been tampered with to favors a particular political party. Interestingly, after Congress got an overwhelming mandate in the 2011 assembly polls, Assam Gana Parishad had lodged a complaint against Congress accusing it of tinkering with EVMs. The Congress leadership had rejected this charge and pointed out that EVM results could not be manipulated."EVM tampering could be possible in the Jorhat case," a senior Congress leader said.

Revealed: How 'fake' votes can change the Lok Sabha 2014 poll results! [footnoteRef:8] [8: by: Preeti Panwar Updated: Wednesday, April 2, 2014, 22:25 [IST]]

New Delhi, Gurgaon: In a shocking revelation, it has been exposed that how fake and bogus votes can change the upcoming 2014 Lok Sabha election results, a media report said. According to a sting operation carried out by Hindi News channel Aaj Tak, it has come to light that the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and agents are "hand in gloves", in the shocking crime. In the video that was reportedly made in Gurgaon in Haryana it has been shown that some agents reveal that a "fake vote" can help a person to earn upto Rs 2000. The appalling video has reportedly captured at least ten BLOs, who are involved in the dirty game of playing with the faith of voters, who want a change in the system. The video further reveals that multiple voter IDs are being made on a single voter's photograph. Rs 2000 are given to a person in exchange of one fake vote. Moreover, the election ink removers are also being sold in the market. "I can get you 10,000 votes. Just catch one Booth Level Officer. BLO is the key," an agent was quoted as saying. Lemon juice and Papaya extract to remove election ink mark! In the video, Gurgaon district's Booth level officer Mukesh Kumar informs about "ways to remove the election ink mark." "Just apply juice of lemon on your inked finger," he said. Similarly, in another sting in South Delhi, the video shows that a vote agent suggests, "The ink can be removed applying Papaya's liquid extract on the finger before casting your vote." The 'unseen' and 'hidden' world of the election mafia has shaken the basic faith of the voters in the electoral system. 3 poll officials held in Gurgaon for making fake voter cards three poll officials have been arrested for allegedly preparing fake voter identity cards in Haryana's Gurgaon district, officials said today. District Election Officer (DEO) Shekhar Vidyarthi ordered registration of FIRs against the three Booth Level Officers (BLOs) after they were purportedly shown taking bribe for preparing fake voter identity card in a sting operation by a private news channel last night, an official statement said. The three BLOs -- Ashok Kumar, BLO of Booth Number 83 and Karan Singh, BLO of Booth Number 86 in Laxman Vihar area, and Mahesh Kumar, BLO of Booth Number 3 in Mianwali colony -- have been arrested, it said, adding all of them have been booked under various Sections of the Representation of People's Act, 1950. Besides the FIRs, Vidyarthi has also recommended disciplinary action against them to their parent departments. As soon as information about the sting operation by a TV channel reached Vidyarthi, who is also Deputy Commissioner of Gurgaon, he directed the Electoral Registering Officer (ERO) of Gurgaon cum SDM, Om Prakash to conduct preliminary inquiry. Following which, Vidyarthi ordered registration of FIR against all the three as per Election Commission guidelines. On the complaint of Om Prakash, FIRs were lodged last night, the statement said. Meanwhile, all the FORM-6 (required for inclusion of names in the Electoral Rolls), which were collected by the accused BLOs have been taken into custody on the direction of DEO and District Election Office has initiated probe into the matter. The work of distribution of voters' slips has also been withdrawn from the accused BLOs and assigned to other officials. The Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana Srikant Walgad and Election Commission of India has also been informed about the action taken in the case, it said.

Conclusions

Majority of the nations and their governments strive for the Development and welfare of its people. In a democratic setup such as ours it is our politicians- the representatives- the law makers, and the people who lay foundation for the development. And it is the Election Commission which is vested under Article 324 of Indian Constitution with the duty of conducting free and fair election. Mere conducting of elections periodically doesnt prove that we are republic and have an effective democracy. It is the way elections are held, the quality of people elected, their performances that make our democracy effective. In current scenario, the widespread disillusion in our political system is well visible.The poverty, unemployment, illiteracy levels indicate the inefficiency of our political system. Even after 68 years of our independence, our people suffer from lack of basic amenities in life. Although there has been many changes made from time to time on our electoral system, yet there were no significant and substantial reforms brought about. Now also,candidate becomes victorious by the muscle and money power rather than his works, conducts or ideals. Thus, this can be concluded that elections in India are still not free and fair.

Webliography

1. cis.uchicago.edu2. www.quora.com3. www.ipu.org4. www.indiaopines.com5. www.sify.com