UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA FACULTY OF ECONOMICS & INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR PROMOTION OF ENTERPRISES LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA MASTER’S DEGREE THESIS Management of Elections in Himachal Pradesh Ljubljana, September 2006. Manisha NANDA Author’s Statement I, Manisha NANDA hereby certify to be the author of this Master’s Thesis, which was written under mentorship of Prof. Meteka Tekavcic and in compliance with the Act of author’s and related rights-Para-1, Article 21. I herewith agree this thesis to be published on the website pages of ICPE and the Faculty of Economics. ( Manisha NANDA ) Ljubljana dated September 09, 2006. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To join the academic path of pursuing MBA at ICPE, Ljubljana in collaboration with Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana has been exceedingly helpful, full of knowledge which required great perseverance and patience. The interaction with learned Professors has been an eye opener who provided different perspectives and critical analysis of the subjects which was value addition to the course. My sincerest and heart felt gratitude to my mentor Meteka Tekavcic for extending invaluable support towards this thesis. She has been a source of constant encouragement, guidance who not only provided knowledge, information but also helped me exploring & giving shape to this thesis. I express my deepest regards to her for providing the right direction and meaning to this thesis. My husband Nagin whose constant presence, support, advise, suggestions and healthy criticism as a fellow participant in the MBA course helped me immensely in the completion of this thesis. I would like to add special praise for dear Kaustubh Mani (Son, Age-5 years) who appreciated my absence and encouraged me to complete the thesis in time. My source of motivation has always been my parents who have encouraged to achieve success in life. My brother Anish in US, by remaining constantly in touch, helped me in accomplishing this task. Constitutional body of Election Commission of India with its extremely capable and competent CEC & ECs has been pillar of strength, inspiration and confidence to me. A new meaning and mission has been provided by Dean Prof. dr. Maks Tajnikar, to the Faculty of Economics which has greatly impressed me as a scholar. I would also like to deeply appreciate and thank Prof. dr. Rudi Rozman, Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia for his continuous guidance in preparing this MBA thesis. Special thanks to Dr. Ali Mansoor, Mr. Aswin Shrestha who provided congenial atmosphere for studies, stay & recreation. Director General of ICPE, DR. Benjamin Lukman, Slovenia encouraged the scholars for better performance. Deputy Director General Mr. Mutreja was always available and extended full support with patience throughout the stay at Ljubljana. I deeply acknowledge his support. The central library of Economic Faculty has been excellent and the librarian & staff extended their full cooperation. The librarian at ICPE also provided useful information and articles. Special thanks to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, HP and State Election Commission, various District Election Officers and an array of election related functional staff, officers who have provided a lot of inputs acquired through their practical experience of conducting elections in this peaceful hilly state. I would like to thank Sh. G.K. Srivastava & Sh. Ram Lal Thakur, for providing various suggestions during the course of informal discussions. Special efforts have been put in by Birender Chauahn, C.O. who has pain stakingly gone through the text and has given his valuable suggestions. Thanks are also due to Rohit Sharma for collecting and arranging the data. Sh. Ram Krishan Verma, PS provided all secretarial assistance with a smile remained in touch through e-mails. However, errors and omissions are solely mine. Finally, I would like to place my sincerest gratitude to Government of India and Government of HP for sponsoring and providing this opportunity to pursue the MBA at ICPE, Ljubljana which has not only enriched my knowledge, enhanced my experience, but changed my perspective and has further inspired me for setting future goals in life. This peace of thesis has been labour of love, patience and belief that with strong commitments, one can contribute towards the strengthening of democratic institutions. CONTENTS Sr. No. Chapter Page No. 1 Introduction 1 1.1 The Research Problem 1 1.1.1 Problem Statement 1-3 1.1.2 Research Proposition/Hypothesis 3 1.2 Research Questions 3-4 1.3 Research Objectives 4 1.4 Critical Literature / Current Status 4-6 1.5 Model: Research Problem 6-7 1.6 Research Strategy 8 1.7 Measurement Issues 8 1.8 Data Collection & Sampling 8-9 1.9 Data Analysis 9 1.10 Scientific Contribution 10 2 Election Process in India 11 2.1 Introduction 11 2.1.1 Electoral Laws & System 11 2.1.2 A Constitutional Body- Independent Election 11-12 Commission 2.1.3 System of Elections 13-18 2.1.4 Status Political Parties 18-19 2.1.5 Political Parties and Elections Limit on Poll Expenses 19-20 2.1.6 Advisory Jurisdiction & Quasi-Judicial Functions of 20-21 ECI 3 Organizational Hierarchy of the Election 22 Administration Machinery 3.1 Salient Features of India - ECI’s Network of Election 22-24 Machinery 3.2 The Detailed Organizational Structure of ECI 24 3.3 Office of the State Chief Electoral Officer, Himachal 24-25 Pradesh and Organizational structure 3.4 Organizational Structure at the District Level/ Sub 25-26 Divisional Level 4 General Description of the Election Process 27 4.1 Steps in the Preparatory phase prior to Announcement 27-31 of Elections 4.2 Election schedule Announced by the ECI for Conduct of 31 Elections 4.3 Filing of Nomination of Candidates and Publication of 31-33 Final List of Candidates 4.4 Deployment of Polling Personnel, EVMs, Model Code 33-38 of Conduct and Counting of Votes 5 Existing Mechanism for Election Management 39 5.1 Planning, Execution and Implementation Mechanism 39-43 5.2 Administrative Measures 43-44 6 Analysis of the Election Management & Processes 45 6.1 State of Himachal Pradesh-Background 45-47 6.2 Election History of Himachal Pradesh 47-58 6.3 Drafting of the Election Related Personnel 58-60 6.4 Enforcement of Model Code of Conduct 61 6.5 Expenditure Incurred During Parliamentary and State 62-63 Assembly Elections 6.6 Voter-Turnout 64-66 6.7 Performance of Women Candidates in Vidhan Sabha 66-69 Election- 1952 Onwards 7 New Initiatives in Election Management 70 7.1 Model Code of Conduct for the Guidance of the 70 Political Parties and Candidates 7.1.1 General Conduct 70 7.1.2 Meetings 71 7.1.3 Processions 71 7.1.4 Polling Day 71-72 7.1.5 Polling Booth 72 7.1.6 Observer 72 7.1.7 Party in Power 72-73 7.2 Compulsory Maintenance of Accounts by Political 73 Parties and Audit Thereof by Agencies Specified by the Election Commission 7.3 Government Sponsored Advertisements 73 7.4 Ban on Transfers of Election Officers on the Eve of 73 Elections 7.5 Operation Rectification of Electoral Rolls 73-74 7.6 On-line Registration of Voters 74 8 International Scenario 75 8.1 Electoral Systems – An Overview 75 8.2 Guiding Principles of Electoral System 75 8.2.1 Ensuring a Representative Parliament 75 8.2.2 Making Elections Accessible and Meaningful 75-76 8.2.3 Providing Incentives for Conciliation 76 8.2.4 Facilitating Stable and Efficient Government 76 8.2.5 Holding the Government and Representatives 76 Accountable 8.2.6 Encouraging Cross-Cutting Political Parties 76-77 8.2.7 Promoting a Parliamentary Opposition 77 8.2.8 Cost Considerations 77 8.3 Electoral System Types 77 8.3.1 Plurality-Majority Systems 77-78 8.3.2 Semi-Proportional Systems 78 8.3.3 Proportional Representation 78-80 8.4 Representation of Women 80-85 8.5 Representation of Minorities 85 8.6 Republic of Slovenia and its Election System 85-89 8.7 Systems for National Elections in EU Applicant 89-90 Countries 8.8 Electoral Systems for the European Parliament 90 8.8.1 Towards a Uniform Electoral Procedure 91-92 8.8.2 The Anastassopoulos Report 92 8.8.3 Current Arrangements for European Elections 92-93 9 Conclusions and Recommendations 94 9.1 Why Electoral Reforms? 94-95 9.2 Transparency of Electoral Roll 95 9.3 Recommendation regarding Photo Electoral Roll 96 9.4 Recommendation for Improving the Training of Election 96-97 Personnel 9.5 Procedure to Improve Proxy Voting in Case of 97 Classified Service Voters 9.6 Affidavits to be filed by Candidates on Criminal 97 Antecedents, Assets, etc. 9.7 Strict Enforcement of Various Acts like Arms Act, 97 Corrupt Practices Act etc. 9.8 Impartial Election Machinery 98-99 9.9 Criminalisation of Politics 99 9.10 Regular Elections of Office Bearers in Different 99 Political Parties 9.11 Measures to Curb the Influence of Black Money in 100 Politics 9.12 Measures to Curb Electoral Malpractices 100-101 9.13 Amendment Proposed for Disqualification 101 9.14 Restriction on the Number of Seats from which one 101 may Contest 9.15 Exit Polls and Opinion Polls 101-102 9.16 Prohibition on Surrogate Advertisements in Print Media 102 9.17 Anti-Defection Law 102 9.18 Registration and De-Registration of Political Parties 102 9.19 Further Improvement Required in EVMs 102 9.20 Deployment of Polling Personnel 102-103 References 104 (A) Hard Copy References 104-106 (B) Online References 107-108 ***** ABBREVIATIONS S. No. Name Abbreviation 1. Acknowledgement Ack. 2. Assistant Chief Electoral Officer ACEO 3.