Electoral Reforms in India: Safeguarding the Democratic Ethos

This editorial is based on A deep cleaning of India’s electoral rolls which was published in The Hindu on 10/12/2025. The article brings into picture how electoral reforms through special intensive revision are being done to strengthen the electoral process.

For Prelims: RPA, ECI, Delimitation, Defamation Law and Disqualification of MPs CEC appointment ,

For Mains: India's Electoral process, evolution, reforms and measures

India’s electoral architecture stands as one of the world’s largest democratic engineering feats, blending constitutional ideals with intricate institutional design. From universal suffrage to an autonomous Election Commission, the system aspires to translate the will of over 960 million voters into legitimate authority. Yet, beneath this vast machinery lies a dynamic interplay of law, technology, and political behaviour that constantly tests the integrity of elections. Over the decades, reforms from voter ID cards to VVPAT-backed transparency have strengthened public trust. 

What Are The Reforms That Have Been Taken ?

• 1950s–1960s: Foundation-Building Phase:
  • Key Mandate of the Era : Build voter rolls, create constituencies, and set norms for free and fair elections
  • Steps Taken
    • Representation of the People Acts, 1950 & 1951
    • Election Commission Structure Formalised:Set up roles of Chief Election Commissioner and field machinery.
    • Delimitation Commission (1952, 1963): Reduced malapportionment and created uniform constituency sizes.
  • First General Election (1951–52)
    •  Conducted by the newly formed ECI; established credibility despite low literacy and huge logistics.
• 1970s–1980s: Preventing Misuse of Power & Improving Integrity
  • Key Mandate of the Era: Curb misuse of power, reduce political instability, improve voter participation, and strengthen electoral fairness.
  • Steps taken 
    • Election Symbols Order, 1968: Prevented disputes arising out of splitting of parties. Eg, Congress(O) and Congress (R). 
    • Anti-Defection Law (1985): Prevented MLAs/MPs from switching parties for personal gain (Horse Trading ); stabilised governments especially the coalition ones.
    • Lowering Voting Age (61st Amendment, 1988): Expanded youth participation by reducing age from 21 to 18.
    • Delimitation Commission (1973): Adjusted boundaries to match population changes of 1971 Census.
    • 42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976): froze the delimitation of constituencies till after the 2001 Census to encourage population control preventing states with successful family planning from losing seats.
• 1990s: Electoral Activism & Modernisation Phase
  • Key Mandate of the Era: Clean up elections, reduce money/muscle power, modernise identity verification, and strengthen ECI authority.
  • Steps Taken
    • ECI Activism under T.N. Seshan (1990–96):  Introduced Voter photo ID cards,  Strict enforcement of MCC; crackdown on booth capturing and illegal expenditure.
    • Indrajit Gupta Committee on State Funding (1998): Recommended partial state funding for recognised parties; emphasised transparency.
    • Common Cause vs. Union of India(1996): The Supreme Court held that political parties are legally required to file income tax returns and maintain accurate accounts. It delineated the Election Commission of India's (ECI) power under Article 324 of the Constitution to scrutinize the accounts of expenditure incurred by political parties during elections
    • Dinesh Goswami Committee on Electoral Reforms (1990):Recommended curbs on government advertisements, expenditure control, opinion poll regulation,
• 2000s: Structural Reform & Technological Deepening Phase:
  • Key Mandate of the Era: Update constituencies, expand transparency, strengthen institutional checks, and integrate technology.
  • Steps Taken 
    • NCRWC (2000) Recommendations: Proposed barring candidates with serious criminal charges; suggested permanent ECI secretariat.
    • Disclosure Reforms: Union of India vs. Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR 2002) case, the judgement required mandatory disclosure of criminal cases, educational qualification, assets.
    • Delimitation Commission (2002–08): Updated boundaries based on 2001 Census; adjusted SC/ST reserved seats.
    • Mandatory Use of EVMs (2004): Eliminated invalid votes and sped up the counting process.
    • Paid News & Expenditure Monitoring : ECI started real-time expenditure surveillance and media certification rules to curb money power.
• 2010s: Transparency, Technology & Accountability Phase
  • Key Mandate of the Era: Increase voter trust, improve transparency of funding, enhance verification, and clean political processes.
  • Steps Taken:
    • Introduction of VVPAT (2013; universalised in 2019): Allowed voters to verify their vote, enhancing trust.
    • Disqualification : In Lilly Thomas Case, SC invalidated Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act. This provision allowed a three-month period for convicted legislators to appeal before disqualification, leading to instant disqualification of legislators if convicted for two or more years.
    • NOTA Provision: Allowed voters to cast their disapproval against the fielded candidates.
    • ERONet & NVSP (2015– onwards): Digitalised voter verification, reduced duplication and fake entries.
    • Electoral Bonds (2017): Attempt to formalise donations; later struck down by SC in 2024 (ADR & Anr v. UOI case) for lack of transparency.
    • Fast-Track Courts for MPs/MLAs:  Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay vs. Union of India SC directed the establishment of special courts to exclusively handle criminal cases against MPs and MLAs.
    • Remote Voting Proposals (2020 onwards) : Develop systems for migrant workers; still in pilot stage.
    • High-Level Committee on One Nation, One Election (2023–24):  Recommended phased implementation of simultaneous polls with constitutional and legal amendments.
    • ECI Modernisation:GPS-enabled EVM tracking, digital nomination forms, inclusion services for PwDs and senior citizens.
    • The CEC and Other ECs (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act 2024: Laid the process of selection and appointment of CEC and other ECs through a selection committee. 

What Are The Major Challenges that Still Persist in India’s Electoral System?

1. Criminalisation of Politics: The entry of individuals with criminal backgrounds into the legislative arena remains a critical concern, signaling the entrenchment of "muscle power."

• According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 47% of Ministers (Union and State Cabinets) have declared criminal cases against themselves.
• Of these, 27% face serious criminal charges, undermining the sanctity of lawmaking bodies.

2. Unregulated Money Power & Financial Opacity: Elections in India are becoming increasingly expensive, creating an uneven playing field.

• Skyrocketing Expenditure: The Centre for Media Studies (CMS) estimated the total expenditure for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections at ₹1,00,000 crore, nearly doubling from 2019.
• Regulatory Loophole: While the Election Commission of India (ECI) caps expenditure for candidates, there is no limit on spending by political parties, disproportionately disadvantageing smaller regional parties.
• Lack of Compliance: Many parties delay submitting expenditure statements (delays ranged from 1 to 232 days post-election), and some failed to report altogether after the 2024 General Elections.

3. Exclusion and Disenfranchisement of Migrants: The current electoral framework lacks flexibility, leading to the systemic exclusion of internal migrants.

• Rigid Registration: Voter registration is tied to "ordinary residence." Migrant workers often remain enrolled in their native constituencies but cannot travel home to vote due to cost, distance, and loss of wages.
• Absence of Remote Voting: The Representation of the People Acts (1950 & 1951) generally mandate in-person voting. Despite successful pilots of postal ballots during COVID-19, these mechanisms have not been scaled up for the general migrant population.
• Voter Deletion: During the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, nearly 3.5 million voters (4.4% of the electorate), mostly migrants, got deleted from rolls. 

4. Technological Disruptions & Manipulation: The integrity of the voter's free will is under threat from unregulated digital interference.

• Micro-targeting: Emerging use of data analytics and AI for voter segmentation raises concerns, drawing parallels with global cases like Cambridge Analytica.
• Misinformation: The spread of deepfakes and fake news on social media distorts public perception and voter behavior.

5. Structural and Federal Challenges: 

• Delimitation Freeze: The freeze on delimitation (until 2026) has created a representation imbalance. Southern states, having successfully controlled their populations, face a shrinking share of political power relative to the populous Northern states.
  • Delimitation based on population is frozen until after the first Census conducted post-2026.
  • Since Census has been delayed, delimitation is effectively postponed beyond 2026.
• Weak Internal Democracy: Political parties often lack transparent internal elections. Leadership selection is centralized, making intra-party democracy merely symbolic and leading to grassroots disillusionment.
• Misuse of Machinery: Incumbent governments frequently utilize public resources, bureaucratic apparatus, and advertisements to influence voters, often skirting the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

6. Stagnating Participation:

• Voter Apathy: Analyses of Election Commission data show that in roughly 27–33% of Lok Sabha constituencies, the absolute number of votes cast in 2024 was lower than in 2019, despite overall votes nationally increasing.

What More Reforms Needed ?

1. Curb Money Power & Ensure Transparency

• State Funding (Indrajit Gupta Committee, 1998): Introduce partial state funding for recognized national and state parties to level the playing field.
• Audit & Disclosure (Law Commission, 2015): Mandate the disclosure of all donations (regardless of size) and enforce strict independent audits of party accounts.
• Post-Electoral Bonds (after SC Verdict 2024): Establish a fully transparent donation mechanism to replace the now-scrapped Electoral Bonds scheme.

2. Decriminalisation of Politics

• Bar Candidates (NCRWC, 2002 & Law Commission, 2015): Candidates should be disqualified if charges for serious crimes have been framed by a court, rather than waiting for a final conviction (which often takes decades).
• Fast-Track Courts: Establish special courts to expedite cases against sitting MPs and MLAs.
• ECI Proposal: Amend the Representation of the People Act to mandate disqualification upon framing of charges for heinous offences

3. Strengthen ECI’s Independence

• Autonomy (Goswami Committee, 1990 & 255th Law Commission Report): The Election Commission should have an independent budget (charged to the Consolidated Fund of India) and a permanent independent secretariat to reduce reliance on the government.

4. Internal Democracy in Political Parties

• Structural Reform (NCRWC): Mandate regular internal elections and maintain transparent membership records.
• Deregistration Powers (Law Commission): Grant the ECI the power to deregister parties that violate democratic norms or financial regulations.

5. Combat Digital Manipulation

• Digital Campaigning Code: Formulate a specific code to regulate:
  • AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media.
  • Algorithmic micro-targeting of voters based on caste/religion.
  • Paid political content and "shadow" advertisements.
• Collaboration: ECI must partner with tech platforms for real-time monitoring and takedown of disinformation.

6.Voter Accessibility & Migrant Inclusion

• Remote Voting: Pilot and evaluate Remote Electronic Voting Machines (RVMs)  before phased implementation to allow internal migrants to vote for their home constituencies from their place of work.
• Clean Rolls: Ensure the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is diligent and transparent to prevent the wrongful deletion of migrant voters.

7. Rationalise Delimitation

• Federal Balance: The post-2026 delimitation exercise must balance the principle of "one person, one vote" while protecting the political weight of Southern states that effectively implemented population control measures.

8. Strengthen Model Code of Conduct (MCC)

• Legal Backing (Goswami Committee): Amend the Representation of the People Act (RPA) to make the MCC (or parts of it) legally enforceable.
• Strict Penalties: Introduce statutory penalties for hate speech, communal appeals, and the misuse of government machinery during elections.

Conclusion:

India’s electoral architecture is among the world’s most extensive and credible, yet persistent challenges like money power, criminalisation, digital manipulation, and weak internal party democracy, threaten the democratic ethos. A comprehensive reform approach is essential to modernise laws, strengthen institutions, and introduce clean and transparent practices. Implementing the recommendations of various committees and the Supreme Court’s directives can ensure elections remain free, fair, participatory, and truly reflective of the people’s will.

Drishti Mains Question 

 Examine the evolution of India’s electoral reforms since the 1950s. How have institutional, legal, and technological changes shaped the credibility of the electoral process?

FAQs,
1. What ensures every citizen above 18 can vote in India?
The guarantee comes from Article 326, which provides universal adult suffrage.

2. How does the Election Commission maintain fairness in elections?
It enforces the Model Code of Conduct, monitors expenses, and oversees the entire electoral process independently.

3. What is the main purpose of the Representation of the People Acts?
RPA 1950 manages pre-election groundwork, while RPA 1951 governs the conduct and regulation of elections.

4. Why was VVPAT introduced into the electoral system?
VVPAT was adopted to enhance transparency by allowing voters to verify their vote.

5. What is a major challenge India still faces in its electoral system?
Key challenges include money power, criminalisation of politics, and digital manipulation

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Prelims:

Q.Consider the following statements: (2017) 

1. The Election Commission of India is a five-member body.
2. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs decides the election schedule for the conduct of both general elections and bye-elections.
3. Election Commission resolves the disputes relating to splits/mergers of recognised political parties.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

(a) 1 and 2 only 

(b) 2 only 

(c) 2 and 3 only 

(d) 3 only 

Ans: (d)  

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Mains

Q. Discuss the role of the Election Commission of India in the light of the evolution of the Model Code of Conduct. (2022)