Role of Election Commission in India With Special Reference to Its Election Reforms A Critical Study

Abstract

Elections form the basis of democratic polity. Conducting elections at regular intervals indeed constitute the bedrock of the democracy wherein citizens reflect their beliefs, values and attitudes towards the political system. Therefore, free and fair elections are indispensable for the success of the democracy. In India the responsibility to conduct and administer the election process has been entrusted to the Election Commission - an autonomous constitutional body, established on January 25, 1950. The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, State legislative Councils, and the high ranking posts of the President and Vice President of India. Nonetheless, over the years the electoral system has been facing many stages and stultifying factors. In fact, such maladies push the anti-social elements to jump into the electoral fray. In order to prevent electoral malpractices the Election Commission has expressed its concerns and therefore put forth several recommendations via the Goswami Committee, election commission s recommendations report and Inderjit Gupta Committee regarding electoral reforms. In this background, this study is a modest attempt to explore the responsibility of Election Commission in conducting, regulating, and directing elections both at Centre and State levels. Furthermore, this piece of work examine the role of Election Commission towards the election reforms in India at all levels. newlineKeywords: Election Commission of India, Organizational Structure, Conduct Election at Central and State levels, Election Reforms. newline newline