Opinion Independents since 1947
Will the next Lok Sabha break a long-term trend?
Dr Manmohan Singhs foot-in-mouth statement calling independents spoilers came at a time when in Britain,from where we have borrowed much of our constitutional provisions,a movement is under way to again question political parties dominance: Jury Team,an organisation which attempts to promote the candidature of independents for the British and European parliaments. Yet power has been moving away from independents ever since the inception of our democracy. In the first Lok Sabha,there were 37,with 16 per cent of the vote; 42,with 20 per cent vote share in the second; but in the third,there were only 20,and their vote-share fell to 11. By 1971,when Indira Gandhis Congress faction was vindicated at the hustings,the impact of the dominance of political parties on the number of independents was evident: 14,with 8.38 per cent of the vote,were returned. The trend stayed downwards: 9,with 5.5 per cent vote share in the sixth,till it reached 6 with 2.74 per cent in the last Lok Sabha and 5 with 4.25 per cent vote share in this one.
Even more clearly,from the first to the fourth Lok Sabhas,independents,in terms of their vote share,ranked second after the undivided Congress. From the sixth to the eleventh Lok Sabhas,their vote-share was either third or fourth. But in the twelfth and thirteenth,their vote share was ranked 10 and 11.
Still,whatever the PMs belief,the Congress has hardly walked the walk. After all,they committed the horrendous constitutional crime of appointing the sole independent MLA,Madhu Koda,as Jharkhand chief minister in 2006. A CM heads a state,and is charged with a specific manifesto for governance approved by popular elections; an independent MLA gains no such mandate from the people.
Still its worthwhile to remember that the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act,in essence,prescribe two major qualifications for membership to the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies: one must be a citizen of India,and not be less than 25 years of age. Party affiliation was not mentioned,with cause. Even so,candidates belonging to political parties have always viewed independents with distrust. Sanity has always prevailed upon our law-makers and election managers; never once has a restriction on contesting independents been suggested. Even when conducting elections was difficult,in the 80s,in terrorist-infested Punjab,the law was amended temporarily to avoid countermanding of elections due to the death of independent candidates. (This temporary provision was later made in 1996.)
What the Constitution and the law do not allow is the admission of independents into political parties. Strangely,nominated members are permitted to formally join parties within 6 months of their nomination. With an eye to political stability,independents should also be permitted the liberty to subscribe to the ideals,policies and programmes of any political party within a short time of their election,so that they do turn into,if not spoilers,then kingmakers.
Again,after the Constitution was amended for the 91st time in 2003,independents,after being disqualified for defection,are not barred from holding the offices of ministers; but disqualified members belonging to political parties are. (Dr Singh has turned a blind eye to spoilers enjoying this extraordinary constitutional privilege during his entire term.)
In a democracy which practises the first-past-the-post system of elections,individuals have precedence over parties. However,over more than half a century of our democracy,political parties have so far occupied a predominant place thereby considerably reducing the number of independents in legislatures. The fear that Dr Singh expressed was of a possible increase in the number of independents in the fifteenth Lok Sabha,and a consequent erosion of that predominance. Already,two states have come under presidents rule Jharkhand in January and Meghalaya in March in which popular rule has not been restored because of the uncertainty created by independents.
The solution,however,does not lie in venting ire on them. The system should aid their assimilation as stable constituents instead of allowing them to remain reckless free-floaters. Independents should be incentivised to join a political party within three months of their election and until that time,should perhaps be disentitled to vote on confidence motions. Till the Constitution and law are amended,political parties must also agree to deny them ministerial berths,as they have no nation- or state-wide agenda for governance. The spurious permission in Articles 75 and 164,which facilitates disqualified independents ministerial berths,should be shaved off. Governmental stability in the fifteenth Lok Sabha will otherwise be marred by independents,as rightly sensed by Dr Singh. But sense without sincerity is senselessness.
The writer is the secretary of the Goa Legislative Assembly
express@expressindia.com
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