In India, we have three seasons:  the festival season, cricket and then the election season.  Of these, the schedule for festivals and cricket tourneys appears to have at least some regularity and order.  After all, it is not too difficult to figure out on which date the Ganesh Puja falls or when an India vs. Pakistan match is, in a given year.  But speaking of the Indian election season, it could be upon us like a bin bulaye mehmaan.

Over the past five decades, the representational base of our legislatures has definitely broadened.  Unfortunately, this has not translated into more number of women as MLAs or MPs.  The representation of women in Lok Sabha has remained more or less stagnant at a very low 9% over the years.

The recent sting operations exposing sleaze of MPs certainly stirred the nation. These exposés pose a formidable challenge to the legitimacy of our political system. But the Government’s frenetic efforts to provide state funding for elections, is a classic prescription of placebos for a deep-rooted political malaise.  Public funding in itself, like placebos or vitamins, is harmless, even desirable. But this knee-jerk response does not address the underlying crisis. Two issues need elaboration.

Whenever people in general, and pundits in particular, talk about the state of democracy in our country their discussion is limited to talking about the ills plaguing our system. We all know that flawed electoral rolls, polling irregularities, vote buying, unaccountable use of money in elections, criminalisation of politics and the curse of defections are some of the topics which keep the people engaged. Indeed, these are serious abuses of power. However, instead of simply ranting about them, why not look at the solutions in a holistic way?

dir="ltr">A glaring feature of this election is the large number of politicians switching party loyalties before the polls. In states where Assembly elections are held simultaneously, these pre-election defections are even more glaring. The ninety-seventh amendment to the Constitution, which became law only a few weeks ago, disqualifies all elected legislators who violate party whip irrespective of the size of the defecting faction. The earlier provision recognizing a ‘split’ if a third of the members defect has been repealed. But no law can prevent the pre-election defection.

dir="ltr">One of the important features of Indian polity since 1996 is the rise of coalition culture at the union level. After decades of single-party dominance, we are now getting used to coalition governments. Happily, coalition governments have proved to be stable and conducive to economic growth. This experience forced Congress to forge pre-electoral alliances just as BJP did in 1998. Clearly, in the foreseeable future we will have coalition governments at the national level. This is a welcome development, as only a coalition will reflect India’s diversity.

dir="ltr">The gruesome murder of Satyendra Kumar Dubey could well turn out to be one of the defining events of our time. This ghastly incident and the circumstances surrounding it focused media attention on our governance failure and channelized middle-class ire as never before. Politicians and civil servants would do well to listen carefully to the public and respond constructively to address the crises underlying this tragic episode.

dir="ltr">This week, following the Election Commission’s recommendation, the Union government enhanced the election expenditure limits of candidates. For major states, the ceiling for  Assembly now is Rs. 10 lakhs (Rs. 6 lakh earlier), and for Lok Sabha it is  Rs. 25 lakhs (Rs. 15 lakh earlier). This revision became necessary with the recent change of law which plugged the loophole by including party expenditure in ceiling limits. Electioneering costs money, and the new legislation created tax incentive for legitimate funding for political activity.

dir="ltr">The recent bomb blasts in Mumbai, and the death and devastation that followed brought home to us once again the