In a rare intervention in an otherwise tepid and often predictable election to the Rajya Sabha, the Election Commission on Friday was forced to stop counting of votes at some places following reports of horse-trading. The decision followed seizure of over Rs 2 crore from a vehicle allegedly owned by a relative of one of the candidates in Jharkhand by the income tax department a day before polls. Whatever the verdict of the Election Commission on the disputed elections, the fact that money power, and not articulation of political interests of the states, is playing a greater role in elections to the upper house of Parliament is a cause of worry.
For decades, the Rajya Sabha has been used for failed or defeated politicians to make a backdoor entry into Parliament, but the entry of money bags was an exception, rather than the rule. Recently this changed and even so-called national parties have been seeking to reward industrialists and big businessmen with Rajya Sabha tickets in return for their services.
Till a few years ago, there was semblance of a legal hurdle in their entry to Rajya Sabha in the form of domicile laws, which made it incumbent that the candidate should be a resident of the state he/she represented. The removal of this condition has resulted in the weird spectacle of almost all parties nominating candidates who have had no political association with the state they supposedly represented whatsoever, defeating the very purpose of the upper chamber of Parliament envisaged in the Constitution. This in turn opened the floodgates for men with money with no commitment to either the state or a political ideology to enter the august House.
The bizarre display of money power in recent elections shows it is time to revisit rules for Rajya Sabha elections. The requirement of domicile must be restored to convert the House into a real Council of States in the true spirit of India’s federal polity. The election should be through open voting and not secret ballot to prevent horse-trading.