ELECTORAL INTEGRITY IN INDIA: CONSTITUTIONAL VISION, CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES AND PATHWAYS TO REFORM

Abstract

Elections are the bedrock of democracy. They provide the basis on which our democracy’s legitimacy rests. Yet in India, the sanctity of elections has often been undermined by recurring challenges. The highest level of judiciary have consistently upheld and reinforced the import of free and fair elections identifying them as part of the Constitution’s Basic Structure. However, electoral practice continues to suffer from structural deficits- the dominance of money and muscle power, divisive sloganeering bordering on communalism and casteism, the criminalization of politics and growing mistrust in the independence of the Election Commission.

This paper critically examines these concerns through constitutional, judicial and comparative perspectives and supplies reforms to realign practice with principle. The main argument is that India’s democracy cannot continue as a mere procedural exercise, it requires substantive electoral integrity rooted in Dr Ambedkar’s vision of constitutional morality.