Amid elaborate security arrangements being put in place for the upcoming Assembly elections in six states, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswami on Sunday said muscle and money power were becoming an impediment on free and fair elections in the country.
Referring to the massive security deployment required in poll-bound states, Gopalaswami said that India, being a large and old democracy, should be able to do away with the need for security arrangements during elections.
"Today muscle and money power are a big concern for free and fair elections. To deal with the muscle, we have to deploy more police and security forces, so that voters can use their (right to) franchise in peaceful manner," the CEC was quoted as saying by the PTI, he was speaking at a function organised by International Goodwill Society of India in New Dew Delhi.
Recalling Uttar Pradesh assembly polls last year, Gopalaswami said the commission had to mobilise nearly 4.55 lakh security personnel to ensure peaceful and fair polls.
The CEC, however, noted that compulsion of holding elections under excessive security arrangements was not a good sign for a democratic country like India.
"Conducting an election at gun point does not really give credit to our democracy, but it has happened," he said, adding that things were improving gradually.
He, meanwhile, said that the elaborate force deployment has also helped in controlling the election-related crimes and infused a sense of security among the voters.
Expressing anguish over the declining polling percentages, he said the trend weakened people's authority to choose a representative in a constituency.
He suggested that 50 per cent of votes should be compulsory polled by a candidate to be declared the winner.
"The voting percentage in several states is as low as 50 per cent. That too is divided among candidates, leading to a situation, where only 15 to 20 per cent of votes are needed by a candidate to win the election," he observed.
"How does one claim to represent the voters, after bagging only 15 per cent of votes to win in a constituency," the CEC said.
He also rued the growing indifference of educated voters towards the electoral process he said that the more educated a person is the less inclined he is towards exercising his franchise.
The CEC said the commission was committed to the free and fair conduct of elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Mizoram.
Referring to the massive security deployment required in poll-bound states, Gopalaswami said that India, being a large and old democracy, should be able to do away with the need for security arrangements during elections.
"Today muscle and money power are a big concern for free and fair elections. To deal with the muscle, we have to deploy more police and security forces, so that voters can use their (right to) franchise in peaceful manner," the CEC was quoted as saying by the PTI, he was speaking at a function organised by International Goodwill Society of India in New Dew Delhi.
Recalling Uttar Pradesh assembly polls last year, Gopalaswami said the commission had to mobilise nearly 4.55 lakh security personnel to ensure peaceful and fair polls.
The CEC, however, noted that compulsion of holding elections under excessive security arrangements was not a good sign for a democratic country like India.
"Conducting an election at gun point does not really give credit to our democracy, but it has happened," he said, adding that things were improving gradually.
He, meanwhile, said that the elaborate force deployment has also helped in controlling the election-related crimes and infused a sense of security among the voters.
Expressing anguish over the declining polling percentages, he said the trend weakened people's authority to choose a representative in a constituency.
He suggested that 50 per cent of votes should be compulsory polled by a candidate to be declared the winner.
"The voting percentage in several states is as low as 50 per cent. That too is divided among candidates, leading to a situation, where only 15 to 20 per cent of votes are needed by a candidate to win the election," he observed.
"How does one claim to represent the voters, after bagging only 15 per cent of votes to win in a constituency," the CEC said.
He also rued the growing indifference of educated voters towards the electoral process he said that the more educated a person is the less inclined he is towards exercising his franchise.
The CEC said the commission was committed to the free and fair conduct of elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Mizoram.
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