Context:
The Rajya Sabha elections in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka witnessed cross-voting by MLAs (Mmeber of Legislative Assembly) belonging to different parties. This has once again raised concerns about the sanctity of the election process.
Relevance:
GS II: Polity and Governance
Dimensions of the Article:
- Rajya Sabha Elections
- Cross Voting in Indian Elections: Implications and Considerations
- Exclusion of Anti-Defection Law in Rajya Sabha Elections
Rajya Sabha Elections:
Constitutional Framework: The election of representatives to the Rajya Sabha, in accordance with Article 80 of the Constitution, operates through an indirect electoral process. Elected members of each State’s Legislative Assembly hold the responsibility of selecting these representatives.
Contesting Elections: Rajya Sabha polls become necessary only when the number of candidates surpasses the available vacancies. Historically, these elections often lacked competition, with candidates from the majority party in the state assembly winning unopposed.
Cross-Voting Challenge: The landscape changed in June 1998 when Maharashtra witnessed cross-voting, leading to the unexpected loss of a Congress party candidate. Responding to this, the Representation of the People Act, 1951 underwent an amendment in 2003.
Open Ballot System: The amendment mandated an open ballot system for Rajya Sabha elections. Political party MLAs were required to display their ballot papers to the authorized party agent. Failure to do so would invalidate the vote. Independent MLAs, however, were barred from showing their ballots.
Election Process Overview:
- Seat Allocation: Rajya Sabha comprises 250 members, including those nominated by the President. States and Union Territories, based on their population, receive allocated seats.
- Out of the total, 12 are directly nominated by the President from the fields of art, literature, sports, science, etc.
- Rajya Sabha seats are distributed among states based on their population. For example, Uttar Pradesh has a quota of 31 Rajya Sabha seats while Goa has just one.
- Indirect Election System: Through an indirect election system, state legislative assembly members utilize the Single Transferable Vote (STV) for proportional representation. The voting power aligns with the population of their respective constituencies.
Quotas: To be elected, a candidate must secure a specific number of votes known as quotas. The quota is determined by dividing the total valid votes by the number of seats available plus one.
- In states with multiple seats, the initial quota is calculated by multiplying the number of MLAs by 100, as each MLA’s vote is valued at 100.
Preferences and Surplus: When filling out the ballot paper with names of candidates from various parties, MLAs rank their preferences against each candidate — with 1 indicating the top preference (the first preferential vote), 2 for the next, and so forth.
- If a candidate receives enough first preferential votes to meet or exceed the quota, they are elected.
- If a winning candidate has surplus votes, those votes are transferred to their second choice (marked as number
- If multiple candidates have surpluses, the largest surplus is transferred first.
Elimination of Fewer Votes: To prevent wasted votes, if the required number of candidates are not elected after surplus transfers, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their unexhausted ballot papers are redistributed among the remaining candidates.
- An “exhausted paper” refers to a ballot paper with no further preferences recorded for continuing candidates.
- This process of surplus vote transfers and eliminations continues until enough candidates reach the quota to fill all available seats.
Cross Voting in Indian Elections: Implications and Considerations
About Cross Voting:
Example in Bihar (1967):
- An illustrative instance of cross-voting occurred in Bihar in 1967 when Rajendra Prasad Jain secured a seat through Congress MLAs engaging in cross-voting, allegedly driven by bribes.
- Subsequently, the Supreme Court declared Jain’s election void.
Definition:
- Cross voting pertains to a scenario wherein a legislator, be it a Member of Parliament or a Member of a Legislative Assembly, affiliated with a particular political party, casts a vote for a candidate or party different from their own during an election or voting process.
Rajya Sabha Elections Context:
- Specifically in the context of Rajya Sabha elections in India, cross voting manifests when members of a political party deviate from voting for their party’s nominated candidates, opting instead for candidates from other political entities.
- Various factors can contribute to cross voting, encompassing disagreement with the party’s candidate selection, external pressures, inducements, personal relationships, or ideological disparities.
Implications of Cross Voting:
Negative Implications:
- Cross voting can potentially undermine the fidelity of representation, as legislators are anticipated to align their votes with their party’s interests or their constituents’ preferences.
- Instances of cross voting, often linked to bribery or corrupt practices, can compromise the integrity of the electoral process, eroding public trust in democratic mechanisms.
- Reflecting internal party divisions, cross voting weakens party cohesion and stability, impeding coherent policy pursuits.
- Contravening democratic principles of accountability, cross voting prioritizes personal gain or party politics over the broader public good.
Potential Positive Implications:
- In contrast, cross voting may denote a level of independence among elected representatives, enabling them to vote in accordance with their conscience or their constituents’ interests, transcending strict party allegiances.
- Genuine instances of cross voting, motivated by differences in opinion or ideology, can act as a check on the dominance of a single party or faction, fostering a more balanced representation of diverse viewpoints.
- Cross voting, when driven by dissatisfaction with party leadership or policies, could prompt parties to introspect, addressing internal concerns and enhancing accountability.
Exclusion of Anti-Defection Law in Rajya Sabha Elections
Tenth Schedule and “Anti-Defection” Law:
- The Tenth Schedule, incorporated through the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1985, houses the provisions commonly known as the “anti-defection” law.
- It explicitly states that a member of Parliament or a state legislature who voluntarily relinquishes their party membership or votes against party instructions is subject to disqualification.
- The instructions are typically issued by the party whip.
Applicability of Tenth Schedule:
- Despite its comprehensive reach, the Election Commission clarified a significant distinction in July 2017 regarding the Tenth Schedule’s application.
- In a specific exclusion, the provisions of the Tenth Schedule, including the anti-defection law, do not extend to Rajya Sabha elections.
- Consequently, parties lack the authority to issue whips, and members participating in Rajya Sabha elections are not obligated to adhere to party directives.
-Source: The Hindu
