Strengthen Democracy with Electoral Reforms in Federal Bharat
*Professor Madan Mohan Goel
Being a votary of needonomics, I wish to justify electoral reforms including simultaneous elections in the national interest of Federal Bharat. To strengthen democracy from the right perspective, we need to put a two-term limit for the prime minister, chief minister and leader of opposition and also retirement age which will facilitate a wider range of political leaders to prove their potential faithfulness towards the voters. Implementing a two-term limit for the Prime Minister, Chief Minister, and Leader of the Opposition in Bharat could indeed strengthen democracy from multiple perspectives. To support the election reforms including simultaneous elections in a federal Bharat with three-tier government structures can be justified through several key points:
Introducing term limits encourages the rotation of leadership like Rotary International, preventing the consolidation of power within a single individual or party for an extended period. This rotation fosters a more dynamic political landscape, allowing new leaders and ideas to emerge, which is crucial for a healthy democracy.
Incumbent leaders often enjoy significant advantages in elections, including greater name recognition, access to resources, and administrative machinery. Term limits help level the playing field by ensuring that no individual or party can monopolize power indefinitely, thus promoting fair competition and enhancing democratic participation.
Term limits foster greater accountability among elected officials, as they know they have a limited time to deliver on their promises and fulfill their responsibilities. This can lead to more transparent governance, as leaders are incentivized to act in the public interest rather than focusing solely on reelection efforts.
Without term limits, there is a risk of leaders becoming entrenched in power and potentially drifting towards authoritarianism. Moreover, dynastic politics, where power is passed down within families or political elites, can undermine democratic principles of meritocracy and equal opportunity. Term limits help mitigate these risks by ensuring regular turnover of leadership positions.
Term limits create opportunities for a wider pool of political leaders to emerge and demonstrate their capabilities. This promotes meritocracy within the political system, as leaders must prove faithfulness and effectiveness within a limited timeframe. Additionally, term limits incentivize parties to invest in talent development and succession planning, leading to a more robust and diverse leadership pipeline.
Rotating leadership through term limits encourages policy innovation and adaptation to changing circumstances. New leaders bring fresh perspectives and ideas to governance, stimulating debate and experimentation in policy formulation. This dynamism is essential for addressing evolving challenges and opportunities in a rapidly changing world.
By promoting change in leadership and preventing the concentration of power, term limits help build trust in democratic institutions among citizens. When people see that leaders are subject to democratic norms and principles, they are more likely to have confidence in the fairness and integrity of the political system as a whole.
To hold elections at different levels of government at different times can be financially burdensome for both the government and political parties. Meaning thereby bad economics as well as politics but democracy needs checks and breaks. Simultaneous elections consolidate resources and efforts into a single event, reducing overall election expenditure leading to cost efficiency. Frequent elections can lead to political instability and policy discontinuity, as changes in leadership occur at various levels of government. Simultaneous elections promote stability by ensuring synchronized terms for all levels of government, facilitating better continuity in policy formulation and implementation. Separate elections for different levels of government can disrupt governance processes, as officials and resources are diverted towards campaigning. Simultaneous elections minimize these disruptions, allowing elected representatives and government agencies to focus more effectively on their governance responsibilities.
Holding elections simultaneously can mitigate voter fatigue and apathy associated with frequent elections, potentially leading to increased voter turnout. This fosters a more engaged and participatory democracy, which is crucial for effective governance and economic development. Simultaneous elections hold elected officials accountable collectively for their performance across all levels of government. This incentivizes politicians to deliver results across the board, promoting better governance outcomes and responsiveness to citizen needs.
Conducting elections simultaneously streamlines administrative processes such as voter registration, polling logistics, and security arrangements. This leads to cost savings, operational efficiencies, and a more streamlined electoral process. In systems where elections are staggered, political campaigning can become a continuous process, exacerbating polarization and divisiveness within society. Simultaneous elections help mitigate this by consolidating campaigning efforts into a defined period, potentially fostering greater social cohesion.
Overall, simultaneous elections offer numerous advantages in terms of cost-effectiveness, stability, governance efficiency, voter participation, accountability, administrative streamlining, and reduced polarization. While implementation may pose challenges, addressing these issues can lead to a more effective and responsive electoral system that supports sustainable economic development and democratic governance. Implementing term limits and retirement age strengthen democracy by fostering leadership rotation, reducing incumbency advantage, promoting accountability and transparency, preventing authoritarianism and dynastic politics, fostering meritocracy and talent development, enhancing policy innovation and adaptation, and building trust in democratic institutions.
There are several benefits for the Indian economy to become Viksit Bharat:
Frequent elections at different levels can impose a significant financial burden on the government and political parties. Conducting elections simultaneously can reduce this burden by consolidating resources and efforts into a single event. In countries where elections are held at different times for different levels of government, frequent changes in leadership can lead to policy uncertainty and discontinuity. Simultaneous elections could promote stability by ensuring that all levels of government have synchronized terms, allowing for better continuity in policy formulation and implementation. When elections are held separately for different levels of government, it can result in frequent disruptions to governance as officials and resources are diverted towards campaigning. Simultaneous elections could help minimize these disruptions, allowing elected representatives and government agencies to focus more effectively on their governance responsibilities. Holding elections simultaneously at all levels of government could potentially increase voter turnout by reducing voter fatigue and apathy associated with frequent elections. This could lead to a more engaged and participatory democracy, which is essential for a healthy economy. Simultaneous elections can foster greater accountability among elected officials, as they would be judged collectively based on their performance at all levels of government. This could incentivize politicians to deliver results across the board, leading to better governance outcomes. Conducting elections simultaneously could streamline administrative processes related to voter registration, polling logistics, and security arrangements. This could lead to cost savings and operational efficiencies for election authorities and government agencies involved in the electoral process. An academic study by Shri N.K.Singh Chairperson 15th Finance Commission and Ms Prachi Mishra comparing growth before and after simultaneous elections predicted gain of 1.5 percent of GDP (Rs 4.5 trillion) in the year after election. Inflation trends to fall by 1percent more. It has to be noted that fewer elections improve growth, reduce inflation, improve teaching, reduce crime and enhance voting rate. Elections teach many lessons to be researched in right perspectives.
The electoral reforms would require careful consideration of legal, logistical, and constitutional issues. It would also necessitate consensus-building among political parties and stakeholders, as well as robust mechanisms to ensure the integrity and fairness of the electoral process. While simultaneous elections offer potential benefits for the economy and governance, they also present challenges that would need to be addressed through planning and implementation with needo-governance as street SMART (simple, moral, action-oriented, responsive and transparent.
* The writer is former Vice-Chancellor known as Propounder Needonomics School of Thought superannuated Professor of Economics from
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