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In short:
The challenges are misinformation, fake news and intimidation.
What are the challenges to free and fair elections?
- India had over 96.8 crore voters in 2024, with thousands of polling stations.
- Hundreds of parties contest, across diverse regions and socio-economic realities.
- This scale itself makes a free and fair election hard to conduct.
Challenge
What it means
Misinformation
Wrong information spread among voters, sometimes without meaning to
Fake news
False news made and spread on purpose to mislead voters
Intimidation
Frightening voters so that they do not vote freely
- Figure 7.13 shows these three as potholes on the road to free and fair elections.
How does the ECI address these challenges?
Measure
How it helps
RPA 1950 and RPA 1951
The two laws that govern how elections are conducted
Model Code of Conduct
Rules that all parties and candidates must follow during an election
EVMs
Electronic Voting Machines record each vote
VVPAT
A printed slip lets the voter check that the vote went to the right candidate
Voters' awareness campaigns
They help voters spot wrong information and vote wisely
What is VVPAT? How does this lead to a free and fair election?
![Challenges to Free and Fair Elections - Elections - [Teachoo] - Concepts](https://cdn.teachoo.com/8ae364ab-1f23-4515-9534-9d857454f842/a-vvpat-unit-and-its-printed-slip.jpg)
A VVPAT unit and its printed slip
- VVPAT stands for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail.
- It is a small machine attached to the Electronic Voting Machine.
- When a vote is cast, it prints a slip with the candidate's name and symbol.
- The voter sees this slip through a glass window for about seven seconds.
- The slip then drops into a sealed box. The voter cannot take it away.
How it makes the election free and fair
- The voter can check with their own eyes that the vote went to the right candidate.
- The slips can later be counted and matched with the EVM count.
- This gives proof on paper, so the result can be checked if anyone doubts it.
- Trust in the machine and in the result therefore becomes stronger.
Beyond the textbook. The book names VVPAT but does not explain how it works.
What happens when you press the button
The vote is cast
on the Electronic Voting Machine
↓
VVPAT prints a slip
with the candidate's name and symbol
↓
The voter sees the slip
through a glass window, for about seven seconds
↓
The slip drops into a sealed box
the voter cannot take it away
↓
The slips can later be counted and matched with the EVM count - proof on paper, so the result can be checked
What is the Model Code of Conduct?
- The Model Code of Conduct is a set of rules issued by the ECI.
- It applies to all political parties and candidates.
- It comes into force the day the ECI announces the election schedule.
- It stays in force until the election is over.
- It is not a law by itself, but many acts it forbids are offences under other laws.
Beyond the textbook. The book names the Model Code of Conduct but does not explain what it is, when it starts, or how long it lasts.
- With constant vigilance and active citizen participation, elections become more representative and democracy more robust.
When the Model Code of Conduct applies
The schedule is announced
the Code comes into force that very day
The campaign runs
all parties and candidates must follow it
The election is over
the Code stops applying
↓
It is not a law by itself, but many acts it forbids are offences under other laws
🔍 Let's Analyse
- Look at the road to free and fair elections above (Fig. 7.13). Fill in the empty potholes with some more challenges after discussing them with your teachers and parents. How can we overcome these challenges?
Show Answer
Sample answer. The book shows three potholes. Here are more, with a way to fill each.
| More challenges (the empty potholes) | How we can overcome it |
|---|---|
| Money power and bribing of voters | Flying squads, spending limits, and reporting on cVIGIL |
| Booth capturing and violence | Security forces at booths, and re-polling where needed |
| Low voter turnout | Voter awareness campaigns and easier registration |
| Voters left out of the electoral roll | Special Intensive Revision of the rolls |
| Hate speech during campaigns | Model Code of Conduct action by the ECI |
| Voters who cannot reach the booth | Home voting, ramps, and the Saksham App |
Worth remembering:
Holding an election is not enough on its own. If fairness is not ensured, public confidence in elections weakens. The ECI cannot punish a party for breaking the Model Code of Conduct by itself. It acts through other laws, or by barring a leader from campaigning.
1. Name the three challenges shown as potholes in Figure 7.13.
Show answer
Misinformation, fake news and intimidation.
2. What does VVPAT stand for?
Show answer
Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail.
3. When does the Model Code of Conduct come into force?
Show answer
The day the ECI announces the election schedule.
4. How many voters were eligible in the 2024 election?
Show answer
Over 96.8 crore voters.
Questions from the Book
Q10. What are the challenges to conducting free and fair elections?
- The sheer scale: over 96.8 crore voters, thousands of polling stations, hundreds of parties.
- Misinformation, that is, wrong information reaching voters.
- Fake news made and spread on purpose to mislead voters.
- Intimidation, which stops voters from voting freely.
- Money power used to influence voters.
- Getting every voter included, especially PwDs, senior citizens and remote voters.
- The ECI meets these through RPA 1950 and 1951, the Model Code of Conduct, EVMs, VVPAT and awareness campaigns.
Q14. Do you think One Nation, One Election can improve the efficiency of the electoral process?
One Nation, One Election means holding the Lok Sabha and all State Assembly elections together. India did hold such elections from 1951 to 1967.
Group 1: possible advantages
Group 2: possible limitations
Saves money, as elections are held once instead of many times
May weaken federalism, as states lose their own election cycle
Government work is not stopped again and again by the code of conduct
National issues may drown out state and local issues
Security forces, teachers and staff are freed from repeated election duty
Some Assemblies would get shortened terms to fit the cycle
Voter turnout may rise, as people vote once for both
A government that falls early breaks the whole cycle
- Status in 2026: two Bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2024.
- They were sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
- The committee has not yet given its report, so nothing has been passed.
📝 What Have We Learned
- The challenges are misinformation, fake news and intimidation.
- The ECI meets them through RPA 1950 and 1951, the Model Code of Conduct, EVMs and VVPAT.
- With constant vigilance and active citizen participation, democracy becomes more robust.
