Money and Elections: Necessary Reforms in Electoral Finance
Electoral finance in India: Tracing problems, unearthing solutions
Summary: In light of the modifications in electoral finance laws in 2016 and 2017, this report examines the evolution of key legal provisions on political funding, clarifies legal concepts, identifies systemic issues in the field, and recommends potential solutions.
In light of the modifications in electoral finance laws made in the 2016 and 2017 Union Budgets, this study clarifies legal concepts for the evaluation of electoral reform, examines the evolution of key legal provisions related to political funding, and identifies systemic issues in the field on the basis of India’s unique experiences. To arrive at potential solutions to the issues involved, the study also supplements the Indian experience with a comparative study of foreign jurisdictions.
The report thus argues that electoral finance law must pivot towards transparency, strictly requiring disclosures by candidates, registration and reporting by political parties, and the applicability of the Right to Information Act, 2005 to such parties. It also favours an absolute cap on anonymous donations, the banning of corporate donations, clarification of permissible categories of expenditure, regulation of third party expenditures, and gradual progress towards public funding. To supplement these rules, the study also discusses the bolstering of the enforcement powers of the Election Commission of India.
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About the Authors
Lalit is a graduate of the Gujarat National Law University and has been working at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy since 2017. Prior to joining Vidhi, he worked briefly as a Consultant with the 21st Law Commission of India. At Vidhi, he has worked in the broad areas of law and technology, regulation and constitutional law, covering subjects such as data protection, higher education, election law, fiscal federalism, and state governors. As a 2020 Samvidhaan Fellow, he conducted interdisciplinary research into the right to equality, including from the perspective of law & economics. Currently, he works in Vidhi's constitutional law team, Charkha, engaging with contemporary issues such as the right against discrimination and secularism. He writes regularly for news outlets such as The Times of India, Economic Times and The Telegraph, and has published research in the Indian Journal of Constitutional Law, Indian Journal of Law & Technology, and Journal of Intellectual Property Studies
