Cash For Votes Culture

What is the issue?

• Cash for votes is a long existing menace in the Indian election scenario.
• An understanding on the factors driving this culture and necessary reforms to address them are vital.

What necessitates money in elections?

• Mobilisation - In reality, cash flows during elections not to buy votes but rather more to support a campaign.
• Generally, parties have weak organisations to mobilise votes at the local level for large constituencies and face heavy institutional constraints.
• Cash is used to engage vote mobilisers or local individuals who will seek votes for a party or a candidate.
• Given these reasons, cash functions as a facilitator for a smooth campaign machinery.
• Regulations - The Election Commission (EC) allows only 14 days of official campaigning, which ends 48 hours before the scheduled close of polling.
• Last minute finalisation on nominations for most constituencies puts pressure on candidates to mobilise votes as quickly as possible.
• Given this, spending money on cash, liquor and gifts become essential for the candidate to ensure an army of workers during the campaign period.
• Power - Money has become an important symbol of power in a hierarchical society such as India.
• The display of money during elections is now more socially approved in certain ways, is a political necessity, and is born of cultural expectations.
• Voters doubt the efficiency of administration from someone who is not powerful in monetary, political, or familial terms.
• This is evident with the fact that many uninfluential independent candidates lose elections in India.

What could be done?

• Competitive populism has led to the development of a culture in which political parties are forced to pump cash.
• This is amplified by weak party organisations, limited campaigning periods and the humongous size of constituencies.
• Given these, campaign finance reforms can consider increasing the number of constituencies and the duration of the official campaign period.
• This is more likely to curb the negative influence of money in politics in comparison to putting a cap on the expenditure limit.

Source: The Hindu