A turning point election that resulted in enhanced security deposits for candidates

April 09, 2024 10:44 pm | Updated 10:44 pm IST

A 65-page booklet containing the names and symbols of a record 1,033 candidates, a thousand “super giant ballot boxes”, and a counting process spread across 70 tables at five centres that lasted over a day in 1996 resulted in the Election Commission of India steeply revising the deposit amount remitted by candidates in subsequent elections. This ‘novel’ election took place in the Modakurichi Assembly constituency in present day Erode district (then known as Periyar district) in western Tami Nadu.

While former Minister Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan entered the fray as a DMK candidate, R.N. Kittusamy was fielded by the AIADMK and K. Elanchezian represented the MDMK, which was facing its first Assembly election after Vaiko (then V. Gopalasamy) quit the DMK. The remaining 1,030 candidates were Independents.

A decision by farmers

Around 1,000 of the Independent candidates were farmers. In late March that year, an urgent meeting of the Federation of Tamilnadu Agriculturists Associations, comprising Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, Lower Bhavani Project Ryots Association, and Sugarcane Growers Association, had decided to field 1,000 farmers in the election “to protest against the non-fulfilment of electoral promises made by the AIADMK government”, according to a report published in The Hindu. It did not require any great resources to contest in elections then as the deposit for a candidate was only ₹250 (₹125 for the Scheduled Castes) in an Assembly constituency.

Facing a huge challenge in printing of ballot papers, which was in vogue before the advent of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Election Commission of India was unable to conduct polling at Modakurichi along with other constituencies in the second phase of the election in Tamil Nadu, which was slated for May 2 that year. It put off the polling in the constituency, which had 1,94,579 voters, to June 1.

Interestingly, the Election Commission had also postponed the Lok Sabha election in Nalgonda (Andhra Pradesh) and Belgaum (Karnataka), where 480 and 456 candidates respectively, had entered the fray.

Allotment of symbols to the candidates was also challenging as only 105 free symbols were available. Consequently, the Election Commission decided to use “numerical symbols” by draw of lots for the Independents. The names of candidates and symbols were printed in a 65-page booklet, with 16 listings on all pages except for the last page which had the details of nine candidates.

Brought in special lorries

“One thousand giant ballot boxes for the Modakurichi Assembly segment arrived today from Tiruchi and Chengleput districts. Verifying the unloading of the boxes at the community hall belonging to the Tamil Nadu Housing Board here, Mr. N. S. Palaniappan, Periyar District Collector, and District Election Officer, said the boxes were brought in special lorries and the printing of ballot papers was over. One hundred revenue personnel left for Madras in two buses to verify the ballot booklets,” said a report in The Hindu dated May 27, 1996. The giant ballot boxes were of the size 610 mm x 610 mm x 760 mm.

Election Commissioner G.V.G. Krishnamurthy air-dashed to the constituency to inspect the arrangements, and the poll agency had readied 491 polling stations instead of the originally planned 244 to conduct the voting.

Earlier, while postponing the election, Krishnamurthy had said the Election Commission “doubted” the seriousness of the candidates. “It cannot be said that the democratic opportunity to elect a representative is properly being utilised in a constituency when such an unusual number of persons come forward as candidates and that too as Independents,” he had said.

Result delayed

Eventually, after polling was over on June 1, the counting took place two days later at 70 tables at five centres. It began at 8 a.m. and was completed by 10 p.m., but owing to delay in tallying the votes and also in registering the Independent candidates’ votes, the declaration of the result was delayed till 8.15 a.m. on June 4. Ms. Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan was declared elected with 64,436 votes. Her nearest rival, Kittusamy, secured 24,896 votes, while the MDMK candidate polled 20,403 votes.

All the 1,030 Independent candidates together secured only 7,480 votes, while the invalid votes came to 1,071, out of a total of 1,18,286 votes polled. Only one postal ballot was received, and it was also invalid.

It was after this election that the Election Commission increased the deposit for candidates to ₹10,000 in an Assembly constituency (₹5,000 for the SC candidates), and in a Lok Sabha constituency, it was hiked from ₹500 (₹250 for the SC candidates) to ₹25,000 (₹12,500 for the SC candidates).