Elections or lopsided ballot?

A single example should be enough to gauge the paradoxical imbalance woven into the very fabric of India’s electoral process.In the year 1984, the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha was 543. Of those, the Indian National Congress (INC) secured 415 seats. This number remains a record to this day in Indian electoral history, marking the highest number of Lok Sabha seats won by a political party and well beyond the mandated two-thirds majority. Yet, despite this monumental numerical triumph, the Congress party garnered only 48.12% of the total vote share. Put simply, there is a glaring mismatch between the number of seats a party wins and the percentage of votes it actually receives. Even though they seized the reins of power with a commanding two-thirds majority, if one measures their mandate by the percentage of votes, the Congress was effectively running a minority government because they did not have the majority of the electorate backing them.Similarly, in the 2019 general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 303 Lok Sabha seats, the highest seat count ever for the BJP. However, their actual share of the electorate’s vote was a mere 37%. Even though the BJP secured a sweeping majority in parliamentary numbers, governing with that vote percentage still amounts to minority rule.Opinion | Implications of increasing the size of the Lok SabhaThe design of the vehicle of our electoral system is strange. Its front wheels are fully inflated with the air of seat majorities, while its rear wheels are completely deprived of the air of proportional vote share. We need to pay some attention here: an electorate majority is also required to govern. This is the very foundation of democracy. On top of this, this defective vehicle, which is struggling to run on airless tyres of the electoral majority, is being recklessly driven to its ruin by political parties. Take, for instance, the BJP’s desperate push to increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats. It is a dangerous step. Even with the current, smaller number of members, the Lok Sabha is already overflowing with chaos, commotion and confusion. The opinions being expressed are of little substance, with neither genuine debates nor meaningful dialogues. Everything is being decided unilaterally, leaving absolutely no room for the diverse voices of India.In this state of affairs, if these numbers are inflated further, the resulting noise, disarray, senseless rhetoric, and debate-less unilateral decisions will only double. Such an expansion will turn the parliament into a literal battleground. In fact, if the Lok Sabha were reduced by a hundred members, it would actually benefit the dignity of Indian politics, the voters who elect them and the Parliament itself.So, how do we bridge this highly complex crater between the number of seats a party wins and the percentage of votes it commands?Perhaps a party that secures a 303-seat majority with 37% of the vote share should be allowed to govern, only if it forms a coalition with other parties to bring its collective vote share past the 51% mark. The same logic should apply to securing a two-thirds majority. This should be no different from the party which gets 415 seats with a 48.12% vote share. Ultimately, a formula tied to voter percentage must be adopted to restore equilibrium. Only then can we rein in the unbridled whims of political parties that lack self-restraint and ride to power on the back of a seat-majority alone.Opinion | Why 543 should remain 543But is such a correction even possible in today’s political climate? As one dives deeper, the path becomes more complex, complicated, intricate and blurred, with no formula in sight. For our freedom fighters and Constitution framers, achieving the basic goal of voting rights for everyone was nothing short of a miracle. The word ‘miracle’ is no exaggeration here. Perhaps those visionaries entrusted the challenge of solving the glitches that arise in the future to the generations that followed – to us.However, over time, the era when the influence of the freedom struggle and the aspirations for independence were alive gave way to the next generation, which fell into a state of status quo. Now, under the rule of the RSS and BJP, which are in the grip of corporate capitalism, even that status quo no longer exists. In fact, everything is now moving backward! In such a dire situation, does anyone have the sensibility and credibility to insist that the percentage of vote share is also necessary to gain a majority to govern?Sadly, today’s political parties completely lack imagination and maturity. This is a daunting task for the older generation as well. While a few scattered thinkers might possess this foresight, they lack the ability to sow these ideas and cultivate active engagement within the wider community.Within this grim reality lies another thought or apprehension, which has appeared like yet another knot. Currently, no one counts or cares for a party that receives 1% of the vote, whether in Parliament or in legislative elections. Isn’t it only fair that a party securing even 1% of the vote in the Lok Sabha or State Assemblies receives 1% representation? Wouldn’t a pluralistic, diverse India finally make space for all its vibrant variations if this were implemented? A diversity of voices would undoubtedly enrich India’s legislature. But how can we devise a formula that accomplishes this, while being suitable for India and without undermining regional identity and constitutional reservations? Would it make sense to define states as the electoral boundary for the Lok Sabha and districts for the State Assemblies? Would the Nepal model be appropriate here? For a new formula that suits India, we must now turn to the creative brilliance and novel approaches of our Gen Z, with hope.The way in which time turns the tables is truly astonishing. Not long ago, our older generation had dismissed this very generation, believing that they have neither social responsibility nor political awareness, that they live as if utterly disconnected even while the world around them is in flames, and that they have no inkling of the freedom struggle and are apathetic toward the Constitution. Who knows if they have even heard of Gandhi, Phule, or Ambedkar? And then, one day, this new generation literally shook us out of our skin.At that moment, at that precise moment, the Goddess of Justice opened her inner eye—the moment when India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant casually uttered some random words: “unemployed youths”, “social media”, “RTI”, “workers”, “environmentalists”, “attack the system”, “parasites”, and “cockroaches”. At that precise moment, while we all sat steeped in grave worry and sheer helplessness, a young man studying abroad triggered a shockwave with, “Yes, we are cockroaches.”Ignited by the heat of this shockwave, the latent intellectual energy of Generation Z, seemingly isolated in their own cocoons, suddenly awakened. The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) was born. This collective of youth swarmed the length and breadth of a country that had been feeding on bitterness, buzzing like bees, offering honey to one and all. From the very depths of their souls, resounding cheers erupted at Jantar Mantar for Gandhi, Ambedkar, Nehru, and the Constitution. Where had all that been hiding within them?Could it be that while communal forces were busy riding the coattails of India’s freedom struggle, striving to systematically dismantle Gandhi, Ambedkar, Nehru, and the Constitution, did the consciousness of India find a flash of inspiration on its own for survival?While we older folks merely debated the calligraphies and corpuses of Gandhi, Ambedkar, Nehru, the Constitution, and champions of equality like Karl Marx and Lohia, was this new generation possibly observing all this quietly? It is as if, while biding their time, they absorbed the true spirit of these philosophies to confront the present. Perhaps from this, they picked up a worldview that allows them to feel the pulse of the people and acquired this astonishing creativity. And maybe this has brought about the renaissance to Satyagraha as well?The scenes of the “Gen Z Satyagraha” at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar were entirely fresh, original and unprecedented. Their songs, satire, art, idioms, and slogans were all fiercely sharp. Without resorting to empty rhetoric, the entire atmosphere vividly expressed what needed to be said, never letting the core message fade away. It was as if there were an earthy intelligence at work, more like swarm intelligence — leadership without leaders, like the bees.Watching this, it felt as though this possessed a natural, intellectual brilliance capable of replacing our stagnant primary education and revitalising the art of teaching literature, science, history, sociology, and more, of course through online platforms. If this happens, India will bloom.The profound impact Gen Z has had on the older generation is immense. After the Satyagraha concluded, Arundhati Roy was seen walking and chatting near Jantar Mantar. She had turned into a little girl, looking twenty years younger. She was saying, “...I swear I can die in peace now... I will die smiling...” Shortly after, Krupakar and Senani appeared. What a marvel! They too were glowing as if they had reclaimed their youth. These days I too find myself trailing this younger generation.Why am I sharing all of this? Because I now believe that the organic spirit of this new generation has the power to balance the scales of our skewed electoral system and restore justice.