Ask any seasoned politician and he would tell you that despite all the rules, elections are won based on the amount of money spent. However over the years, the watchfulness of the Election Commission has resulted in the reduction of the overt expenditure, writes ARVIND PINTO.

IT IS ELECTION time once again. Not the general elections the five year game that the nation plays to elect our honourable representatives to the Delhi durbar we call the parliament. This time round it is Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh, that forgotten state in the north eastern part of the country. But there are a couple of bye-elections around the country and one in the south of Goa that is keenly being observed.

Elections in India are great fun. For they bring to fore the best and the worst of our national traits. Having observed several elections in different parts of the country, I can safely say that elections anywhere in the country are indeed similar since Indians are the same everywhere. For the period of elections are when latent groupings that are not normally noted come to the fore, when old enmities are brought into play when caste, creed and status, that lie hidden come to the surface. Let us look at some of the drama.

The Election Commission of India conducts our elections for the state and parliamentary constituencies. This body was almost unheard of until a person called Seshan came along. This gentleman once ensconced as Election Commissioner decided to make a big splash. Expanding the provisions of the Representation of Peoples Act, he decided to make the Commission a terror by sending government officers as Observers to check on election malpractices. With election observers crawling all over the constituencies peering over the shoulders of the District Magistrates doubling as Returning officers and supervising the work of the Presiding officers at the polling booths, the fear of God was instilled into the election process. Seshan in the shoes of the Election Commissioner and filled with his own ego, almost declared that the entire state bureaucracy was under the control of the Election Commission during the period of elections. But despite his ego, which was later punctured by having to get along with two other Election Commissioners that made the process a collegiate, Seshan, did bring about a change in the process. For once politicians did not have their way around, especially if they were in power. For another, the district officials began to assert themselves instead of acting as stooges for their political masters. Subsequent Election Commissioners such as Gill and Lyndgoh have continued their tradition of being in command over the Election process.

SOME EXERCISE! Electronic voting machines have made the electoral process less cumbersome.

Elections in the country today are by and large fair. Of course the country is so diverse in it geography, history and social status that while the process is the same all over the country, the problems that one encounters in different parts of the country vary. In the northeast, the terrain is so difficult to traverse, that in certain constituencies, the polling parties take around three days to reach their destination and come back with the machines after the process. In many places, the polling parties have to use different types of animals, horses, donkeys and even elephants to traverse terrain that is difficult to reach. Several polling booths are situated on hilltops and the polling parties after having used animals for a part of the journey are required to walk on foot for several hours to reach their destination. Truly, elections in India are a Herculean task.

Over the years, there has been a constant complaint of names missing from the Election Register. The losing political party invariably blames the Commission for the deletion of names and uses this excuse for their loss of the people’s confidence. In reality the Commission, except for the supervisory role, has little to do in the process. The electoral rolls are revised by the State Election offices while the work is done by the election cell in the office of the District Collector. Much of the physical verification of electors is carried out by primary school teachers who are pressed into service for this work. Many of them are semi-literate and this results in the mistakes made in the names and addresses. Many of them do not take their work seriously and easily strike of the names of persons who they do not find during their field visits. The revised electoral rolls are put up outside the offices of the Collector or at the municipal offices, but who bothers to verify these documents? It is only on the voting day, when a person goes to the booth that he finds his name has been deleted from the rolls. But on the voting day it is not possible to re-enter one’s name. Probably, with the introduction of the Internet, it would be possible to register online or at least verify one’s name online, rather than having to trudge all the way to the booth only to be told that you cannot vote.

In spite of the watchdogs called Election Observers crawling over the districts to look into malpractices, money invariably play a dominant role in our elections? Yes there are laws regarding the amount that can be spent by a candidate but politicians have found ways and means of circumventing these rules. Money, or its equivalent, invariably is distributed by all serious political players. The type of inducement is region specific. In the south it would be sarees and lungis. In the north east it would be pressure cookers, plastic roofing material or blankets. Liquor is by far the most common factor in most parts of the country.

To take the case of Goa, candidates have parties where liquor flows in abundance. Most of these parties are normally held as close to the day of the polls. For often rival candidates attempt to woo the same electors with bigger and better parties or more liquor. Ask any seasoned politician and he would tell you that, despite all the rules, elections are won based on the amount of money spent. Hwever over the years, the watchfulness of the Election Commission has resulted in the reduction of the overt expenditure. Thus, the numbers of posters and hoardings have come down and so has the practice of defacing public property by writing on them. Money that was being spent in a blatant manner in the past has merely gone underground. Another item of expenditure is the use of vehicles. Today with the emphasis of reaching out to every eligible voter, the amount spent on vehicles has increased despite the monitoring by the agents of the Election Commission.

Yes it is election time once again. The drill - the model code of conduct has been set into motion and the parties are busy on the trail seeking the people’s verdict. The price of winning is enormous for politicians are enormous. For once elected, a politician can look forward to the trappings of power and patronage in being the representative of the people.

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