Simultaneous election to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies will limit the amount of time and money spent in electioneering but it a will reduce the government’s accountability to the people. Discuss.
Karl Marx remarked that the Englishmen were free ones in five years, while exercising their ballot. The absence of political avenues to express dissatisfaction with the government has led people to often resort to disruptive protests. Expression of voter discontent against government (ruling party) has been widely witnessed. The prominent role played by anti-incumbency factor during elections is well documented across the world. Citizens are able to express grievances with the ruling party effectively only during the next elections. There is often a sentiment of punishing the ruling party for misrule or rewarding the ruling dispensation for effective governance and development.
Absence of instruments such as Right to Recall has decreased political accountability in India. Post elections there are few avenues left for the individual to express displeasure with the government. Judicial mechanisms such as PIL and protests (often peaceful) are the main means by which a people can express their grievances.
In India, political parties have kept a tab on voter sentiment by interpreting the voting pattern of local body elections, by-elections, etc. These provide a correct representation of people’s preference for a particular party/policy.
Some sections in the political spectrum have sought simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. They have given various reasons such as governance deficit because the parties remain in poll mode and are not able to deliver on the governance front. Enormous wastage of time and money due to frequent elections are also given as ill effects of frequent elections. Critics have opined that such simultaneous elections would decrease political accountability.
Some have felt that national parties might fare well if there was simultaneous elections. But, Indian voters have been known for their astute and smart voting behaviors . There has been preferential variance in selection of different parties for Lok Sabha and state legislature. Regional parties have been enjoyed more clout in state elections and national parties have often enjoyed increased preference in Lok Sabha elections.
Though frequent elections are detrimental, the voter satisfaction enjoyed by means of expressing themselves cannot be underestimated. Elections are the ultimate tools of expression in a democracy. Hence it may not be always preferable to club elections. Given that some or the other election is always happening somewhere in India, Marx would probably have had difficulty in counting the number of days Indians are free.