There is an urgent need to democratise the political parties which are the very heart and soul of a democratic regime. Political parties often are accused of partisan functioning during ticket distribution, a charge that can’t be shrugged off if the internal working of the party gets a democratic set-up
One is compelled to believe that reforms can’t be incorporated, and if incorporated, it will remain ineffective till the time political organisations understand their responsibility towards the citizens and establish internal democracy within their parties. Neither political parties nor the Government can make this democracy a democracy unless political parties themselves introduce it in the internal working of their parties. The Indian democracy is incomplete without the intra-party democracy. The political parties cannot be a “dictatorship internally and democratic in its functioning outside.”
Political parties are an essential part of the electoral system in the democratic country. It must be understood that the foundation of a democratic nation and conduction of free and fair election can’t be settled on the undemocratic roots. Internal democracy in political organisation can’t be witnessed in India. Either there is a single man stranglehold or a single-family ascendancy in the party. How these political parties function, whether elections take place internally or not, what all are the functioning procedures of a political party, what are the minimum set of rules, all these questions remain unanswered for all outsiders. However, lack of transparency within the political parties is a great gamble on the public at large.
On June 16, 1949, Pandit Hriday Nath Kunzru, during a debate in the Constituent Assembly, had said: “If we cannot expect common honesty from persons occupying the highest positions in the discharge of their duties, the foundation for responsible government is wanting and the outlook for the future is indeed gloomy.”
We have witnessed in last few years that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has targeted the Congress party for dynastic politics. It is not a hidden fact that from 2001 to 2017, Sonia Gandhi was elected as the president of the party without a contest. This was not the first time when the family dominated in the party; same was the case at the time of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and now with Rahul Gandhi. The domination of the Nehru-Gandhi family in the INC is unquestionable. And this is not a problem with the Congress alone.
Regional parties are also on the same page or a step ahead of them. Such parties do not have any democratic-decision making and are built around a towering leader. Their leader’s whims and fancies are the party’s policies. Some of the most suited examples are the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Shiv Sena, the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) or the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Their internal politics or policy-making revolves around single person or single family.
170th Report of the Law Commission of India
Here, the Commission recommended for a regulatory framework dealing with internal structures and inner democracy of parties, financial transparency, etc, and in the chapter titled “Necessity of providing laws relating to internal democracy within parties”, it was highlighted that:
“If democracy and accountability constitute the core of our constitutional system, the same concepts must also apply to and bind the political parties which are integral to parliamentary democracy. It is the political parties that form the government, man the Parliament and run the governance of the country. It is, therefore, necessary to introduce internal democracy, financial transparency and accountability in the working of the political parties. A political party which does not respect democratic principles in its internal working cannot be exposed to respect those principles in the governance of the country. It cannot be dictatorship internally and democratic in its functioning outside.”
There are certain areas which need immediate concern:
1. “Structural and organisational reforms: Party organisations -national, State and local levels inner party democracy - regular party elections, recruitment of party cadre, socialisation, development and training, research, thinking and policy planning activities of the party.
2. Party system and governance - Mechanism to make parties viable instruments of good governance.
3. Institutionalisation of political parties - need for a comprehensive legislation to regulate party activities, criteria for registration as a national or State party, de-recognition of parties.
Powerless Election Commission
In recent time, no such provision is there with regard to intra-party democracy. There is just one “Section 29A of the RPA, 1951” incorporated through an amendment in 1989 dealing with registration of political parties with the ECI, but this section is also nowhere related with the internal functioning and working mechanism of the political parties since it is only limited to registration.
Now, in the absence of any statutory backing, the Election Commission’s power is somewhat compromised when it comes to holding internal elections for the office-bearers or in case of candidate selection. Ironically, the ECI cannot take suo-motu cognizance and has no power to de-register or cancel the registration of any political party on ground of the violation of the Constitution of India or breaching the undertaking annexed at the time of registration. While dealing with the writ petitions, the Supreme Court in 2002 in Indian National Congress (I) v. Institute of Social Welfare & Ors., observed that, “neither under the Symbols Order nor under Section 29A of the Act, the Election Commission has been conferred with any express power to de-register a political party registered under Section 29A of the Act on the ground that it has either violated the provisions of the Constitution or any provision of undertaking given before the Election Commission at the time of its registration.”
255th Report of the Law Commission of India
By this report, the Commission made certain recommendations on intra-party democracy, such as:
1. Need for an amendment to Section 29A(5) of the RPA, 1951, binding political parties to add specifically in their memorandum to “shun violence for political gains, and avoid discrimination or distinction based on race, caste, creed, language or place of residence”
2. Insertion of new part in the RPA, 1951 for “Regulation of Political Parties” dealing in formation and constitution of political parties, procedure for voting, candidate selection, and regular election, etc.
3. Insertion of a special provision empowering the ECI to de-register or cancel the registration.
Conclusion
There is an urgent need to democratise the political parties which are the very heart and soul of a democratic regime. Political parties often are accused of partisan functioning during ticket distribution; a charge that can’t be shrugged off if the internal working of the party gets a democratic set-up. Also, it has been noted that various posts in the party are held by powerful and influential people who often convince the party leadership to do away with formal internal elections. This leads to favouritism, corruption and in many cases shifting of member between parties. Corruption is caused by over-centralisation since “the more remotely power is exercised from the people, the greater is the distance between authority and accountability.” These are implications of the fact that provisions related to intra-party democracy are most of the time ignored and put on the shelf.
(The writers are advocates based in New Delhi)