ELECTORAL BONDS: A PERIL TO DEMOCRACY AND TRANSPARENT ELECTIONS IN INDIA

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D. Ananda
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1324-965X

Abstract

A democracy is built on free and fair elections. India is one of the world's most populous democratic countries. In 2018, the Indian government launched a new electoral bonds scheme to fund elections. Electoral bonds influence election funding and make it easier for corporate entities to conceal political donations by concealing the bond’s buyer and beneficiary details. The new electoral bonds scheme lures companies and facilitates money laundering. The present article critically evaluates the electoral bonds scheme by analyzing the various acts and statutes. However, the Indian judiciary evaded its role as guardian of the constitution and final interpreter of the constitution by not deciding the cases pending in court. The scheme provides an unfair advantage to the ruling party. Anonymity and secrecy harm accountability in a democracy. The new election funding scheme undermines transparency and fair elections. This new election funding scheme has exacerbated the situation in Indian democracy. This new mechanism of election funding keeps voters in the dark about whether the governing party favors corporate donations. 

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How to Cite
D. Ananda. 2023. “ELECTORAL BONDS: A PERIL TO DEMOCRACY AND TRANSPARENT ELECTIONS IN INDIA”. Journal of Liberty and International Affairs 9 (1):89-100. https://doi.org/10.47305/JLIA2391090a.
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Articles
Author Biography

D. Ananda, School of Social Sciences Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India

Dr D. Ananda is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in New Delhi, India. Currently, he is actively engaged in teaching, research, design and development of curriculum at IGNOU. Before joining IGNOU, he taught at St. Francis Degree College for Women, Begumpet, Hyderabad, and Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. Ananda is a post-graduate in Political Science and holds M.Phil and Ph.D in Political Science from the University of Hyderabad (India’s Institution of Eminence). He has qualified University Grants Commission(UGC) National Eligibility Test (NET) in Political Science. He has a PG Diploma in Distance Education (PGDDE) from IGNOU. Ananda’s research interests include Indian Government and Politics, Indian Political Process, Constitutionalism, Constitutional Governance, and Political Theory. He wrote his M.Phil. dissertation on the “Politics of Constitutional Review in India.” His doctoral research was on State Response to Food Security: A study of Public Distribution System. He has publications in Peer-reviewed and UGC Care-listed journals. He has presented a few papers in national and international seminars. Dr Ananda is a life member of the Indian Political Science Association (IPSA).