The Indian Voter is largely mute under the current system of
formation of the government. Is there no option then for the voter to do
anything except feel impotent outrage and express vitriolic anger to friends,
acquaintances, colleagues, family and social media? Actually there is a
solution. It requires a leap in the way the government is formed after the
drama of the Great Indian Election.
As things stand now, the party with the largest number of
seats (including those that they have got by themselves as well as those that
they have bought by offering sops, spots, ministries or money) is invited to
form the government. This is the second part of Sharad Pawar’s statement (“BJP
will be the largest Party but NDA will not get enough seats” – this is
paraphrased but the gist is the same as Pawar’s statement). So what happens is that there is a lot of
wheeling and dealing and one Party make the requisite number of seats to form the
government.
Consider the Elections as a humungous interview. Every
citizen is on the interview panel. Each candidate is evaluated by their employers
(who, in a democracy are the citizens of the country). Every constituency has multiple candidates
vying for the post of MP (MLA or even Corporater). The voters of each constituency
are analysing the candidates in their constituency. Why only constituency, the interviews,
evaluation, analysis is happening at Centre level. The voters within each centre created for casting the vote are
analysing the candidates’ worth in representing them. After the evaluation of
the candidates, the employer (voter) has made choices – there is one candidate
with the highest number of votes, there is a second, third and so on. The
assumption is that the voter has selected the candidate they feel is the most
appropriate for the role of representing them. This is Voter Speak. This is the decision that
has to be heard.
Now instead of waiting for one Party to make the number
(272), what if the President invited all the elected members to form the
government. There are a total of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha. After the votes
are cast and counted, there will be 543 elected candidates. All these
elected candidates, irrespective of the Party they belong to, should have the
responsibility of forming and running the government together. The Party with
the majority votes can nominate the Prime Minister, but all other portfolios
should be distributed only within the
candidates in whom the populace has reposed their faith.
If this model is introduced, it will benefit the country in
innumerable ways.
First: It will end power concentration in Parties. If there
is no “ruling” Party, the unbridled arrogance and power resting in the hands of
a few will end.
Second: It will cut down and control corruption; if not
eradicate it totally. No horse trading; money for alliances or shield of Party
power would mean that the most deserving person will get the job (portfolio).
Third: It will end the biggest drain of the taxpayer and
common man – there will be no more scams. In the last decade India has been
riddled with scams of such vast sums that most people cannot even “see” the
number in their heads. If the government has members from all Parties, no
single person will have the audacity to commit large-scale scams since all
their colleagues will be watching them and making them answerable.
Fourth: The elected members will do a better job in taking
care of their constituencies. In this model, getting re-elected would depend
solely on merit and performance. Under the current model, even if a person had
failed dramatically, their chance of getting power is high if the Party they
are in assumes power. In the proposed
model, only candidates who have performed well will get an extension by their employers
(voters). Accountability, transparency
and ownership will all automatically come into play for the 5 yearly appraisals
(read: elections).
Fifth: A government so formed cannot renege from the duties
and responsibilities entrusted in it by the citizens of the country. If the State
government in Delhi had been formed using this model, today there would still
be a functioning government in the State instead of it being left to Governor’s
rule after Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) threw a tantrum and resigned.
They failed their voters immeasurably. This proposed model would ensure that there
is no repeat of such a situation at any level.
So by the simple expedient of changing the way the
government is formed, India could change its fortunes; its present and its future.
Sujata Garimella