Introduction-Historical background to Elections

Democracy as a system of governance has never been alien to the Indian Context. There has
been a special place for the local administration bodies in India- right from the Indus Valley
civilization through the British regime to post-independence India. In fact, ancient India was
characterised by ‘ganapadas’ or village republics governed by local bodies known as
‘panchayats’. All public issues including religious services, cultural activites, settlement of
civil cases, protection of people, as well as supervision of disaster management services were
under the jurisdiction of local panchayats. However, the village admisistration bodies could
not exercise their full autonomy during the British regime due to frequent interferences by the
British in the local affairs. The post-independence period was no different with the state
goverments not allowing the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to flourish because men at the
helm of affairs were totally reluctant to let-go their powers to the local bodies even as it
amounted to powers to the people at the grassroots level.

The unanimous election as well as financial incentive for unanimously elected panchayat
dates back to 1960s. In 1960-61, 25 per cent of the elections of panchas and sarpanchas were
unanimous; of sarpanchas, 38.8 per cent were elected unanimously. But unanimous elections
of panchayat samiti Pradhans were rare.”1

The government of Gujarat and Haryana had launched a scheme / financial incentives for
unanimously elected village panchayat in 1990s and in 2000s, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and
Haryana revised the scheme for village panchayats. In 2006, Andhra Pradesh government
announced financial incentives for unanimously elected village panchayat. The incentives
announced by the Government are Rs.15 lakhs each for major panchayats and Rs.5 lakhs for
smaller ones. Followed by this announcement, Panchayat Raj minister B Satyanarayana
informed the press that the AP government has released Rs 5.15 crore Rs 5.15 crore in 2010.
The government had paid Rs five lakh to villages with a population less than 15,000 and Rs
15 lakh for villages over 15,000 population for electing their panchayat committees
unanimously in the 2006 elections. As many as 2924 villages had benefited and an amount of
Rs 146.50 crore was released for the purpose.2

1
Desai A R, 1969, Rural Sociology in India, Mumbai: Popular Prakashan, pg. 548.
2
“Incentive for panchayat in AP which elect members unanimously”, The Hindu, May 12, 2010.
 SAMRAS YOJANA IN GUJARAT STATE
The writings on samaras yojana are largely based on government’s website, newspaper
reports and blogs. Two NGOs, one the network of NGOs and the other a women’s
organization have carried out studies on samaras panchayat.3

Gujarat has a three-tier panchayat system and does hold regular panchayat elections. As a
policy, in these elections, political parties are debarred from participation. As a result, the
elected members of these panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) are individually accountable to
the villagers. This accountability becomes non-existent if an individual member does not
want to contest further. But the likelihood of political parties avoiding accountability is less
compared to individuals as it would be unlikely for political parties to skip elections. Further,
as political parties do not fight panchayat elections, the functioning of the panchayat does not
fi gure substantially in mainstream political discourse of the state.

The Government of Gujarat had promoted uncontested ‘selection’ of candidates in place of

the normal processes of ‘election’ through a government resolution (GR) on 14th July 1992.4

Since the 20015 revision, it has become the ‘Samaras Yojana’(samaras literally means ‘of
common interest’ or ‘all substances submerged in to one form’).

But it is not only Gujarat; there are many other states where political parties are not allowed
to participate in panchayat elections. But what makes Gujarat different from other states is its
Samras Gram Yojana. Under this scheme substantial fi nancial incentives are given to village
panchayats that do not hold elections, but select consensus candidates instead. Further,
informal priority is given to such panchayats in project approvals and implementation. These
are called Samras villages under the Samras Gram Yojana. There are greater incentives for
women sarpanchs or all women Samras village or scheduled caste (SC) sarpanch Samras
villages.6

3
Ginwalla Persis, 2008. Samaras Scheme and Democratization Process: An Analytical Study, Ahmedabad:
MARA and MSA; and SWATI, 2012, All Women Samaras Panchayat: A Study, Ahmedabad.
4
GR details – panchayat, rural housing and rural development department, date: 14/7/1992, no. chtn-1091-85- g.
There are consecutive seven GRs – in 1996, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011.
5
Rajesh Bhat observed, “Apart from this breach in June 2000 for 18 months, elections have been regularly
organized in Gujarat2 : June 1995, December 2001, December 2006 and the last one in December, 2011 when
10,509 VPs were covered.”
6
Atulan Guha, Undermining Panchayati Raj Institutions in Gujarat, available at EPW Vol XLIX No.22, pg. 21.
 THE NEW GUJARAT MODEL
The writings on samaras yojana and AWSP are largely based on government’s website,
newspaper reports and blogs. Two NGOs, one the network of NGOs and the other a women’s
organization have carried out studies on samaras panchayat.7

The Government of Gujarat had promoted uncontested ‘selection’ of candidates in place of

the normal processes of ‘election’ through a government resolution (GR) on 14th July 1992 8.
Since the 20019 revision, it has become the ‘Samaras Yojana’ (samaras literally means ‘of
common interest’ or ‘all substances submerged in to one form’).

The increase in the reward money under the erstwhile “Binharif (uncontested) Election”
Scheme for VP was whooping hike (5,000%) - from INR 2,000/- to INR 60,000/- to
100,000/-. This created controversy in 2001. Financial incentives are provided to VPs
agreeing to uncontested elections with ‘consensuses’.

As per announcement on 29th November 2011, the ‘financial incentive’ under the scheme has
increased from Rs. 2,00,000/- to 5,00,000/- plus other incentives under varying conditions to
‘Samaras’ Panchayats; these details are provided here.

On the website of the GoG, the following matter is uploaded, which is a statement of intent.

Important points on samaras village scheme – Gujarat government website

It is necessary to have elections of gram panchayat unanimously. This account village people will
participate in developmental works of the village vigorously. The State Government is committed to
see that harmony prevails in the village. The govt, therefore substantially increased the amount of
grant for Gram Panchayat formed unanimously and introduced Sameras Gram Yojana in 2001.

Panchayats, Rural housing and Rural Development Department has provided to pay following in
contrived grants to Gram Panchayats elected unanimously

1. Rs.60,000 (sixty thousand) to Gram Panchayats having population up to 5000

7
Ginwalla Persis, 2008. Samaras Scheme and Democratization Process: An Analytical Study, Ahmedabad: MARA and MSA; and SWATI,
2012, All Women Samaras Panchayat: A Study, Ahmedabad.
8
GR details – panchayat, rural housing and rural development department, date: 14/7/1992, no. chtn-1091-85- g. There are consecutive
seven GRs – in 1996, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011.
9
Rajesh Bhat observed, “Apart from this breach in June 2000 for 18 months, elections have been regularly organized in Gujarat2 : June
1995, December 2001, December 2006 and the last one in December, 2011 when 10,509 VPs were covered.”
2. Rs.1,00,000 (one lakh) to other Gram Panchayats

Such gram panchayats shall be given samaras gram panchayat awards

 Facilities wanting shall be erected in the village from such grants given to the samaras
gram panchayats. Financial outlay is available from the District Planning Board.
Developmental works are to be assigned priority gram sabha of local residents decides the
use of this amount.
 Generally such incentive grants received till today have been used as matching grant of
eleventh finance commission.
 The incentive, govt is used for community developmental works of the village of pure
drinking water scheme, internal approach roads, facilities of street lights, primary school
rooms, primacy treatment centres, water have sting scheme, drainage and sewerage
scheme, preliminary facilities etc.
 Moreover, arrangement of water recharge, deepening and construction of ponds, digging
of wells, constriction of weirs on rivers and culverts and thereby reaction of facilities of
water, where there is permanent scarcity of water.

The recent GR (2011) reads, “The objective of this scheme is to create a positive environment
for development so that the people could take decisions in cordial, cooperative and
harmonious manner. Under this scheme, financial incentive is provided.

Samaras panchayat declared General panchayat, i.e. Mahila samaras panchayat,

based on population panchayat body with men i.e. all women panchayat and
and women as members and financial incentive given (in
financial incentive given (in Rupees)
Rupees)
Population of the village up Rs. 2 lakh Rs. 3 lakh
to 5,000 and first time
unanimously elected
panchayat
Population of the village Rs. 3 lakh Rs. 5 lakh
between 5,001 and 15,000
and first time unanimously
elected panchayat
The village panchayat opting to be a samaras panchayat for the first time and all women
samaras panchayat (AWSP), not having 8th class in the primary school will be given priority
to provide this class.

The village panchayat opting to be a samaras panchayat for consecutive term / second time
and AWSP will have 25 per cent increase in the previous year’s financial incentive as well as
will be provided funds for construction of a CC road.

The village panchayat opting to be a samaras panchayat for consecutive terms / third time and
AWSP will have 25 per cent increase in the previous year’s financial incentive as well as will
be provided funds for facility of solar street lights.

 Conditions

1. The village panchayat opting to be a samaras panchayat for the first time will be awarded
as ‘first time samaras panchayat’, the second time samaras panchayat will be awarded as
‘second time samaras panchayat’ and the third time samaras panchayat will be awarded as
‘third time samaras panchayat’.

2. All women samaras panchayat means a panchayat with a woman sarpanch and all
panchayat members are women and such panchayat will be call ‘all women samaras
panchayat’.

3. The village panchayat opting to a samaras panchayat will have to provide necessary
documents from the village panchayat office and these documents will be authenticated by a
block development officer rank official and then the village panchayat has to request
Development Commissioner to allocate incentive funds.

4. Such panchayat will be given priority for development work under District Planning
Board, Gokul Gram yojana, panchavati yojana, etc. moreover based on improvised GR in
2004, the grant available under samaras yojana can be used as matching grant under state or
central government fund /people’s contribution.

5. The use of grant - financial incentive provided under samaras yojana has to strictly follow
the conditions mentioned here.
6. The financial incentive under samaras yojana has to be provided by the Development
Commissioner. The block development officer has to forward this application within 15 days
of announcement of samaras gram panchayat.

7. The financial incentive provided to samaras panchayat will be used as decided by the
village residents in the gram sabha. Gram sabha has to take up development work after
assessment of available facilities in the village.”

The Chief Minister Narendra Modi distributed incentive prizes worth Rs.4.40-crore to 216
‘samaras gram panchayats’ of north Gujarat region and honoured the sarpanchs of those
villages at a function at Kadi on 6th April 2012. Speaking at the function, he said that Gujarat
now intends to place before India the ‘Samaras Gram Panchayat’ concept of ‘governance
through consensus’ instead of conflict as a finer and more successful model of democracy at
the grassroots level.

 Impact of Samaras Yojana

The financial and other developmental incentives given under this scheme by the State
Government to the villages have continuously from 2002 election onwards. Prior to election
in December 2011, the GoG announced special incentives through a GR for samaras
panchayat Rs 2 lakhs and for all-women samaras panchayat - Rs 3 lakh for villages having
under-5,000 population, and Rs 3 lakh for samaras panchayat and Rs 5 lakh for all-women
samaras panchayat for the villages with above-5,000 population respectively, and additional
25 per cent funds for second and third time samaras panchayat in a row. This has resulted into
an upwards trend.

 The GoG allocated a grant of over Rs.56 crore for Samaras village panchayat followed
by 2011 panchayat election10.
 As per the notification on November 19, 2011 by the state election commission,the
elections in 10,405 village panchayats were carried out in Dec 2011. Out of which 2,147
panchayats have declared as Samaras including 1,893 general and 254 having a women
sarpanch. Out of the general panchayats, 800 panchayats have been declared Samaras for
the first time, 472 for the second time and 621 panchayats have been declared Samaras
for the consecutive third time. There were only 20 woman Samaras village panchayat last

10
Announced by the government spokesperson Health Minister Jay Narayan Vyas and Minister of State Saurabh Patel, on 20th Dec 2011,
followed by state panchayat election.
 year which has been increased to 254 this year. Besides, out of 79,408 of the total wards
28,051 have been declared Samaras.
 As per the detail available from the election commission of Gujarat, number of Samaras
villages in 25 districts of Gujarat11.

 Formation of All Women Samaras Panchayats

In Gujarat, followed by state driven incentives, an increase in AWSP was observed.

 All-women panchayats have increased from 20 in 2006 elections to 254 in 2011
elections. Of total 2,147 samaras panchayat in Gujarat in 2011 election, 254 (11.8%) are
AWSP.
 In Kachchh district (2011), of total 949 villages and 615 village panchayat, 69 are
declared as AWSP and total 215 women sarpanch are elected. Of total 254 AWSP in
Gujarat, 69 AWSP (27%) are in Kachchh district.
 One of the villages in central Gujarat is made of all college going girls, all aged between
19 and 26 years106, 12 members elected unopposed under samaras yojana, on a seat
reserved for a woman sarpanch. The panchayat has a population of 7,000.

CONSTITUTIONALITY OF SAMRAS SCHEME

11
Dec 18, 2011, http://deshgujarat.com/2011/12/18/lesser-number-of-samaras-villages-this-time-modhwadiablames-govt/
Democracy is not merely a word, but, a way of ideal governance since the latter half of the
eighteenth century. It is a manifestation of years of struggle to achieve the rights of the people
to govern and be governed with no hereditary titles or office that was taken up as a perquisite
for the same earlier on. Abraham Lincoln once famously remarked that- “Democracy is a
government of the people, for the people and by the people.” However, the situation that has
been prevailing since the institution of the Samras scheme runs contrary to the rights of the
people to contest and vote in free and fair elections and most importantly against the spirit of
democracy. It is pertinent at this point to firstly understand what democracy implies. The
Black’s Law Dictionary defines ‘democracy’ as- “That form of government in which the
sovereign power resides in and is exercised by the whole body of free citizens, as
distinguished from a monarchy, aristocracy, or oligarchy.”12

The Scheme grossly discriminatory, unconstitutional and bad in law. The scheme also grossly
discriminates between villages that opt for the scheme and the ones that do not by giving
preference to Samaras villages in development related work. Such a stipulation runs contrary
to the ideals of equality and reasonableness that are enshrined in our Constitution. It is
pertinent at this juncture to clearly stipulate what the term ‘Panchayat’ encompasses. Article
243(d) defines a ‘Panchayat’ as - “An institution (by whatever name called) of self-government
constituted under Article 243 B, for the rural areas.” 13 The Samras scheme, is located at the
intersection of socio-political domination and thus, is unconstitutional and liable to be
subverted. The scheme is yet another systematic attempt by the state to stem the rising tide of
subaltern assertion that has been idealised by the 73rd Constitution Amendment Act.

It is also to be pointed out here that the Samras process has largely been a closed-door affair not
involving the large mass of marginalized sections of society and women. It is a non-inclusive
process, where the participation and consensus of all was never sought or attempted. It is also
discriminatory, giving preference to selected villages and undermines genuine debate. The
Scheme thus, goes against the spirit of the ‘Representation of the Peoples Act’ as regards the
unfettered and unhindered right to contest free and fair elections and the right to vote in elections.
The system of Panchayats envisaged in this Part aims at establishing strong and accountable
systems of governance that will in turn ensure more equitable distribution of resources in a
manner beneficial to all. The scheme constitutes a breach of the right of people to vote by ballot
in secrecy without being answerable to others for their choice. Right to make choice by means of
12
Henry Campbell Black, Black’s Law Dictionary 518-519 (4th ed., 1968).
13
Article 243(d) of the Constitution of India.
ballot is also a part of freedom of expression. 14 The Samras scheme in the garb of development
and incentives infringes upon the fundamental right of people enshrined in Article 19 (1) (a). 15
Merely for the sake of ensuring cost efficiency and for evading logistical hassles, constitutional
and democratic principles cannot be curtailed or done away with under any circumstances. Also,
differential treatment to Samras and non-samras Panchayats with regards to grants and incentives
for development being provided to them is an earnest breach of constitutional values and the
ideals of equality.

The Samras scheme infringes upon the right of people to have free and fair elections for Gram
Panchayats: It has been emphasised time and again that unlike the right to vote, the right to
contest is not a constitutional right and thus, the state government has systematically curtailed the
rights of persons to contest elections, typically of those belonging to marginalised communities
and women. However, it needs to be emphasised here that the idea of rights is evolutionary and
while the Constitution does list specific rights, as a democratic society we have over the years
come to recognize other rights as emanating from fundamental rights or being implicitly part of
fundamental rights. Consequently, the right to contest elections needs to be understood in this
larger context instead of the narrow construction of its status merely as a statutory right. Also, it is
significant to note here that the right to vote for the candidate of one’s choice is of the essence of
democratic polity.16

The ideals of free and fair elections constitute a part of the basic structure of the Constitution and
have been time and again expressed in various judgements of the SC. The Constitution Bench of
the Supreme Court in the famous judgement of Keshavananda Bharati v State of Kerala had
observed that- ‘free, fair, fearless and impartial elections are the guarantee of a democratic
polity.’17

It cannot be more emphasised here that the right to participate in the governance of one’s
country, be it on the local or national level is a key human right. The United Nations, in its
‘1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights’, had laid down in Article 21 that ‘Everyone
has a right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen
representatives’ and ‘The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government;

14
PUCL v. UOI, (2003) 4 SCC 399.
15
Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India.
16
1, Doabia & Doabia, Law of Elections and Election Petitions 1033 (4th ed.).
17
Keshavnanda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461 .
this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be held by universal
and equal suffrage’.18
The Constitution casts a sacred duty on the respective Central and State ECs to hold free and
fair elections. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution of India, observed in
the Constituent Assembly on the 15th June, 1949, while introducing draft Article 289 (which
is the present Article 324) that- “The House will realise that franchise is a most fundamental
thing in a democracy. No person who is entitled to be brought into the electoral rolls on the
grounds which we have already mentioned in our Constitution, namely, an adult 12 of 21
years of age, should be excluded merely as a result of the prejudice of local government, or
the whim of an officer. That would cut at the very root of democratic government.” 19 Thus,
taking away of such rights from any citizen of the nation, for governance at any level runs
contrary to the ideas on which our Constitution and governance system is verily based.

Therefore, it can be effectively opined that the right to contest elections cannot be de-coupled
from the right to vote and the idea of democratic representation. The Constitution did not
have to specify the right to contest as a right because democracy as a system of government
envisioned by the Constitution is not possible without recognizing that both the right to vote
and contest are two sides of the same coin. It is no exaggeration to argue that in as much as
democracy is the central pillar of government in India, the right to vote and right to contest
together become a basic feature of the Constitution. The violation of either of them will
damage the very foundations of democracy.

CONCLUSION

18
Article 21, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 .
19
Press Note, General elections to Gujarat Legislative Assembly, Aug. 16,2002, ECI.
The Samras scheme as has been already mentioned above is a flower bereft of fragrance. The
same was effectively opined by the Gujarat High Court. Free, fair and direct elections have
always been an indispensable part of an ideal democracy. Mr. Shashi Tharoor had very rightly
stated that if indirect or uncontested elections become the order of the day even at the lowest
level of self-governance, then the true spirit of democracy would be lost. The Samras scheme
propounded in Gujarat is one such phenomenon.

In the garb of promoting harmony and peace at the Panchayati Raj levels, the scheme has
grossly flouted the very tenets of democracy and has acted in unequivocal defiance of the
basic structure laid down by our Constitution. The Hon’ble SC in the Keshavananda Bharati
case had verily stated that the basic structure of the Constitution was not amenable to any
kind of amendment under any circumstances. However, it is strange to see that such
unabashed flouting of norms has been made to become the order of the day with not much
defiance from the judiciary’s side.

Not only this, the Scheme creates a distinction between Samras and non-samras panchayats
by favouring the former in terms of grants and development related work as compared to the
latter. Such a distinction is prejudicial to the interests of the common masses and a direct
contravention of the ideals of equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution which
provides for the right to equality. Several reasons have been listed in favour of implementing
the Samras Scheme. One of the key reasons being cited for the same is the promotion of
harmony and camaraderie between the folks of a village. However, the effects of the Scheme
run contrary to what is stated. The Scheme has largely lead to further marginalisation of the
already marginalised communities and has also acted as a detriment to women empowerment
in these areas, as not much of their participation is duly encouraged in such a system. Even if
there is participation of women, it is largely that of women from the upper castes or
prosperous families of the village. The Scheme has thus, resulted in the creation of a
somewhat feudal order yet again.

Another frontier on which the Scheme fails is that of ensuring secrecy of ballot, an essential
requirement for conducting free and fair elections. Also, it is only in secrecy that the true will
of the people is expressed. However, in this Scheme, the people are reduced to mere
spectators who unwillingly give a nod for persons who exercise power and influence in the
village. All of this is done in the hope of getting grants that would be utilised for the well-
being of the village.
Another pertinent reasoning given in favour of the Samras is the saving of hefty election
expenses thereby consolidating the state exchequer. Such a stipulation is grossly erroneous as
no amount of financial savings can be used as an excuse to curtail the process of free and fair
elections in a democracy. Thus, in the light of these, it needs to be firmly stated that the
Scheme is unconstitutional and contrary to the ideals of the democracy. Thus, it needs to be
quashed at the earliest instance.