August 4, 2016
Nadimul Haque makes a Special Mention on electoral reforms
According to a report published by a think tank, 80 per cent of the funds to major political parties come from unknown sources. The sources of 82.5 percent of the Congress’s income, 73 percent of the BJP’s income and 53 percent of the CPI-M’s income are unknown.
We have seen that in Tamil Nadu, the polls were cancelled in the Aravakurichi and Thanjavur Assembly segments after media reports of bribing voters surfaced. The Election Commission noted that money power is disturbing the level playing field and vitiating the purity of elections.
Unregulated, undisclosed and opaque political funding can threaten the very fabric of democracy and governance. While a small, resource-strapped political party may struggle to make ends meet, the parties receiving crores of black money have an undue advantage.
In the recently concluded Assembly elections, the Maa, Mati, Manush of the State blessed All India Trinamool Congress with 211 seats.
However, election reforms are the need of the hour in India. State funded elections are a necessity for weeding out corruption in this vibrant democracy. The Government of India and the Election Commission (EC) should sit together to work on a ‘model’ on how to go about it for the larger interest of the country.
