Freebies in Election Manifestoes

In India, the culture of promising freebies in election manifesto has been spreading extensively. The ethicality and legality of such promises has been the subject of debate for a while now. This issue was brought to the forefront when the issue was tackled by the Supreme Court.

S.Subramaniam Balaji v. Government of Tamil Nadu

In the above case, the Court delved into the legality of promising freebies in election manifestos. The Court opined that freebies shook the ‘root of free and fair elections to a large degree.’ However, the distribution of colour TVs, laptops, mixer-grinders etc. by the government in accordance with the laws currently prevalent in the country cannot be ruled as being against ‘public purpose’. The Supreme Court ruled that promises made in an election manifesto cannot be construed as a ‘corrupt practice’ under section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. And since no legislation governs election manifestos, it directed the EC to frame appropriate guidelines.

Arguments furthered by political parties

Distribution of freebies in any form is not prohibited by any law in force in India. The Courts have already held that handing out of freebies is not a corrupt practice. In fact, since the goal of our constitution-makers was to build a welfare state, it is the responsibility of political parties to further that cause. Generally, political parties, especially the national parties, release their election manifestos before the Election Commission announces the date of elections. The Election Commission’s guidelines kick in only after the dates have been announced, and in this instance the Election Commission will have no authority to monitor the promises made in the Election Manifesto.

When political parties promise certain freebies, the intention is not for these promises to act as bribes or as a means of exercising undue influence on voters. It is just a statement to the people highlighting how if brought to power, that party will serve its voters. Thus, framing of manifestos is the right of political parties, and must not be interfered with.

Arguments furthered by the Election Commission

Article 324 of the Constitution gives the Election Commission powers to issue any orders that may be required to enable it to hold free and fair elections. Hence, there is no limitation on its power to monitor political parties’ activities. Also, the Supreme Court specifically directed the Election Commission to frame guidelines with regard to freebies, hence, there is an underlying assumption that the EC does have the authority to monitor promises made in manifestos. An exception favouring the EC is warranted in the specific instance of election manifestos because they are associated with the election process, and have no value on a standalone basis. Also, it is the EC’s responsibility to ensure a level playing field for all parties and candidates, and also ensure that the voters are not taken for a ride. Hence, it is the EC’s responsibility to look into election manifestos.

Model Code of Conduct for the Guidance of Political Parties and Candidates

The Election Commission in Chapter VIII of its Model Code of Conduct titled ‘Guidelines on Election Manifestos’, has enumerated the rules that political parties must follow while making poll-time promises in their election manifestos. The guidelines are as follows:-

• The Election Manifesto shall not contain any promises that go against the ideals and principles enshrined in the Constitution
• India was envisioned as a welfare state under the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution. Therefore, there can be no bar on the state adopting welfare measures. But, political parties must refrain from making promises that undermine the purity of the election process or aim to exert undue influence on the voters
• There must be transparency w.r.t to the promises and how the parties aim to implement their promises. The promises must also be credible. Wherever freebies are offered, parties must broadly state how they plan to gather the funds and finances to fulfil such promises.

Alternatives to freebies

Setting aside the issue of the Election Commission’s right to regulate manifestos, the rationality behind giving freebies itself can be questioned. In many instances, freebies offer only temporary solutions to the larger problem, instead of looking for a permanent solution to resolve the problem once and for all. For instance, in the Delhi Assembly Elections, almost all major parties have promised reduction of power bills. However, in light of increasing costs of inputs that are used to generate power and paucity of supply, the government will have to heavily subsidize the distribution companies. In the Budget for Delhi presented in July 2014, there was already a provision of Rs. 260 crores to cover the cost of subsidizing households. This figure is set to increase substantially once the new government is in place in Delhi. Therefore, this plan of subsiding electricity will not work in the long-term. However, if instead of promising such freebies, the parties aimed to promote power generation, and increase the supply of electricity, the prices will automatically reduce with no requirement of continuous subsidising. Similarly, there are multiple election promises such as free Wi-fi which espouse an excellent idea, but fail to state where the financial resources for providing such facilities will be procured from, or paint even a broad picture as to how the idea will be implemented. And this occurs despite the Election Commission’s guidelines being in place. Hence, it would be more beneficial for parties to offer people permanent solutions to their problem in the election manifestos instead of a slew of seemingly advantageous, but temporary stop-gap measures.