The Hindu Business Line : Bigger Lok Sabha?

INCREASING the strength of the Lok Sabha is one of the suggestions mooted by some political parties for getting round the controversy over providing adequate reservation for women. The proposal for an enlarged Lok Sabha deserves to be considered in its own right, since the present strength of 545 members for a population of more than one billion detracts from the representative character of the institution and imposes a severe strain on the candidates fighting elections as also on the elected members.

The harsh constraints prevailing in India in respect of funds and facilities make it utterly unrealistic to expect a candidate or elected representative to cope with the enormous size of the average constituency with a population close to two million and voters numbering a million or more. Even the best of them cannot effectively project the aspirations and grievances, leave alone solve the problems, of such a huge number. The fact that, under the first-past-the-post electoral system, characterised by multiplicity of parties and numerous contestants, it is possible for a candidate to win with a plurality of a small fraction of the total electorate further waters down the credibility of the Lok Sabha as a true or genuine reflection of the will of the people. In contrast, the number of elected members of the lower chambers of other democracies is sufficiently large to enable each of them to play their expected role with a degree of accountability and accessibility not come across in India. For instance, Australia with a population of 20 million has 150 members, Canada (32 million population) has 308, Japan (127 million population) has 480, the UK (60 million population) has 646, and the US (295 million population) has 435. The area of a normal constituency in all these countries is also very much smaller than in India. Seen in this light, the Lok Sabha should have its strength at least doubled. True, a House of 1,000 or 1,200 members will make heavy demands on the time to be allocated for different types of business and call for leadership skills of a high order from presiding officers and chiefs of political parties. But if a much smaller country (UK) can manage 646 members, why not the Lok Sabha with a little more of discipline and understanding?

B. S. Raghavan

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