The unfair practices are:

(i)Inclusion of false names and exclusion of genuine names in the voters’ list;

(ii)Misuse of government facilities and officials by the ruling party;

(iii)Excessive use of money by rich candidates and big parties; and

(iv)Intimidation of voters and rigging on the polling day.

The four successful slogans given by different political parties in various elections are listed below:

(i)The Congress party led by Indira Gandhi gave the slogan of Garibi Hatao (Remove poverty) in the Lok Sabha elections of 1971. The party promised to reorient all the policies of the government to remove poverty from the country.

(ii)Save Democracy was the slogan given by Janata Party in the next Lok Sabha election held in 1977. The party promised to undo the excesses committed during Emergency and restore civil liberties.

(iii)The Left Front used the slogan of Land to the Tiller in the West Bengal Assembly elections held in 1977.

(iv)‘Protect the Self-Respect of the Telugus’ was the slogan used by N. T. Rama Rao, the leader of the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections in 1983.

The minimum conditions of a democratic election are discussed below:

(i)First, everyone should be able to choose. This means that everyone should have one vote and every vote should have equal value.

(ii)Second, there should be something to choose from. Parties and candidates should be free to
contest elections and should offer some real choice to the voters.

(iii)Third, the choice should be offered at regular intervals. Elections must be held regularly after every few years.

(iv)Fourth, the candidate preferred by the people should get elected.

(v)Fifth, elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner where people can choose as they really wish.

The outcome of India’s elections are examined below:

(i)The ruling parties routinely lose elections in India both at the national and state level.

(ii)In fact  in every two out of the three elections, held in the last fifteen years, the ruling party lost.

(iii)In India about half of the sitting MPs or MLAs lose elections.

(iv)Candidates who are known to have spent a lot of money on ‘buying votes’ and those with known
criminal connections often lose, elections.

(v)Barring very few disputed elections, the electoral outcomes are usually accepted as ‘people’s verdict’ by the defeated party.

The powers of the Election Commission of India are:

(i)EC takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections from the announcement of elections to the declaration of results.

(ii)It implements the Code of Conduct and punishes any candidate or party that violates it.

(iii)During the election period, the EC can order the government to follow some guidelines, to prevent use and misuse of governmental power to enhance its chances to win elections, or to transfer some government officials.

(iv)When on election duty, government officers work under the control of the EC and not the government.