Elections Archives | Law and Other Things

Constitutional Law, Supreme Court of India

Hung Assembly, Governor and the Constitutional Conundrum

Lovish Garg/May 18, 2018May 18, 2018 /1 Comment

The Karnataka assembly polls resulted in a fractured mandate with no single party able to secure a majority in the house of 224 seats. While the BJP which emerged as the single largest party fell short of the majority figure by 8 seats; in a rather dramatic turn of events the incumbent Congress offered unconditional…

Uncategorized

Why has the opposition to the Congress in Maharashtra always been so weak?

Vinay Sitapati/October 27, 2009December 27, 2016 /2 Comments

The Maharashtra elections results can’t be explained by Raj Thackeray alone, as I argue in this opinion piece in today’s Indian Express. The larger question is why the opposition to the Congress in Maharasthra has historically been so lame. Another question, which my piece doesn’t answer, is why certain states (Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh for instance)…

Uncategorized

Delay in selecting ministers: good or bad?

Tarunabh Khaitan/May 28, 2009December 27, 2016 /5 Comments

This editorial in the Telegraph laments the fact that the formation of the council of ministers took twelve days:This inordinate delay in forming a team that is supposed to present to the nation an effective government creates a very sorry spectacle of the prime minister and the Congress president. The delay can only be read…

Uncategorized

More interesting comments on Verdict 2009

Harish Narsappa/May 27, 2009December 27, 2016 /6 Comments

Arun has in an earlier post already drawn attention to certain views about what Verdict 2009 means. I found two comments which are very interesting. The first is by Ashis Nandy in the latest Tehelka titled “End of Arrogance-The Hour of the Untamed Cosmopolitan” (here). The second is the Editorial comment in the latest EPW…

Uncategorized

Analysis of the 2009 General Elections: Contrasting views

Arun Thiruvengadam/May 20, 2009December 27, 2016 /1 Comment

As is perhaps to be expected, not all analysts agree on how we should interpret the results of the recently concluded general elections. Of the early analysis, I have been struck by three commentaries on the elections which form the subject of this post. The first is that offered by Pratap Bhanu Mehta which conforms…

Uncategorized

Electoral Verdict to Spur Reforms

Umakanth Varottil/May 18, 2009December 27, 2016 /Leave a comment

With the return of the Congress government to power and with Dr. Manmohan Singh set to continue as Prime Minister, corporate India is likely to witness a series of reforms in the near future. Unlike the previous stint where the Government was hamstrung by coalition politics (but nevertheless achieving a record rate of economic growth),…

Uncategorized

Decline in number of contesting Lok Sabha candidates with criminal records

Namita Wahi/April 22, 2009December 27, 2016 /7 Comments

Analysis by the Times of India indicates an approximately 30 per cent decline in the count of candidates with criminal records contesting the present Lok Sabha elections as compared to the statistics for the 2004 elections. While there may be many factors responsible for this decline, it is evident that civil society efforts such as…

Uncategorized

No Criminals in Politics

Namita Wahi/March 7, 2009December 27, 2016 /6 Comments

As India goes to elections in a month’s time, there is a pervading sense of concern and of dismay about the candidates, political parties and alliances that form part of the electoral canvas. A staggering 20% of the current members of Parliament have criminal records, some of whom have charges of heinous crimes such as…

Uncategorized

PRS Conference on Effective Legislatures

Namita Wahi/January 28, 2009December 27, 2016 /Leave a comment

In previous posts on this blog available here and here, I summarised the panel discussions at the PRS Conference on Effective Legislatures held at New Delhi, on December 5th, 2008. The discussion papers circulated at the conference, official transcripts of the panel discussions as well as summaries of the panel proceedings are all now available…

Uncategorized

Interview with J.M.Lyngdoh

V.Venkatesan/January 12, 2009December 27, 2016 /Leave a comment

Over at the Social Blog, Arun and Aditya interview J.M.Lyngdoh, former Chief Election Commissioner on a range of issues including private funding of elections, and elections to students’ unions on which he has given a controversial report to the Supreme Court. Lyngdoh’s sympathies with the yearning for franchise for the migrant middle class voters and…