'Grant EC powers to punish candidates for false disclosures'

Ahead of key polls in India, a new book by an Indian-American scholar has called for major electoral reforms like granting the Election Commission powers to punish candidates who file misleading financial disclosures and getting party accounts independently audited.
The book 'When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics' written by Milan Vaishnav and published by the Yale University is the first of its kind that looks into the nexus between crime and politics.
"Grant the Election Commission new powers to punish candidates who file false or misleading financial disclosures. Require disclosure of all political contributions and insist on independently-audited party accounts. Link political party registration and tax benefits to basic democratic and transparency standards and create a new legal mechanism to adjudicate cases where MLAs, MPs stand accused of serious crimes," Vaishnav told PTI.

"Voters are voting for criminal candidates ... Despite their criminal involvments. Voters are aware of the background of the people they are voting for. They are not ignorant. But they are making a calculation that these are the people who can best represent our interest," the book says.
In the book, which hit the stands this week, Vaishnav, who is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC, looks at how elections are financed, how individuals who have criminal records, often of serious nature are recruited into politics by political parties, how they connect with the voters, how they are able to not only to survive in politics but actually thrive in politics.

Voting to elect new assemblies in five Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur will kick off on February 4 with polling planned in seven phases.

"We are at a place now where 34 per cent of Lok Sabha MPs face criminal cases, 21 per cent of Lok Sabha MPs face serious cases. These are cases that if there were a conviction would merit real jail time. This is not just a national phenomenon. Approximately 31 per cent of MLAs face cases and 15 per cent of MLAs face serious cases," he said.
As elections, have got increasingly expensive, parties are looking for candidates who can pay their own way, he observed.

"That means they can pay cost for campaigning. They can pay parties for tickets. They can subsidies other candidates, who are contesting, who may not have resources. There are limited number of people in India, who have ability to pay and willingness to pay. And those who are attached to some kind of criminal activities are one important category," he said.
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"So there is a huge wealth advantage. If you look at those candidates with criminal cases they are all clustered towards the rich end. What's interesting is that even if parties select candidates who may have questionable background, at the end of the day, voter is going to the polling booth and pushing the button for them," he said.

It also seeks to invest in reforming the rule of law "supply chain," from outmoded laws and understaffed police services to backlogged courts, and experiment with new incentives that rewards positive bureaucratic performance.
"Because in a situation where the rule of law is weak, where the government can't effectively carry out its basic responsibilities and you have deep social tensions, by caste, religion and communal groups these figures are able to use their criminality as the sign of their credibility to get things done for their group, and not necessarily for the public at large. So they are able to portray themselves as their saviors, as Robinhood," Vaishnav said.

If one wants to address the problem, the top Indian- American scholar said one has to go beyond simply informing voters that a particular candidate has cases against him.
"Constraint is not the lack of information. Constraint is the lack of governance. Until people believe that State can impartially deliver core services, dispense justice, provide basis law and order, they are going to seek some strong men who would be able to deliver those things and give them some kind of insurance," he said.
"There is a vibrant marketplace for criminal politicians in India. This market has very clear supply and demand factors. Increasingly expensive elections compel parties to embrace wealthy candidates. Hence, money is a prime motivator for seeking out 'muscle'," the book concludes.

"The only solution to the problem is to improve the quality of governance," he said, but acknowledged that this is something that can't happen overnight.
"Greater transparency is not sufficient to curb support for criminal politicians. Unless state capacity grows, criminal politicians will continue to exploit a governance vacuum. Criminal politicians can actually thrive in the context of democratic accountability. Voters do not blindly support them," the book concludes.
Vaishnav in the book argues that to address the marketplace for criminal politicians, reformers have to operate at two speeds.
Observing that there is misconception in India that money
buys election, he said: "Money does not buys election. Money does not guarantee victory. Money does guarantees you a seat at the table, makes you competitive. So basically we are at the point now where 82 per cent of Lok Sabha MPs are crorepatis."

"It is hard to be successful in politics either at the State level or national level unless you are personally wealthy or can raise significant funds That does not mean you win, but you have a chance of winning."
Those who do not have resources are hardly being considered, he said.
Responding to a question on demonetisation, Vaishnav said unless the government is willing to take complementary steps on cleaning up and reforming political finance, it will not have a long-term impact.
"Because what you have done essentially is to create a short-term cash crunch. So it is likely that in the upcoming Assembly elections, yes everybody has taken a hit. Unless you are going to take long term measures, demonetization is not going to tackle this issue," he said.