PRAHAAR ReDEFINED 3.

0: INDIAN CONSTITUTION & POLITY

32.REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLES’ ACT

INTRODUCTION
• The Representation of Peoples’ Act, 1950 was enacted by the provisional Parliament of India before the first
General elections in the country under Article 327 of the Constitution.
• It provides for the allocation of seats and the delimitation of constituencies for the purpose of Lok Sabha and State
Legislature elections, the qualifications of voters, electoral rolls, and filling up seats in Rajya Sabha by the
representatives of Union Territories.
• The Representation of Peoples’ Act, 1951 provides for the actual conduct of elections of the Houses of the
Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State.

KEY FEATURES OF THE ACT

• It regulates how elections and by-elections are held.
• It provides the administrative infrastructure for holding elections.
• It deals with political party registration.
• It defines the requirements and disqualifications for House membership.
• It consists of laws to combat corruption and other offenses.
• It outlines the procedure for resolving problems and controversies resulting from elections.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ACT

• Implementation of democracy: The Act provides for the implementation of the provisions of the Constitution and
ensures that democracy materialises in the country and fills voids such as the term of Rajya Sabha members etc.
• Ensuring equality: The provisions of one electoral roll for Lok Sabha and assembly elections, prohibiting registration
in more than one constituency ensures equality of citizens.
• Decriminalisation: The provisions regarding disqualification from membership of Parliament and State legislature
ensure decriminalisation of politics.
• Transparency: The provisions regarding the declaration of assets and liabilities, right to information of electors etc.
ensure transparency regarding the candidates in the elections.
• Free and fair elections: The provisions regarding corrupt practices and electoral officers provide for the
decriminalisation of politics.

CHALLENGES
• Ruling party advantage: The RPAs do not contain clear provisions and guidelines on reducing the advantage to the
ruling party in terms of misuse of official machinery and electoral funding. E.g. BJP has received around 95% of its
funding through electoral bonds.
• Stopping criminal elements: Even after provisions in RPAs around 43% of MPs in the present Lok Sabha have
criminal cases pending against them.
• Social media: Social media has blurred the silence period of election campaigning and also enables micro-level
targeting of voters.
• Power to de-register parties: ECI does not have the power to de-register political parties that do not contest
elections and are merely for receiving funds.
• Bureaucratisation of politics: ECI does not have its own official machinery and has to depend on the government,
which is not conducive to free and fair elections.

OFFICIAL MACHINERY UNDER THE ACT FOR CONDUCT OF ELECTION

The RPA, 1950 and RPA, 1951 provide the following official machinery for the conduct of elections:
• Chief Electoral Officer: Designated or nominated by ECI in each state in consultation with the State government to
supervise the preparation, revision and correction of all electoral rolls and conduct of elections, mentioned in Section
13 A.
• District Election Officer: Designated or nominated by ECI for each district or area within the district in consultation
with the State government to coordinate and supervise preparation and revision of electoral rolls and conduct of
elections.
• Electoral Registration Officer: Designated or nominated by ECI in consultation with the State government to prepare
and revise the electoral rolls.
• Assistant Electoral Registration Officer: Appointed by ECI to assist electoral registration officers and subjected to
the control of the electoral registration officer.
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• Returning officer: Designated or nominated by ECI for every constituency in consultation with the State government
to effectively conduct election in the manner provided by the Act and rules or orders.
• Assistant Returning officer: Appointed by ECI to assist the returning officer and can perform all or any of the
functions of returning officer, except scrutiny of nominations.
• Observers: Nominated by ECI to watch the conduct of elections in constituencies or constituencies.
• Presiding officers: Appointed by the district election officer for each polling station to keep the order at the polling
station and ensure that the polls are taken fairly.
• Polling officer: Appointed by the district election officer for each polling station to assist the presiding officer.
• Officers on deputation to Election Commission: From the date of notification for election to the date of declaration
of results, the returning officer, assistant returning officer, presiding officer, polling officer, and any other officer and
any police officer are presumed to be on deputation to the Election Commission.

PROVISIONS REGARDING DISQUALIFICATIONS IN RPA, 1951

Section 8 addresses the disqualification of representatives for specific offences. Among the different sub-clauses
are:
• 8 (1): A person convicted of an offence punishable under certain acts of the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Civil
Rights Act 1955, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, Prevention of
Terrorism Act 2002, etc., shall be disqualified if sentenced to:
o only fine, for a period of six years from the date of such conviction;
o imprisonment, for a period of six years from the date of such conviction and shall continue
• 8 (2): A person guilty of violating:
o any law prohibiting stockpiling or profiteering; or
o any law prohibiting the adulteration of food or medications; or
o any provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
• 8 (3): A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years [other than any
offence referred to in subsection (1) or (2)] is disqualified from the date of such conviction and remains disqualified
for a period of six years after his release.
• The Supreme Court overturned a fourth subsection, 8 (4), in 2013 (Lily Thomas case): This section allowed
convicted legislators to keep their seats if they filed an appeal within three months of their conviction.

SC Judgements
The Supreme Court in Lily Thomas v. Union of India case, 2013 held the provision that disqualification of a member of
Parliament and State Legislature shall not take place until three months from the date of conviction, as unconstitutional
and provided for immediate disqualification on conviction.

HC Judgements
In 2013, the Patna High Court forbade anybody in judicial or police detention from contesting an election.

• Other offences:
o If a person is convicted of any crime and sentenced to two or more years in jail, he or she is disqualified.
o If a person has engaged in corrupt practices.
o If a person is dismissed from a government position due to corruption or disloyalty.
o If a person has a contract with the government in the course of commerce or business or supplies goods to the
government.
o If a person is a managing agent, manager, or secretary of any company or corporation (other than a cooperative
society) in which the government owns at least 25%.
o If a person fails to file an account of his election expenses on time.

Remedies available for disqualified persons:

• Approach to ECI under Section 11: The disqualified person can approach the Election Commission for removal of
disqualification under Section 11 of the Act (except disqualification on the ground of corrupt practices).
• Approach to SC under Section 116 A: If the disqualification has resulted due to an election petition filed in High
Court, then the person can approach Supreme Court for appeal under Section 116A.

Disqualifications for voting:

• A person is disqualified from voting at any election for a period of six years if he is convicted of:
o IPC, 1860: Offence of bribery and undue influence or personation at an election
o RPA, 1951: Offence of promoting enmity between classes in connection with the election; removal of ballot
papers from polling stations; fraudulently defacing or fraudulently destroying any nomination paper
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The recommendations of the 244th report of the Law Commission should be implemented, i.e. disqualification at the
stage of framing of charges along with other legal safeguards to curb criminalisation of politics.

REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Registration of Political Parties with the Election Commission of India:
• The Election Commission lists political parties as-
o National party,
o State party or
o Registered un-recognized party.
• The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 specifies the requirements for being classified as a
national or state party.
• For recognition as a national or state party, a political party has fulfilled any of the following conditions:

National Party State Party

6% valid votes in Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly
election in 4 or more states + 4 Lok Sabha seats
2% Lok Sabha seats from 3 states
State party in 4 states
6% valid votes in Legislative Assembly elections in state + 2
Assembly seats
6% valid votes in Lok Sabha elections in state + 1 Lok Sabha
seat
3% or 3 Legislative Assembly seats, whichever is more
1/25 Lok Sabha seats
8% valid votes in Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly
elections in a state

The following political parties registered with the Election Commission are considered Registered Unrecognised
Parties:
• Unrecognised parties are newly registered parties,
• parties that have not received a sufficient percentage of votes in Assembly or General Elections to become state
parties, and
• parties that have never contested elections since being registered.

Benefits to Recognised Political Parties:

• Exemptions from proposers: Candidates of recognised political parties do not require a subscription from ten
proposers at the time of filing of nomination.
• Reserved symbols: Candidates of registered recognised political parties get reserved symbols.
• Adjournment of polls: On the death of a candidate of registered recognised political parties, the returning officer
adjourns the polls to a later date.
• Allocation of an equitable share of time: On the basis of past performance, registered recognised political parties
get broadcast/telecast facilities over Akashvani/Doordarshan during general elections.
• Travel expenses of star campaigners: Star campaigners' travel expenses are not accounted for in the election
expense records of their party's candidates.
• Free supply of copies of electoral rolls: to the candidates of recognised political parties.

RIGHT TO KNOW
Right to Information: A candidate has to furnish information about the following in his nomination paper, whether:
• He is accused of any offence punishable with imprisonment for two years or more, where charges are framed by a
competent court;
• He is convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for one year or more.

Supreme Court Ruling on Right to Information of Electors

Case Supreme Court Ruling
Association for Democratic Candidate has to furnish information regarding any criminal antecedent, educational
Reforms v. Union of India, qualification and assets.
2002

People’s Union for Civil Voters have a fundamental right to know the relevant qualifications of candidates for
Liberties v. Union of India, office, including information about their income and assets.
2003 Accordingly, section 33B of the RPA, 1951, which stated that candidates could not be
compelled to disclose any information about themselves other than their criminal

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records, was held unconstitutional.

Resurgence India Case, 2013
Krishnamurthy v. Sivakumar
& Ors, 2015
Lok Prahari v. Election
Commission, 2018
Made it compulsory for Returning Officers to reject those nomination papers which are
accompanied by incomplete/blank affidavits.
The Supreme Court ruled that a candidate's criminal antecedents (particularly egregious
crimes) must be disclosed at the time of filing the nomination paper, as required by law.
The Supreme Court directed that the Centre alter the guidelines as well as the disclosure
form presented by candidates along with their nomination papers to include a source of
income for themselves as well as their spouses and dependents.

• Declaration of Assets and Liabilities: Section 75A requires every elected candidate for a House of Parliament to
provide the Chairman/Speaker with the following information within ninety days of taking the oath:
o the movable and immovable property of which he, his spouse, and his dependent children are jointly or severally
owners or beneficiaries;
o his liabilities to any public financial institution, Central or State government.
• Speaker & Chairman have the power to make rules: The Chairman/Speaker can make rules in this regard and
wilful contravention of the rules can be considered as a breach of privilege.
• Account of Election Expenses: Section 77 requires each candidate to keep a separate and correct account of all
expenses incurred in connection with the election from the date of nomination to the date of result declaration. This
account must be given to the district election officer within thirty days of any candidate's election. Travel expenses
incurred by star campaigners of a political party by air or other methods are not considered expenditures by the
candidate in this regard.

ELECTION PETITION
• Disputes over the election of a candidate for a seat in Parliament or a State Assembly constituency must be resolved by
an election petition filed with the respective High Court (HC) (Single Bench) under Section 80A of the Representation
of the People Act, 1951 (RPA).

Case of an Election Petition

The Allahabad High Court invalidated Mrs Gandhi's election on the grounds of "corrupt practice" under Section 123(7) for
using a gazette officer as her election agent in Indira Gandhi v Raj Narain.

Procedure for Filing an Election Petition:

• Filing of Election Petition: by any candidate or elector to HC
• Time Period: within 45 days of the date of pronouncement of results.
• Particulars: the petition should explicitly outline the petitioner's grievance or any corrupt practice. Petition must
contain Relief claimed by the candidate

High Court to try election petitions:

• An election can be called into question only by an election petition and the High Court has jurisdiction to try an
election petition. The trial of the election petition is continued on a day-to-day basis for six months. The appeal lies to
the Supreme Court within thirty days.
• The High Court shall declare the election of the elected candidate void, if:
o An elected candidate was not qualified, or was disqualified, or
o Any corrupt practice has been committed by an elected candidate or his associates, or
o Any nomination has been improperly rejected; or
o The result of the election was affected by:
▪ The improper acceptance of any nomination, or
▪ Any corrupt practice committed in the elected candidate's favor by an agent other than his election agent, or
▪ Inappropriate voting reception, refusal, or rejection; or
▪ Any non-compliance with the requirements of the constitution or of this act or of any rules or orders
established under this act.
• Grounds for which a candidate other than the returned candidate may be declared to have been elected, If the
High Court is of opinion:
o That in fact the petitioner or such other candidate received a majority of the valid votes; or
o Had there been no corrupt practice by the elected candidate, the petitioner or such other candidate would have
obtained a majority of the valid votes.

Remedies Available:

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• If grievances are not redressed by the HC, then an appeal can be filed in the Supreme Court (SC) within 30 days from
the order of HC under Section 116A.
• An aggrieved candidate can also file an application to the HC to stay its order.
• Copy of the Stay Order of HC or SC shall be sent to the Election Commission and the Speaker/Chairman of Parliament
or State assembly.

Thus, the RPA 1951, as well as state-specific Conduct of Election Rules, have established enough safeguards to challenge
corrupt acts during the conduct of elections.

CORRUPT PRACTICES
Provisions regarding corrupt practices in RPA, 1951: Section 123 of the Act defines corrupt practices -
• Bribery: any gift, offer or promise by a candidate or his agent to any person to stand or not to stand or to withdraw or
not to withdraw from being a candidate or to vote or refrain from voting.
• Undue influence: direct or indirect interference with the free exercise of any electoral right. It includes threatening
any election candidate or elector.
• Religious appeal: The appeal based on his religion, race, caste, community, or language, or the appeal to religious or
national symbols, such as the national flag or the national emblem.

SC Judgements
The Supreme Court in Abhiram Singh's case, 2017 held that election is a secular exercise and an appeal for votes during
elections on the basis of religion, caste, race, community or language amounts to a ‘corrupt practice’.

• Promotion of enmity or hatred: The encouragement of hostility or hatred amongst different classes of Indian
citizens on the basis of religion, race, caste, community, or language.
• Commission of sati or its glorification: The propagation of the practice or the commission of sati or its glorification.
• False publication: The publication of any false statement of fact in relation to the personal character or conduct of
any candidate.
• Use of any vehicle or vessel for the free conveyance of any elector: (other than the candidate himself, the
members of his family or his agent) to or from any polling station.
• Contravention of authorizing expenditure: The incurring or authorizing of expenditure in contravention of the
‘Account of election expenses and maximum limit’ prescribed under Section 77 of RPA, 1951.
• Obtaining assistance from any government official: Obtaining aid (other than voting) from gazetted officers,
stipendiary judges and magistrates, members of the armed forces, excise officers, revenue officers, and so on.
• Booth capturing: In the 2019 general elections, a polling agent in Faridabad was arrested over video of ‘booth
capture’.

ELECTORAL OFFENCES
Electoral Offences listed in RPA, 1951: Chapter III of RPA, 1951 provide the following electoral offences -
• Promoting hatred between classes: Promoting class enmity in connection with elections based on religion, race,
caste, community, or language.
• Providing false information: concealing information in his nomination paper or affidavit:
• Holding public meetings exceeding authorized time: During the period of forty-eight hours ending with an hour
fixed for the conclusion of the poll
• Disturbances at public meetings: For the purpose of preventing the transaction of the business.
• Publication of results of exit polls: Publication and dissemination of results of exit polls, etc from the beginning of
the election to half an hour after the polls
• Printing material: Printing of pamphlets, posters, etc without the names and addresses of the printer and the
publisher.
• Failure to maintain voting secrecy.
• Officers, etc., are not allowed to campaign for candidates or influence votes.
• The removal of ballot papers from voting places.
• Booth capturing is a crime.
• Defacing, damaging, or removing any list, notice, or other document affixed by or under the authority of a returning
officer, etc.
• Other offences:
o Canvassing in or around a voting place on election day.
o On the day of the election, disorderly conduct at or near voting places.
o Misconduct at the polling booth.
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o Failure to follow the voting procedure.

o Breach of official duty in relation to an election.
o Election agents, polling agents, and counting agents are government employees.
o Bringing a firearm to or near a polling place.
o Employees are not given paid time off on election day.
o On election day, no one may sell, give, or distribute liquor.

PAID NEWS
• Any news or analysis appearing in media (print & electronic) for a price in cash or kind as consideration. (Press
Council of India).

Negative impacts of paid news:

• Affects free and fair elections by spreading political agenda and giving an edge to people with connections with
news channels.
• Affects peoples’ thinking and opinion: by not letting them know that the news is in fact an advertisement and
denies them the right to information.
• Affects independence of media: This is the fourth pillar of democracy and brings the faith of people in media down.
• Reflection of money power: the payment is mostly made in cash or kind and violates income tax and election
expenditure laws.
• Hits the bottom of democracy: Such news has a big impact on voter voting behavior since the viewer does not obtain
a clear picture of the candidate's personality or performance and hence cannot determine who to vote for. This
undermines the basic foundations of democracy.

Implications of Paid news not being an electoral offence:

• Lacunae in paid NEWS: Contestants who use paid news can only be hauled up for failing to include the expenses
involved in their campaign accounts.
o Does not require the candidate to distance himself/herself from paid news on relevant time and not post facto.
• Bias & False News: The public does not get a correct picture of the political party or the candidate, as the news
published regarding their work is biased and false.

Recommendations of Law Commission

The Law Commission recommended that paid news be made an electoral offence in its 255th report on 'Electoral
Reforms,' which was given to the government in March 2015.

Way forward:
• According to the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology:
o Subjecting the financial accounts of media houses, especially revenue sources for suspected paid news.
o Establishing a single regulatory authority for both print and electronic media.
• Formulating stringent guidelines for news media on poll coverage by the Press Council of India.
• Naming and shaming of media houses involved in paid news.
• Define paid political news so that the Press Council of India can issue suitable guidelines.
• It is necessary to modify the Representation of the People Act of 1951 to make 'paid News' an electoral offense.
• Political parties and candidates must closely adhere to the Election Commission's expenditure ceilings.
• The people should be sensitized by creating awareness among themselves and seeking partnerships with all
stakeholders, including political parties and media.

The issue of paid news poses a new challenge, especially in the digital age. Therefore, it is vital that the issue of paid news
is tackled to ensure elections are free and fair.

VOTING RIGHTS TO NON -RESIDENT INDIANS THROUGH POSTAL BALLOT

• 12-member committee to investigate NRI voting: Following the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, a 12-member committee
was formed to investigate NRI voting through three channels: voting by post, voting at an Indian mission abroad, and
internet voting.
• Suggestion of granting additional alternative options of the e-postal ballot and proxy voting: Finally, in 2015,
the panel suggested that NRIs be offered "additional alternative options of the e-postal ballot and proxy voting" in
addition to voting in person.

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Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS):

• ETPBS is the Election Commission of India's flagship IT program.
• It is a type of postal voting in which ballot papers are distributed electronically to voters and returned by post.
• These registered voters are referred to as Service Voters.
• For the first time, it is possible to register as a Service Voter online through a dedicated portal.
• It is a fully secured system with two security layers.
• The use of OTP and PIN ensures the confidentiality of voting.
• It has a unique QR Code in the portal that prevents duplication of casted ETPB.

Proposed process of voting through postal ballots: Existing process for NRIs -
• Voting rights introduced in 2011: Voting rights for NRIs were introduced only in 2011, through an amendment to
the Representation of the People Act 1950.
• NRI can vote in his constituency: An NRI can vote in the constituency located in his/her place of residence, as
mentioned in the passport.
• Can vote only in person: He/she can only vote in person and will have to produce her passport in original at the
polling station for establishing identity.

Challenges:
• Identification of voters: Questions regarding the identity of voters can be raised as representatives of political
parties may not be present at the venue of voting.
• Policing and security: The EC will have to come up with ways to ensure how these venues can be policed and
secured.
• Model Code of Conduct: Foreign governments are not bound to maintain a silence period before polling, so it will
have to be discussed how MCC is not breached.

Way forward:
• Need to addressed logistical challenges: As per Ministry of External Affairs, “huge logistical challenges” need to be
addressed and “a realistic assessment of requirements” needs to be made before the proposal is implemented.
• Voting facilitation at embassies are insufficient: Actual voting facilitation, voter identification, and voting locations
in the event that embassies and consulates are insufficient to accommodate all voters.

WAY FORWARD (RPA)

• Curbing paid news and opinion polls: This affects the informed decision of an elector and therefore should be
curbed with clear guidelines in this regard.
• Tackling funding issues: Efforts should be made towards the creation of a national electoral fund to ensure that the
funds are distributed transparently on the basis of performance in the last election.
• Removing multiple enrolments by linking the electoral roll with the Aadhar ecosystem.
• Curbing criminalisation of politics: The rising trend of criminalisation, and hate speech should be curbed and ECI
along with civil society should take steps such as awareness campaigns, increasing voter information etc.

Elections are the foundation of any democracy and therefore, it is vital they remain free and fair along with the
participation of every citizen of India. The issues that threaten the fairness of Indian elections should be addressed so that
Indian elections keep India a thriving democracy.

ONLINE CAMPAIGNING
• The digital campaign includes promoting political and electoral campaign materials on social media platforms like
Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as reaching out to voters through audio messages, phone calls, videos, and
LED screen-mounted vans from small towns to remote villages.
• Good campaigns which communicate with voters are central to well-run elections. Online Election Campaigning has
been facilitating the principles of healthy democracy i.e Right to free and fair campaigning.

Benefits:
• Wider Reach: Online campaigns can reach anyone with Internet access, especially young people. People can be
reached electronically in a variety of ways, including campaign websites, email newsletters, social networking sites,
and blogs.
• Speed of Information: An online campaign enables instant access to information through websites, emails, texts,
blogs, and social networks.

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• Cost Effectiveness: With an online campaign you save money on printing, paper and canvassing staff. It could
hypothetically reach more people and cost less money.
• Facilitate Feedback Mechanism: It has provided unprecedented access to information about elections and enabled
the electorate to express their opinions and promote open discourse through direct communication between leaders
and constituents.
• Personalization: Online campaigns provide personalisation by allowing the target audience to interact with the
prospects and understand what they are looking for.
• Cost Effective: Digital campaigning is cost-effective and easy for small and new parties with limited budgets, making it
a great option.
• COVID-19 related Protocols requirement: It fulfils the requirement of maintaining social distancing by arranging
public meetings and rallies online through screens.

Issues with online campaigning:

• Dependability on Technology: Digital Campaigning is purely based on technology and the internet is prone to
errors.
• Difficult to reach people in rural areas: People in rural areas cannot be reached via smartphones or online
meetings. The voter base is largely concentrated in rural areas, and a sizable number of voters may not use social
media.
• Influence of Foreign regimes: It could be easier for foreign individuals or regimes to try to influence voters online
without any physical presence in the country. There are also risks of foreign cyber espionage and disruption
campaigns during the polls.
• Risk of bias and Influence opinion formation: There is a risk of bias, manipulation, abusive surveillance and
authoritarian control over social networks, the internet and any uncensored citizen expression platform, by private or
state actors. Organisations or individuals can set up ‘fake’ social media accounts.
• Fear of data collection: The rat race toward the collection of (personal) data, poses a grave threat to the privacy of
individuals. It has the potential to enable the suppression of many other rights.
• Disadvantage to smaller parties: There is a good chance that many political parties will not have better online
infrastructures due to a lack of funds, putting them at a disadvantage when it comes to conducting fair elections. New
parties will struggle to gain traction because they may lack strong organization.
• Elderly people may not be enthused enough: There are still people even in urban areas who are not active on social
media. The virtual campaign will have an impact on young voters but there is doubt about the elderly ones who may
not be enthused enough to come out and vote.
• Voters and political parties are not versed with virtual modes: Neither the candidates nor the people in rural
interiors can adapt to such methods of engagement.
• Lack of infrastructure to hold virtual rallies: There are many parties that do not have any infrastructure to hold
virtual rallies. This is not in coherence with the idea of giving equal opportunity to the political parties and their
leaders to reach out to the voters and engage them.

Way Forward:
• Free air time on TV channels for opposition parties: The ruling party already has a huge infrastructure and also
gets the maximum electoral bonds. They are ahead of all other parties in incurring election expenditures. The election
commission should cooperate by giving more time to the opposition parties on TV channels. The opposition parties
should get airtime on these channels for free.
• Small group meetings in open spaces: Instead of large rallies and gatherings, door-to-door campaigns and small
group meetings in open spaces could be more effective in terms of giving a level playing field to all the parties.
• Imprints on digital material: The online campaign material should include an imprint like Printed campaign
material. Voters can see who is distributing this material by looking at the imprint on it.
• Door to Door Campaigning: It has been an important mode of polling since its inception. In this new environment,
parties and candidates must strengthen this mode of election campaigning.
• Digital Platforms in Vernacular languages: As per the 2011 census, only 10.4% of Indians speak English, most as
their second, third, or fourth language and Only 0.02% of Indians spoke English as their first language.. Development
of Digital Platforms like ‘Koo’ will help in overcoming the barriers of language and reaching out to people from the
farthest areas of the country.

Conclusion:
• At present, Political parties have agreed to adhere to the protocol of Digital campaigning. The technological solution
can enhance or erode democracy depending on how it is being used and who holds the authority over it. It can be said
that right now, it is controlled by very few. When power is concentrated in the hands of a few, the consequences are
not good for the many and it may not be good for democracy.

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