Identity-Based Electoral Speech and Its Place in a Constitutional Democracy
In: Verfassung und Recht in Übersee: VRÜ = World comparative law : WCL, Volume 53, Issue 4, p. 438-467
ISSN: 0506-7286
India's 'Representation of the People Act, 1951' (RPA), includes two provisions that restrict certain categories of electoral speech. The first such provision is Section 123 (3) of the RPA which restricts electoral appeals made by political representatives on ethnic or religious grounds while the second is Section 123 (3A) of the RPA which prohibits the promotion of enmity or hatred by political representatives between different classes of citizens. This paper examines the impact of these restrictions on political representation in India and its effects on competing democratic constitutional values. Our examination finds that the restrictions on identity-based appeals fail to optimally balance competing democratic values, and this adversely affects Indian democracy. The paper finally makes a case for redrawing the contours of the restrictions placed by Sections 123 (3) and 123 (3A) on Indian electoral speech so as to best strengthen Indian democracy.