The most significant feature of the democracy of any country is its election process. Free and fair elections are essential in a healthy democracy. The more the elections are free and fair, the stronger the allegiance the people will have towards democratic institutions.
In order to restore the faith of people in democracy, there is an urgent need of electoral reforms. Various electoral reforms have been introduced in our electoral system in the past. Parliament through a constitutional amendment in 1989 reduced the minimum voting age from 21 to 18.
Article 324 provides for an independent Election Commission with the power to control and conduct elections in the country. The functioning of the Election Commission was smooth during the era of Nehru, people in politics had high moral values inherited from the freedom struggle and with fervor for nationalism. Moreover, they had no hankering for money like that of today’s politicians.
But all these have changed at the end of the Nehru era. Business houses and industries started to fund political parties in order to have their influence on the decision-making process.
Electoral lies and bribes came to be used on larger scales without any regard to their impact on national interests after the Nehru era. To attract voters, the party in government and parties not in power started to announce various lucrative plans and schemes with little or no interest for their real implementation.
Political corruption and criminal activities in India also increased overwhelmingly after the Nehru period. When it lost its power for the first time in 1960. The ruling Congress party made rampant use of criminal elements in elections. The politician-criminal nexus be-came very strong and mafias and dons who were hitherto influencing elections indirectly, now came out to contest elections themselves and even managed to win. This is how criminals got entry into legislatures and criminalization got institutionalized.
Over the years, parties and politicians with no participation in freedom struggle or no record of public services have managed to win elections by capturing booths, stamping ballot papers, and terrorizing voters. These antisocial leaders run their activities ranging from smuggling and kidnapping to distribution of illicit liquor and stamping of ballot papers, etc.
The high moral and ethical characteristics the politicians had earlier are totally absent today and the country has become a safe haven for corrupt politicians and criminals. Now, criminals join politics to shield themselves from the operation of law and in some cases for a status symbol or to get social acceptability.
The politician-criminal nexus was highlighted for the first time by the Vohra Committee report of 1993. Though this report was the first official acknowledgment of such an unholy nexus and was a milestone on the issue, strangely, this valued report could not be placed in full because of some vested interests.
A close look into the core problems of corruption and criminalization in politics reveals that the electoral process and laws call for urgent reform. To disrupt the nexus between politicians and business houses, between politicians and criminals, and among politicians, bureaucrats, and underworld mafias, the imminent requirement is stringent laws along with apt electoral reforms. Right from the first general election 1951-52, the need for electoral reform has been a subject of mass debate.
All the Election Commission reports contain reform proposals. The recommendations of the Dinesh Goswami Committee on Electoral Reforms, 1990 found wide support. The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) Report, 2002 also dedicated a comprehensive chapter on electoral and political party reforms with significant reformatory recommendations.
Among the much-needed core reforms in the electoral system, decriminalization of politics deserves a central position. The criminalization of politics in India is today a sad reality. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 76 of the 543 members elected to the Lok Sabha in 2009 had been charged with serious criminal charges such as murder, rape, and dacoity. Under the present setup, getting elected to the legislature becomes a convenient shield to delay and extend the legal processes and escape being convicted.
The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) noted that the “opportunity to influence crime investigations and to convert the policemen from being potential adversaries to allies is the irresistible magnet drawing criminals to politics.” The criminalization of politics does more than just subvert ethics in governance, it hits at the root of public engagement with the system. Not only is this trend highly demoralizing for the general public, but it also reduces their trust in the system and forces them into apathy and disillusionment.