{"id":342260,"date":"2025-07-07T21:05:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T15:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=342260"},"modified":"2025-07-08T19:37:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T14:07:03","slug":"electoral-reforms-in-india-explained-pointwise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/electoral-reforms-in-india-explained-pointwise\/","title":{"rendered":"Electoral Reforms In India- Explained Pointwise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Election Commission of India is conducting <strong>Special Intensive Revision (SIR)\u00a0<\/strong>of the electoral rolls for the entire country &#8211; starting first from Bihar. This exercise in Bihar before the general elections for its Legislative Assembly is considered as an important electoral reform, but it has also been criticized by several members of civil society because it may lead to disenfranchisement of a significant number of people. In this context, we will try to discuss the broader topic of electoral reforms, their significance, objectives, challenges &amp; way forward.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Elections lie at the very heart of Indian democracy. They not only sustain democracy but enliven it as well. Hence, holding of free and fair election is, therefore, a sine qua non of democracy.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Various electoral reforms have been taken in India till date to ensure free and fair elections. However, Electoral reforms remains a work in progress.<\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%; text-align: center;\"><strong>Table of Contents<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\"><a href=\"#toc1\">What are ELECTORAL REFORMS? What Electoral Reforms have been taken in India?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#toc2\">What are the CHALLENGES faced in conduction of free and fair elections in India?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#toc3\">What are the OBJECTIVES of Electoral Reforms?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#toc4\">What should be the WAY FORWARD?<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a id=\"toc1\"><\/a>What are ELECTORAL REFORMS? What Electoral Reforms have been taken in India?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong data-start=\"66\" data-end=\"87\">Electoral reforms<\/strong> refer to <strong data-start=\"97\" data-end=\"137\">improvements in the electoral system<\/strong> to ensure <strong data-start=\"148\" data-end=\"200\">free, fair, transparent, and inclusive elections<\/strong>. These reforms aim to address the <strong data-start=\"235\" data-end=\"263\">challenges and loopholes<\/strong> in the existing electoral process.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">The Electoral Reforms seek to promote clean politics, free and fair elections, and ideal legislators.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Electoral Reforms have been undertaken in India since Independence. However the reforms can be sub divided under the following timelines:<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Major Electoral Reforms Before 1996<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: #e4ed80;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 25.5497%;\"><strong>Introduction of EVMs (1982)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 74.4503%;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">EVMs <\/span>were<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> introduced for the first time<\/span> for conducting general election in Kerala in May 1982. In 2004, in the General Election to the Lok Sabha, the EVMs were used in all 543 Parliamentary Constituencies in the country.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 25.5497%;\"><strong>Lowering of Voting Age <\/strong><strong>(1988)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 74.4503%;\">The <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Voting age<\/span> was reduced from <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">21 years to 18 years<\/span> by the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">61st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1988<\/span>, to encourage the youth to express their voice via vote.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 25.5497%;\"><strong>Increase in the Number of Proposers (1988)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 74.4503%;\">To <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">prevent the non-serious candidates from contesting<\/span>, the number of proposers were increased for filing nomination papers to the Rajya Sabha and State Legislative Council.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 25.5497%;\"><strong>Anti-Booth capturing Provisions (1989)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 74.4503%;\">A provision was made for the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">adjournment of polls or countermanding elections<\/span> in case of booth capturing in 1989.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 25.5497%;\"><strong>Elector\u2019s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) (1993)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 74.4503%;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Election Commission started issuing<\/span> Elector\u2019s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) for registered voters.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Major electoral Reforms in 1996 on the recommendations of Dinesh Goswami Committee:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid; background-color: #ebf28a;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.1706%;\"><strong>Listing of names of candidates<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.8294%;\">Candidates wanting to contest elections were further divided three categories:<br \/>\na. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Political party<\/span><br \/>\nb. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Registered and Un-registered Party<\/span><br \/>\nc. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Independent Candidates<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.1706%;\"><strong>Disqualification under Prevention of Insults to the National Honour Act<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.8294%;\">A person convicted for the offenses under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1971 is <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">disqualified to contest in the elections to the Parliament and State Legislature for 6 years.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.1706%;\"><strong>Increase in the number of proposers<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.8294%;\">The <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">nomination of a candidate in a Parliamentary or assembly constituency<\/span> should be <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">subscribed by 10 registered electors of the constituency as proposers<\/span> if the candidate is not sponsored by a recognized political party.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.1706%;\"><strong>Contestants restricted to two constituencies<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.8294%;\">A candidate <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">would not be eligible to contest from more than two Parliamentary\/assembly constituencies<\/span> and Rajya sabha\/State legislative council.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.1706%;\"><strong>By-Elections<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.8294%;\">By-Elections were to be held in <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">six months<\/span> since the vacancy.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.1706%;\"><strong>Introduction of strict prohibitions<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.8294%;\">Strict prohibition on Arms and Sale of liquor near polling area.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Major Electoral Reforms after 1996:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid; background-color: #eff57d;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 22.7945%;\"><strong>Increase in the number of proposers and seconders (1997)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 77.2055%;\">Number of Proposers and Seconders for contesting Election to President and Vice president were changed accordingly:<br \/>\na. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">President<\/span>: From 10 to 50<br \/>\nb. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Vice President<\/span>: From 5 to 20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 22.7945%;\"><strong>Postal Ballot (1999)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 77.2055%;\">Provision was made for voting through Postal Ballot in 1999 under circumstances by the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">permission of Election Commission<\/span> for any class persons.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Electoral Reforms in 2003:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 270px; width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid; background-color: #eaf27c;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 60px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 22.7863%; height: 60px;\"><strong>Introduction of proxy voting<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 77.2137%; height: 60px;\">A provision was made for <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">voters from Armed forces<\/span>\u00a0to opt their vote through proxy.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 90px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 22.7863%; height: 90px;\"><strong>Declaration of criminal antecedents &amp; assets\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 77.2137%; height: 90px;\">The Election Commission issued an order directing every candidate to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">disclose the information on the matters of conviction<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">accusation<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">assets<\/span>, and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">any liabilities<\/span>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 90px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 22.7863%; height: 90px;\"><strong>Free supply of electoral rolls and travel exemptions<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 77.2137%; height: 90px;\">Election Commission passed a provision for free supply of electoral rolls and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">exemptions were made in travelling expenses<\/span> made by Candidates.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 30px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 22.7863%; height: 30px;\"><strong>Parties entitled to accept contribution<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 77.2137%; height: 30px;\">The political parties had to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">report any contribution in excess of \u20b920,000 to the Election Commission<\/span> for claiming income tax relief.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 22.7863%;\"><strong>Allocation of time on media<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 77.2137%;\">Allocation for <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">sharing of time on media and cable to each candidate<\/span> was made by Election Commission. Introduction of <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Braille Signage features<\/span> in EVM.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Electoral Reforms Since 2003 Till Today:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid; background-color: #f5f378;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 22.9566%;\"><strong>Prohibition on Exit Polls (2009)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 77.0434%;\">Prohibition were <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">imposed on conducting Exit Polls<\/span> and publishing the results of exit polls.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 22.9566%;\"><strong>Time limit for submitting a case for disqualification (2009)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 77.0434%;\">A <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">three-month time limit<\/span> was added within which the specified authority will have to submit the case of a person found guilty of corrupt practice to the President to determine the question of disqualification.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 22.9566%;\"><strong>Increase in Security Deposit (2009)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 77.0434%;\">The amount of security deposit to be paid by the candidates contesting elections to the Lok Sabha was <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">increased from \u20b910,000 to \u20b925,000.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 22.9566%;\"><strong>Registration of Indian Citizen living outside India (2010)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 77.0434%;\">Every Indian Citizen living outside India is<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> entitled to get his name registered in the Parliamentary or Assembly<\/span> near the place of residence mentioned in his\/her passport and are entitled to receive their voting rights.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Electoral Reforms in 2013:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 150px; width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid; background-color: #eef078;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 60px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 23.0921%; height: 60px;\"><strong>Electoral roll Online<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.9079%; height: 60px;\">Election Commission made the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">provision for Online filling of the application form<\/span> in the electoral roll.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 30px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 23.0921%; height: 30px;\"><strong>Addition of NOTA option in the EVMs<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.9079%; height: 30px;\">Apex Court of India directed election commission to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">add NOTA<\/span> ( None of the above) option in EVMs.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.0921%;\"><strong>Introduction of VVPAT<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.9079%;\">Election Commission introduced VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) for <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">verification of voters vote<\/span>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 30px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 23.0921%; height: 30px;\"><strong>Allowing persons in jail or police custody to contest elections<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.9079%; height: 30px;\">The Representation of the People Act, 1951 <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">was amended in 2013 to allow the persons in jail or police custody<\/span> to contest elections.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 30px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 23.0921%; height: 30px;\"><strong>Immediate disqualification of convicted MPs and MLAs<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.9079%; height: 30px;\">Supreme Court, in <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Lily Thomas Case (2013)<\/span><\/strong>, held that <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">convicted MPs and MLAs will be immediately disqualified from holding membership of the House<\/span> without being given three months\u2019 time for appeal.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Electoral Reforms after 2013:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid; background-color: #f0f27e;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.9899%;\"><strong>Increase in election expenditure 2013<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.0101%;\">Government<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> raised the maximum ceiling<\/span> on election expenditure of Lok Sabha from <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Rs.40,00,000 to Rs.70,00,000<\/span>. In bigger states assembly seats was <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">increased <span style=\"color: #333333;\">from<\/span> Rs.16,00,000 to Rs.28,00,000<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.9899%;\"><strong>Pictures of candidates on EVMs 2015<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.0101%;\">Election Commission passed the order that<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> EVM will carry the picture \/ photo of candidate, his\/her name and symbol of the party<\/span> to avoid the confusion amongst the common people.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.9899%;\"><strong>Electoral Bonds 2017<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.0101%;\"><strong>Ceiling on cash donations lowered:<\/strong>\u00a0The <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">limit for anonymous cash donations<\/span> by any individual to a political party was <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">lowered from \u20b920,000 to \u20b92,000<\/span>.<br \/>\n<strong>Cap on corporate contributions lifted:<\/strong>\u00a0The<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> limit on corporate contributions from 7.5% of the net profit<\/span> of a company\u2019s past three financial years <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">was removed<\/span>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 23.9899%;\"><strong>Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls (2025)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 76.0101%;\">Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls is a significant exercise undertaken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure the accuracy and integrity of voter lists. It has been done to eliminate the duplicate entries in the electoral rolls due to urbanisation &amp; migration. The electors have to submit certain documents for establishing the date &amp; place of birth for themselves &amp; their parent(s) if required.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a id=\"toc2\"><\/a>What are the CHALLENGES faced in conduction of free and fair elections in India?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Booth Capturing:<\/strong>\u00a0Even in new era and world of developments, there are reported incidents of violence and intimidation of voters at the booth. <strong>For ex-<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Violence at polling booths in Bengal Panchayati Elections.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Criminalisation of Politics:<\/strong>\u00a0Despite the EC&#8217;s measures regarding the disclosure of criminal records, the parties have not refrained from giving tickets to candidates having serious criminal antecedents. <strong>For ex-<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">About 40% of sitting MPs have criminal cases registered against them out of which 25% have declared serious criminal cases under charges of murder.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Violation of Model Code of Conduct:<\/strong>\u00a0The elections in India witness violations of the model code of conduct by the candidates and the political parties. <strong>For ex-<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Illegal use of public places<\/span>,<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> loudspeakers<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">money for votes<\/span> etc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Electoral Finance:<\/strong>\u00a0Electoral finance has always been an Achilles heel problem for elections in India. Laundered and Black money are major sources of electoral finance. <strong>For ex-<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">SC recently stuck down Electoral bond scheme on the issue of lack of transparency in funding<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Electoral Overspending:<\/strong>\u00a0The political parties have no expenditure limit in the elections. This is exploited by the candidates for over expenditure in their constituencies during the election. <strong>For ex-<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Star campaigners expenditure is not included in candidate&#8217;s expenditure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Use of casteism and communalism card:<\/strong>\u00a0The elections in India witness the card of casteism, communalism and regionalism played by the political parties to garner votes. These lead to social fragmentation of the electorate. <strong>For ex-<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Use of Hate Speech in elections.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\">Read More- <a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/electoral-bonds-scheme-explained-pointwise\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Electoral Bonds Scheme<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a id=\"toc3\"><\/a>What are the OBJECTIVES of Electoral Reforms?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Ensuring free and fair elections (Article 324):<\/strong> Electoral reforms <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">aim to address the issues of electoral malpractices<\/span> and ensure that elections are conducted in a free and fair manner.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enhancing voter participation:<\/strong>\u00a0Electoral reforms <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">aim to increase voter turnout<\/span> and to address the issue of voter apathy, difficulty in accessing polling booths, etc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reducing the influence of money and muscle power:<\/strong>\u00a0Electoral reforms help to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">reduce the influence of money and muscle power<\/span> by regulating campaign finance and ensuring the safety of voters.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Encouraging transparency and accountability:<\/strong>\u00a0Electoral reforms <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">initiate the measures such as mandatory disclosure of criminal records by candidates<\/span> and the use of technology to monitor the electoral process. Thus they help in enhancing the transparency and accountability of elections in India.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Addressing electoral inequalities:<\/strong>\u00a0Electoral reforms aim to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">bring down<\/span> the inequalities such as the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">under-representation of women and marginalized communities<\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a id=\"toc4\"><\/a>What should be the WAY FORWARD?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Implementation of the Electoral Reforms suggested by the EC which are provided below will help in addressing the issue of electoral malpractices and conduction of free and fair elections-<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>One Candidate, One Constituency:<\/strong>\u00a0The Representation of People&#8217;s Act must be amended to provide that <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">a person cannot contest from more than one constituency at a time<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lifetime Ban on contesting elections after conviction:<\/strong>\u00a0Election commission has endorsed the call for a lifetime ban which would &#8216;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">champion the cause of decriminalization of politics<\/span>&#8216;.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ban on advertisements six months prior to election:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Advertisements of achievements of the governments<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">either Central or State<\/span>, should be prohibited for a period of six months prior to the date of expiry of the term of the House.<\/li>\n<li><strong>False Declarations: <\/strong>Election Commission proposes that making false declarations concerning elections be an offense under RPA.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rules making under RPA to be conferred to the EC:<\/strong>\u00a0Rule-making authority under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and Representation of the People Act, 1951, should be <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">conferred on the Election Commission instead of the Central Government<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use of common Electoral Rolls:<\/strong>\u00a0There should be the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">use of common electoral rolls<\/span> at elections conducted by the Election Commission and the State Election Commissions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Disqualification under anti-defection law:<\/strong>\u00a0The decisions relating to anti-defection matters should be<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> rendered by the President or the Governor with the recommendation of the Election Commission<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Explore setting up of National Electoral Fund:<\/strong>\u00a0The idea of National Electoral Fund, put forth by former chief election commissioner <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">T.S. Krishnamurthy<\/span>, can be explored as an alternative to state funding of election. This <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">fund would allow contributions from all donors<\/span>. The money will then go to the parties according to the results of the elections or any other principle that all parties would agree upon.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>CONCLUSION:<\/strong><br \/>\nElectoral reforms are <strong data-start=\"3597\" data-end=\"3641\">essential to strengthen Indian democracy.\u00a0<\/strong>Ongoing discussions and proposals for future reforms should continue to focus on: electoral funding transparency, stricter disqualification norms for candidates with criminal charges, stronger powers for the ECI, and ensuring the accessibility and purity of electoral rolls without disenfranchising genuine voters.<\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\"><strong>Read More: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/bihar\/why-are-bihars-electoral-rolls-being-revised-explained\/article69779885.ece\">The Hindu<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>UPSC Syllabus- GS Paper 2- Issues related to elections and the RPA<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Election Commission of India is conducting Special Intensive Revision (SIR)\u00a0of the electoral rolls for the entire country &#8211; starting first from Bihar. This exercise in Bihar before the general elections for its Legislative Assembly is considered as an important electoral reform, but it has also been criticized by several members of civil society because it&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/electoral-reforms-in-india-explained-pointwise\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Electoral Reforms In India- Explained Pointwise<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10391,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-342260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-pm","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342260\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}