Ideally, election manifestos should be visionary frameworks that declare policy options and aims of political parties in any forthcoming electoral contest. Manifestos reflect the ideological position of political parties on varied issues of governance that can influence prospective voters to vote in their favour. In India, election manifestos have largely been a political template that outlines the proposed plan of action for five years once a party is voted to power. The legitimacy of an election manifesto in the implementation of policies has been a matter of debate. The accountability of manifestos remains a key question of reform in an electoral democracy like ours.

There are global practices in the form of regulatory mechanisms to control the content of election manifestos to avoid undue influence on voters. The developed and the developing countries have devised unique and indigenous practices to maintain fairness in electoral competition among political parties. In the United Kingdom, the electoral authority has the power to issue specific guidelines for manifestos as part of campaign material. In the United States of America, political parties have developed an internal mechanism to govern the charter of the party. In some Asian countries like Bhutan, the Election Commission has the power to approve the content of an election manifesto before it is in circulation for mass consumption. In Latin American countries like Mexico, certification, registration and validation of the Federal Electoral Institute is mandatory for the nomination of contestants.

In India, the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which was enacted by the Indian provincial legislature before the first general elections of 1952, defines the rules for the mode of conduct of elections. Article 324 to Article 329 of Part XV of the Constitution deal with the electoral system. In its more than six decades of existence, the Election Commission of India has been embroiled in many tussles. In the context of the Bihar elections, the pledge in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifesto to distribute Covid-19 vaccines free of cost to the state population has created a combative situation. Opposition parties have accused the BJP of politicizing the pandemic and playing on the fears of the people. The question is whether such an electoral promise violated the model code of conduct. A complaint to the EC by the RTI activist, Saket Gokhale, alleged that such a promise was a breach of the powers vested in the Union. It is also being argued that this kind of a pledge would disrupt the level playing field of elections. The EC, however, dismissed the charge of violation of the model code of conduct.

Promises of freebies have stirred the proverbial hornet’s nest in past elections too. There have been arguments about ‘freebies’ being in contravention of Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act. In S. Subramaniam Balaji vs Govt. of T. Nadu & Ors., the Supreme Court reposed its faith in the EC to regulate its powers after consulting Article 324 to facilitate free and fair elections. The court was apprehensive about the possibility of freebies vitiating the sanctity of the electoral process. But it also expressed its jurisdictional limitation to issue direction to the legislature on the matter. Instead it routed its concern by directing the EC to frame elaborate guidelines for the preparation of manifestos and include them in the model code of conduct to guide political parties and candidates.

In India, public confidence in election manifestos is minimal. They are usually construed as baits for gaining power. Should not the promises made in election manifestos be binding on political parties? Electoral reforms can initiate stringent rules to make manifestos accountable. Electoral manifestos should be released well in advance to enable voters to take informed decisions about the deliverables being promised by political parties. The quality of any democracy is premised upon fair electoral practices that establish democratic credibility and evoke electoral confidence.