On the face of it, the Election Commission’s (EC) recent announcement to make political parties accountable for their poll promises appears well-intended, but it amounts to overreach. The poll panel is not the right body to decide what freebies are to be allowed or what should be the cap on such spending. It is for the political parties and the elected governments to devise and implement welfare policies that are not only beneficial to the vulnerable sections of the society but also reflect fiscal responsibility.
The EC, as a constitutional body, is entrusted with the responsibility of conducting free and fair polls in the country and preventing people with criminal antecedents from entering the poll fray. The experience in the last few years of the NDA rule shows that the poll panel has not exactly covered itself in glory. From the heydays of the legendary TN Seshan, the standards of the EC have, unfortunately, fallen, with several contentious decisions going in favour of the ruling dispensation. While there can be no two opinions about the need to weed out unreasonable freebies, as they take a heavy toll on the states’ fiscal health, it would be imprudent on the part of any constitutional body to dictate the welfare agendas to political parties. Moreover, the relevance and viability of freebies vary from state to state, and it would be impractical to prescribe a uniform policy for the country.