Elections and electoral reforms in India: Some questions on their effectiveness and success

Abstract

Elections are indispensable to any political system which claims itself democratic. The connection between elections and governance has been one of the important foci in the studies on democracy in both Western and non-Western world. India has been considered as one of the examples of successful democracy in developing societies. The standard argument given for its success is elections which are being conducted since the time of India's inception as republic to present time. However, elections in India are not always smooth and there have been many problems associated with elections. To overcome the problems associated with elections in India, various reforms were brought and many more may be put into practice in future. The crux of these reforms is to enhance the quality of democracy in India. The problem that needs to be discussed on enhancing the quality of democracy in India is whether mere serious attention at electoral reforms is required or whether there is need of paying attention to other reforms that common people in India are eagerly waiting for. Democracy in India needs to be discussed by considering all the aspects which enhance the quality of democracy. The very complexity of the connection between elections and their reforms demands investigation on their effectiveness and success.