Howrah News Service -  Latest news and headlines on Howrah,West Bengal and World: Karan proposes new method of election

Karan proposes new method of election
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ASIANAGE on 04 July, 2008 02:37:21
 
By C. ANAND REDDY
New Delhi
July 4: In tune with the long-pending and hotly-debated electoral reforms, RS
member Karan Singh has, in his new book, proposed a new method of election for
MPs and MLAs in order to make them "more representative" of the people.
In his latest work, I Believe: A Philosophy for the Global Society, Dr Singh
has identified the "first past the post" system of election of a candidate as a
"problem" of Indian politics. Vice-president Hamid Ansari on Friday released the
slim volume, which is essentially an abridged version of Dr Singh’s own
philosophy. Dr Singh said in his book, "...whoever wins a seat is usually
supported by not more than 30 per cent of the electorate, and it is even
possible to win with half that margin if there are a large number of parties and
candidates contesting. In the result, hardly any member of Parliament or
legislature actually enjoys majority support in their constituency."
Dr Singh suggested a way out for this, whereby "after each election, if no
candidate has received more than 50 per cent of the votes, on the very next day
a second election is held between the two leading candidates.