CHAPTER 1 THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT, 1951

The Representation of the People Act, 1951 provides for the conduct of elections to the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State, the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of those Houses, the corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections and the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with such elections. Representation of People Act contains 32 Sections in 5 Parts. The Parts are as follows: Part I (Sec. 1 and 2): gives the title and definitions. Part II (Sec. 3 to 13): provides for allocation of seats and delimitation of Constituencies in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies and Councils. Part IIA (Sec.13A, 13AA, 13B, 13C and 13CC) Details the officers connected with the preparation of Electoral Rolls. Part IIB (Sec. 13D) provides for Electoral Rolls of Parliamentary Constituencies. Part III (Sec. 14 to 25A) provides for Electoral Rolls for Assembly Constituencies. Part IV (Sec.27) provides for Electoral Roll Council Constituencies. Part IVA (Sec.27A to 27K) provides for the manner of filling seats in the Council of States. Part V (Sec. 28 to 32) gives general provisions with regard to the jurisdiction of Civil Courts; making available staff from local authorities, etc. Section 2 defines Election Commission as the Commission appointed by the President under Article 324 of the Constitution of India. Section 13A provides for a Chief Electoral Officer in each State. Section 13AA provides for the nomination by the ECI of an officer to be the District Election Officer. Section 13B(1) provides for designation or nomination of ERO by ECI. 1

Section 13B(2) The ERO can employ various persons for the preparation and revision of the Electoral Roll for the AC. Section 13C provides for appointment of one or more AEROs to assist EROs. AEROs are competent to perform all or any of the functions of EROs and are subject to the control of EROs. Section 13CC CEO, DEO, ERO, AERO and all other officers or staff employed for preparation, revision and correction of Electoral Rolls or conduct of elections are deemed to be on deputation to the ECI. Section 16 provides for reasons for disqualification for registration in Electoral Roll. Section 17 No person can register in more than one Constituency. Section 18 No person can be registered more than once in any Constituency. Section 19 gives the criteria for entitlement for registration, i.e. 18 years of age on qualifying date and ordinarily resident in a Constituency. Section 20 gives the meaning of ordinarily resident.

ELECTION COMMISSION

Election Commission of India is a constitutional body which is responsible for the maintenance of the electoral procedure in the country. The Constitution of India has vested in the Election Commission of India the superintendence, direction and control of the entire process for conduct of elections to Parliament and Legislature of every State and to the offices of President and Vice-President of India. Election Commission of India is a permanent Constitutional Body. It was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950. Composition of Commission It consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and some other members (at present, there are two other members). They are appointed by the President of India. Their terms and conditions of service are determined by the Parliament. The Chief Election Commissioner and two other Election Commissioners, all of whom enjoy equal powers, salary and allowances. They have tenure of six years from the date of assumption of office or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Not only this, the law also states 2

that in case of difference of opinion among the CEC and the two other Election Commissioners, the matter would be decided by the Election Commission by majority. The Chief Election Commissioner is provided with the security of tenure. He cannot be removed from his office except in same manner and on the same ground as a judge of the Supreme Court of India. He can be removed by the President on the basis of resolution passed to that effect by both the houses of Parliament with special majority either on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. Thus, he does not hold his office till the pleasure of the President, though he is appointed by him. The service conditions of the Chief Election Commissioner cannot be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment. Any other Election Commissioner or a Regional Commissioner cannot be removed from office except on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner. Functions and powers of the Commission To prepare, revise, update and maintain the list of voters for election to the Parliament, State Legislatures, Local Bodies and to the offices of the President and the Vice-President. To conduct and supervise elections and bye-elections to the Parliament, State Legislatures and to the office of the President and the Vice-President of India. To delimit constituencies for election to the Parliament and to State Legislatures, and to allot the number of seats to each of them. To fix the election programme, including dates for nomination and scrutiny of candidates, and date of election; making arrangements for setting up necessary number of polling booths. It is the Commission which lays down the procedure for the exercise of secret ballot, appoints adequate number of returning officers, and declares results after the proper counting and scrutiny of votes and cancel elections in a constituency where necessary. To advise the President or the Governor of the concerned State, as the case may be, regarding all electoral matters including questions relating to disqualification of members.

To prepare guidelines for a code of conduct for political parties, candidates and voters. The model code lays down broad guidelines as to how the political parties and contesting candidates should conduct themselves during the election campaign. This practice has been adopted to maintain the election campaign on healthy lines, avoid tension between political parties and their supporters and to maintain peace during the campaign and till the results are declared.

To fix the limit of election expenses and to examine the accounts of electoral expenditure submitted by the candidates.

To determine the criteria for recognizing political parties, and then to recognize them and to decide their election symbols, to allocate time to them for the use of radio and television in order to help them reach out to the people on election issues.

To settle disputes and petition referred to it by the President or the Governor. Moreover, according to the Supreme Court of India where the enacted laws are silent or make insufficient provision to deal with a given situation in the conduct of elections, the Election Commission has the residuary powers under the Constitution to act in an appropriate manner.

The Election Commission performs quasi-judicial functions as well.

ELECTION MACHINERY Conducting election in India is a massive event and to help the Election Commission in management of this event the Commission has a separate Secretariat at New Delhi. The Secretariat consists of about 300 officials, in a hierarchical set up. Two Deputy Election Commissioners who are the senior most officers in the Secretariat assist the Commission, while Directors, Principal Secretaries, and Secretaries, Under Secretaries and Deputy Directors support the Deputy Election Commissioners in turn. Again there is functional and territorial distribution of work in the Commission. The work is organized in divisions, branches and sections with each unit being in charge of a Section Officer. The following are the main functional divisions of the Secretariat: (a) Planning (b) Judicial 4

(c) Administration (d) Information Systems (e) Media (f) Secretariat Co-ordination. The Election Commission of India nominates or designates an officer of the Government of the State/Union Territory as the Chief Electoral Officer of that State. He is authorized to supervise the election work in the State. Following is a list of some officers who assist the Chief Electoral Officer in the election process: Observers To watch the conduct of elections in one/group of constituencies as directed by the Election Commission. Power to stop the counting of votes or not to declare the result. Returning Officers The Election Commission in consultation with the government of the State designates or nominates such person who shall be an officer of government or of a local authority (for one or more constituencies). Assistant Returning Officers One or more persons to assist any Returning Officer. Subject to the control of the Returning Officer, they perform any or all of the functions of the Returning Officer, none of which relate to the scrutiny of nominations unless the Returning Officer is unavoidably prevented from performing it. RO to include Assistant Returning Officers performing functions of RO Deemed to include an assistant returning officer performing any function which he is authorized to perform under sub section (2) of Sec 22 General Duty of the Returning Officer To do all such acts as necessary for effectually conducting the election in the manner provided by Representation of People Act 1951 & rules and orders made thereunder. 5

Provision of Polling Stations for Constituencies District Election Officer shall provide sufficient number of polling stations for area under his jurisdiction. Shall publish a list of polling stations along with the polling area and groups for voters for whom it is provided. Appointment of Presiding Officers for Polling Stations District Election Officer appoints a Presiding Officer for each polling station, except a person employed by the candidate in the election. Polling Officer to perform all functions of Presiding Officer if directed by Presiding Officer / absenteeism owing to illness of Presiding Officer. General Duty of the Presiding Officer To keep order thereat and to see that the poll is fairly taken.

Duties of a Polling Officer To assist the Presiding Officer in the performance of his functions.

Returning Officer, Presiding Officer, etc. deemed to be on deputation to Election Commission Deputation for the period commencing on the date of notification calling for election till the date of declaration of results of the Elections. Includes all police officials involved in election activities.

Special Provision in case of certain elections The Returning Officer with the approval of the Election Commission fixes the place at which the poll will be taken & notifies it. The RO shall preside over such election and appoint Polling officers to assist him (not appointing any person who has been employed by the candidate for election).

Lok Sabha Under the Constitution of India, the total number of elected members of the House of the People shall not exceed 550. The House, at present, consists of 543 elected members, 6

who are chosen directly from single member territorial Parliamentary constituencies, that is to say, each constituency elects one member to the House. Thus, the whole of the country is divided into 543 territorial Parliamentary constituencies The Constitution also provides for nomination, by the President, of two members belonging to the Anglo-Indian community, if that community is not adequately represented in the House of the People. System of Election to Lok Sabha Elections to the Lok Sabha (and also to Vidhan Sabhas) are carried out using a firstpast-the-post electoral system. The country is split up into separate geographical areas/known as constituencies, and the electors can cast one vote each for a candidate, the winner being the candidate who gets the most votes. Reservation of Seats The Constitution puts a limit on the size of the Lok Sabha of 550 elected members, apart from two members who can be nominated by the President to represent the AngloIndian community. There are also provisions to ensure the representation of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, with reserved constituencies where only candidates from these communities can stand for election. The number of these reserved seats is meant to be approximately in proportion to the number of people from scheduled castes or scheduled tribes in each State. There are currently 79 seats reserved for the scheduled castes and 41 reserved for the scheduled tribes in the Lok Sabha.

Rajya Sabha The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected indirectly, rather than by the citizens at large. Rajya Sabha members are elected by each State Vidhan Sabha using the single transferable vote system. Unlike most federal systems, the number of members returned by each State is roughly in proportion to their population. At present, there are 233 members of the Rajya Sabha elected by the Vidhan Sabhas, and there are also twelve members nominated by the President as representatives of literature, science, art and social services. Rajya Sabha members can serve for six years, and elections are staggered, with one third of the assembly being elected every 2 years.

State Legislatures India is a federal country, and the Constitution gives the States and Union Territories significant control over their own government. The Vidhan Sabhas (Legislative Assemblies) are directly elected bodies set up to carrying out the administration of the government in the 28 States of India. In 6 States, there is a bicameral organisation of legislatures, with both an Upper and Lower House, [Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council) and Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly)]. The states are Uttar Pradesh (LA 404 + LC 108), Maharashtra (LA 289 + LC 78), Bihar (LA 243 + LC 96), Karnataka (LA 224 + LC 75), Jammu and Kashmir (LA 89 + LC 36), Andhra Pradesh (LA 294 + LC 90). Two of the seven Union Territories, viz., the National Capital Territory of Delhi and Pondicherry, have also Legislative Assemblies. Elections to the Vidhan Sabhas are carried out in the same manner as for the Lok Sabha election, with the States and Union Territories divided into single-member Assembly constituencies, and the first-past-the-post electoral system used. The Assemblies range in size, according to population. The largest Vidhan Sabha is for Uttar Pradesh, with 404 members; the smallest Pondicherry, with 30 members. Vidhan Parishads consist of representatives chosen by the members of the Vidhan Sabhas and local authorities, and also by graduates and teachers in the State having such Parishad. The Governor of the State also nominates certain members to give representation to art, science, literature, social service and co-operative movement. The elections to these Parishads are held under the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. Qualifications for election to the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly He/she must be a citizen of India. He/she must make and subscribe before some person authorised in that behalf by the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule to the Constitution. He/she must not be less than twenty-five years of age on the date of scrutiny of nominations. If he/she is a candidate for a seat reserved for the Scheduled Castes in any state, he/she must be a member of any of the Scheduled Castes whether of that State or of any other State, and in addition he/she must be an elector for any Parliamentary constituency; 8

if he/she is a candidate for a seat reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in any State, (other than those in the autonomous districts of Assam), then he/she must be a member of any of the Scheduled Tribes, whether of that State, or of any other State (excluding the tribal areas of Assam) and in addition he/she must be an elector for any parliamentary constituency.

if he/she is a candidate for the seat reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the Union Territories, then he/she must be a member of any of those Scheduled Tribes, and in addition he/she must be an elector for the parliamentary constituency of that Union Territory;

if he/she is a candidate for a general seat, that is to say, for a seat not reserved for the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes as mentioned in the preceding sub-clauses, then he/she must be an elector for any parliamentary constituency (vide section 4 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951).

Atleast one proposer should propose his/her name for candidature in the case of candidate contesting from a recognized party. If he/she contesting as an independent candidate, then there should be 10 proposer to approve his candidature.

Disqualifications for election to Lok Sabha/ Vidhan Sabha Constitutional Disqualifications He/she must not hold any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State. To this general rule, there are some exceptions. The first exception is mentioned in Article 102(2) itself, according to which the office of a Minister, either for the Union or for any State is not regarded as an office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State. He/she must not be a person of unsound mind and must not stand so declared by a competent court. He/she must not be an undischarged insolvent. He/she will be disqualified if he/she is not a citizen of India or if he/she has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State or if he/she is under any acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State. In simple words, he/she must not be an alien and a foreigner. He/she must not be disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament. 9

Statutory Disqualifications The first statutory disqualification is contained in section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Under this section a person convicted of an offence punishable under: offence of promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, offence of bribery, offence of under influence or personation at an election, offences relating to rape, offences of cruelty towards a woman by husband or relative of a husband, offence of making statement creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between classes or offence relating to such statement in any assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies of the Indian Panel Code. The protection of Civil Rights Act, which provides for punishment for the preaching and practice of untouchability, and for the enforcement of any disability arising there from; or offence of importing or exporting prohibited goods, offence of being a member of an association declared unlawful, offence relating to dealing with funds of an unlawful association or offence relating to contravention of an order made in respect of a notified place of the Unlawful Activities the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, offence of committing terrorist acts, offence of committing disruptive activities, offence of contravention of the provisions of the religious institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988 Offence of promoting enmity between classes in connection with the election, offence of removal of ballot papers from polling stations, offence of booth capturing, offence of fraudulently defacing or fraudulently destroying any nomination paper,offence of insulting the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India, offence of preventing singing of National Anthem.

Qualification of voters: (1) Citizen of India having attained 18 years of age. 10

(2) His/her name must appear in the Voting List of Assembly/ Parliament elections, as the case may be. (3) He/she must have a Voters Identity Card. In case Voter I-Card is not there, he/she can show a proof of identity acceptable to the Returning Officer. Disqualifications of voters: He/she is not a citizen of India; or Those who are of unsound mind, and people convicted of certain criminal and electoral offences and corrupt practices at elections are not allowed to vote. No person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for more than one constituency. Similarly, no person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for any constituency more than once. Notification for Election The process of election officially begins when on the recommendation of Election Commission, the President in case of Lok Sabha and the Governor in case of State Assembly issue a notification for the election. Seven days are given to candidates to file nomination. The seventh day is the last date after the issue of notification excluding Sunday. Scrutiny of nomination papers is done on the day normally after the last date of filing nominations. The candidate can withdraw his/her nomination on the second day after the scrutiny of papers. Election is held not earlier than twentieth day after the withdrawal. Filing of Nomination A person who intends to contest an election is required to file the nomination paper in a prescribed form indicating his name, age, postal address and serial number in the electoral rolls. The candidate is required to be duly proposed and seconded by at least two voters registered in the concerned constituency. Every candidate has to take an oath or make affirmation. These papers are then submitted to the Returning Officer designated by the Election Commission. Security Deposit Every candidate has to make a security deposit at the time of filing nomination. For Lok Sabha every candidate has to make a security deposit of Rs. 10,000/- and for State Assembly Rs. 5,000/-. But candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are required to deposit Rs. 5,000/ if contesting the Lok Sabha elections and Rs. 11

2,500/ for contesting Vidhan Sabha elections. The security deposit is forfeited if the candidate fails to get at least 1/6 of the total valid votes polled. Scrutiny and Withdrawal All nomination papers received by the Returning Officer are scrutinised on the day fixed by the Election Commission. This is done to ensure that all papers are filled according to the procedure laid down and accompanied by required security deposit. The Returning Officer is empowered to reject a nomination paper on any one of the following ground: 1. 2. 3. 4. If the candidate is less than 25 years of age. If he/she has not made security deposit. If he/she is holding any office of profit. If he/she is not listed as a voter anywhere in the country

The second day after the scrutiny of nomination papers is the last date for the withdrawal of the candidates. In case that day happens to be a holiday or Sunday, the day immediately after that is fixed as the last day for the withdrawal. Registration of Political Parties Political parties are registered with the Election Commission. The Commission determines whether the party is structured and committed to principles of democracy, secularism and socialism in accordance with the Indian Constitution and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. Parties are required to hold organisational elections and have a written constitution. The Anti-defection law, passed in 1985, prevents MPs or MLAs elected as candidates of one party forming or joining a new party, unless they comprise more than one-third of the original party in the legislature. Recognition and Reservation of Symbols According to certain criteria, set by the Election Commission regarding the length of political activity and success in elections, parties are categorised by the Commission as recognised National or State parties, or simply declared registered-unrecognised parties. How a party is classified determines a party's right to certain privileges, such as access to electoral rolls and provision of time for political broadcasts on the state-owned television and radio stations - All India Radio and Doordarshan - and also the important question of the allocation of the party symbol. Party symbols enable illiterate voters to identify the candidate of the party they wish to vote for. National parties are given a symbol that is for their use only, throughout the country. State parties have the sole use 12

of a symbol in the State in which they are recognised as such. Registered-unrecognised parties can choose a symbol from a selection of 'free' symbols. Allocation of equitable sharing of time On the basis of past performance of a recognized political party during elections EC has to allocate equitable sharing of time on the cable television network & other electronic media, binding on all political parties. EC can make the code of conduct for cable operators & electronic media.

POLITICAL PARTY A political party is an organized body of people who share common principles and cherish certain common goals regarding the political system. Also, a political party operates and seeks political power through constitutional means to translate its policies into practice. It is a body of like-minded people having similar views on matters of public concern. Definition is: A political party consists of a group of citizens, more or less organized, who act as a political unit and who, by the use of their voting power, aim to control the government and carry out their general policies. Characteristics of a political party a political party is an organized and fairly large group of people; the organized group of people share common principles and cherish certain common goals; its members hold similar views on matters of public concern; its task revolves around seeking political power through collective efforts of its members; the means employed in seeking control over the government are always constitutional, usually through elections; and its objectives include the translation of their already declared policies into governmental actions. Political parties in India India has a multi-party system with predominance of small regional parties. Political parties that wish to contest local, state or national elections are required to be registered by four or more states and declared as a National party by the EC. Otherwise, it is known as a State Party. 13

Broadly speaking, there are two types of political parties in India: national and regional, but what is unique is that the national parties have a regional agenda and the regional political parties, a national agenda. National political parties in India: The National Political Parties have areas of influence extending over the entire country. The Election Commission grants political parties the status of national political parties. The recognized national political parties, in India are the following: (1) Indian National Congress (INC), (2) Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), (3) Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) (4) Communist Party of India (CPI), (5) Communist Party of India, Marxists (CPI-M), and (6) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Regional Political Parties in India: The Regional Political Parties, as recognized by the Election Commission, are those political parties which receive a certain amount of votes or seats in a State. The Election Commission grants election symbols to the political parties and the candidates who contest elections. The number of regional political parties in the country is fairly large. Some of the regional political parties in India are: Forward Bloc (West Bengal), AllIndia Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Tamil Nadu) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Tamil Nadu, Pondichery), National Conference (Jammu and Kashmir), Rashtriya Janata Dal (Bihar), Samajvadi Party (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand), Shiromani Akali Dal (Punjab), Shiv Sena (Maharashtra), Telugu Desam (Andhra Pradesh) 14

Criteria for a national political party in India: A party should fulfil one of the three requirements: A 'national party' needs to contest from four states and get at least six per cent votes from at least four states or Get two percent of total seats in the Lok Sabha from at least three states or It should be a party recognised as a state party in at least four states. Criteria for a state political party in India: The party should complete one of the two following conditions:

1.

It is involved in political activities for the past five years continuously and

(a)

in the last general election the party has at least one member over every twenty five member from that state in the House of People (Lok Sabha) or any fraction of that number or

(b)

in the last assembly election the party has at least one member over every thirty members in the Vidhan Sabha or any fraction of that number.

2.

It should get at least 6% of the total valid votes in the general election from that state or in the assembly election.

Death of a candidate of a recognized political party before poll RO on being satisfied of the death of the candidate by order may announce adjournment of the poll & report the fact to the EC. Party will be called upon to nominate another candidate for the said poll within seven days of issue of such notice & RO shall again furnish a list of contesting candidates. Splits and mergers and anti defection law Splits, mergers and alliances have frequently disrupted the compositions of political parties. This has led to a number of disputes over which section of a divided party gets to keep the party symbol, and how to classify the resulting parties in terms of National and State parties. The Election Commission has to resolve these disputes, although its decisions can be challenged in the courts. Declaration of assets and liabilities 15

After an enactment in Parliament in 2004, every member of both Houses of Parliament is supposed to declare the details of his assets and liabilities along with that of his spouse and dependents. Every member is supposed to file such declarations within 90 days of his/her election to the House. Only nominated members are exempted under these rules. Many state assemblies have also enacted such provisions but many still don't have such system in place. Now, both Houses of Parliament are sharing the declarations of their members under RTI Act, i.e., it is open to public scrutiny. Budget & Expenditure The Secretariat of the Commission has an independent budget, which is finalised directly in consultation between the Commission and the Finance Ministry of the Union Government. The latter generally accepts the recommendations of the Commission for its budgets. The major expenditure on actual conduct of elections is, however, reflected in the budgets of the concerned constituent units of the Union - States and Union Territories. If elections are being held only for Parliament, the expenditure is borne entirely by the Union Government, while for the elections being held only for the State Legislature, the expenditure is borne entirely by the concerned State. In case of simultaneous elections to Parliament and State Legislatures, the expenditure is shared equally between the Union and the State Governments. For Capital Equipment, expenditure related to preparation for electoral rolls and the scheme for Electors' Identify Cards too, the expenditure is shared equally. Corrupt practices in election Corruption is so rampant in India that we cannot imagine a single Government body running without it. It has become a way of life. Corruption in Indian elections has also been a key issue. As we all know that corruption is also closely linked to crime and underworld activities. Many stringent laws and policies have been initiated by the Election Commission, but they seem to be of no use. Following are the unethical practices in election: 1. Money Power: The role of unaccounted money in elections has become a serious problem. The political parties collect funds from companies and business houses, and then use this money to influence the voter to vote in their favour. The business contributions are mostly in cash and are not unaccounted. Many other corrupt practices are also adopted during election such as bribing, rigging or voter intimidation, impersonation and providing

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transport and conveyance of voters to and from the polling stations. The reports of liquor being distributed in poor areas are frequent during elections. 2. Muscle Power: Earlier the criminals used to support the candidates by intimidating the voter at a gunpoint to vote according to their direction. Now they themselves have come out openly by contesting the elections leading to criminalisation of politics. As a result violence during elections has also increased. 3. Caste and Religion: Generally the candidates are given tickets by the political parties on the consideration whether the candidate can muster the support of numerically larger castes and communities and possesses enough resources. Even the electorates vote on the caste and communal lines. Communal loyalties of the voters are used at the time of propaganda campaign. 4. Misuse of government machinery: All the political parties do not have equal opportunity in respect of access to resources. The party in power is always in advantageous position than the opposition parties. There is widespread allegation that the party in power accomplishes misuse of government machinery. 5. Rigging of election and booth capturing: With the connivance of the government officials, the ruling party tries to rig the elections. Some candidates also capture the polling booths and make use of their muscle powers to do it. It is alleged that in J&K Assembly elections held in 1987, many candidates of the opposition front were declared losers even though they had got maximum number of votes. 6. Misuse of mass media: During elections the ruling party uses various means of mass media-Radios, Television and Newspapers etc.-to propagate their policies and programmes. 7. Expensive elections: In India, elections are very expensive and a common man, however, intelligent and honest he may be, cannot fight elections. As a result only the rich people can fight elections and they make use of political power first to serve their own interests. They also try to make more money through illegal methods.

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