A Look Through The Mist NOTA
Daya Sagar
May it be in Kashmir valley or anywhere in India holding the election results valid even in constituencies (local bodies / state legislatures/ Lok Sabha) where there is Polling of Zero% or just 10–15 % raises questions on the present system of parliamentary democracy as we have in India today? The present system needs a very critical study and analysis worth recasting the procedures and rules that we have this day.
For example if during elections to Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies even less than just 10 % people cast their vote still with the prevailing rules the person getting the highest votes, may be only a few votes (may be even if it is just one vote) out of total in the voter list even as large as 2000000 or 100000, can get elected as MP or MLA, what a joke with the democratic system.
Not only that even in the Local body elections where many people even individually know each other there may be no poll or negligible poll in many constituencies but still person with even no ( zero) vote out of 500-1000 vote gets elected as public representative. Imagine in case only one person filed nomination papers and voting % is zero still the person gets elected , one would ask who elected him/ her ? The 2018 local body elections and persons declared elected in Kashmir valley could be quoted as an example. Of course the Lok Sabha elections held in Kashmir valley since 2014 too have enough to demonstrate.
So, a serious discourse in this regard need be held in India and the politicians must be forced to go for amending the system / rules. In my opinion we must set a minimum voting percentage as the qualifying standard and in case the voting % for a constituency is less than “that” the elections must be held again. Let there be even administrator / governor rule / president rule administrator to manage the local bodies or the state , as the case may or let some seats remain vacant in the Lok Sabha / Legislative assembly / Local body instead of having fake public representatives.
The minimum datum line could be set as 34 % overall polling for a constituency and in case the polling is less than that the elections be held again at appropriate time. Some may argue that this will involve extra cost burden but they must realise that only a fair , just and representative government is the spirit behind electing public representatives in a democracy and no cost can be dearer that that. So, such elections where people do not vote in real numbers (in my opinion at least not more than 1/3rd, say at least 34% of the total registered voters vote) no candidate should be taken as elected and elections should be held again, similarly the body i.e legislature/ Lok Sabha should be constituted only when at least 1/3rd of the total seats are elected.
Earlier also there was a debate on the negative voting and instead the result had been introduction of NOTA (none of the above). This system too had been got fabricated by those who are in the business of politics.
NOTA puts no bad candidate to disadvantage since all the candidates are denied ‘with one’ vote. We have to elect out of the available lot and a voter is supposed to know the real negatives of all candidate before rejecting under NOTA all contesting candidates and that surely cannot be possible in general. Hence voter must be given the option/ choice to elect someone or at least to ensure that a bad candidate ( as per one’s knowledge) is not elected by exercising the option of NTC ( Not this Candidate) by replacing option of NOTA with option of NTC ( Not This Candidate ) so as to cast a negative vote for a candidate there by reducing his / her votes by one there by giving advantage to others.
But it has also to be pointedly understood that as on date it is the politician monitored system that we have today where we have no any other social or community body independent of the political masters to guide the common masses as regards their rights and jurisdictions over the public representatives they are to vote and elect. Today’s system that is in place is pro those who have taken the “Indian democratic” system more as a profession/ commercial venture.
The present “politician family” may not like my suggestions but in the interest of Indian people / Nation work must be started in this direction.
( Daya Sagar – Senior Journalist and analyst J&K affairs dayasagr45@yahoo.com 9419796096)