Archive · 14 Dec 2025
Manish Tewari Proposes Five Electoral Reforms
Manish Tewari, a member of the Lok Sabha, recently proposed five important changes to make India's election system better.
He wants to make sure the Election Commission is fair by adding more people to the group that chooses its leader.
He also thinks the Election Commission should not be able to change voter lists in whole states without good reasons.
He is worried about the machines used for voting and wants either all votes to be checked with paper trails or to go back to paper ballots.
He also wants to stop governments from giving money to voters before elections if they have too much debt.
Lastly, he wants to change a law that makes it hard for elected officials to vote the way they think is best.
These changes are meant to make elections more trustworthy and fair.
Manish Tewari proposed five electoral reforms in the Lok Sabha on December 9, 2025.
He suggested adding the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha to the Election Commission's selection committee.
He criticized the widespread conduct of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, stating it lacks legal basis and transparency.
He advocated for either 100% verification of VVPAT slips or a return to paper ballots to ensure democratic integrity.
He proposed a new constitutional provision (Article 293A) to prohibit cash transfers by governments with high debt-to-GDP ratios.
He introduced a private member's bill to reform the Anti-Defection Law, allowing MPs to vote according to their conscience on non-critical matters.
- Who
- Manish Tewari, a member of the Lok Sabha
- What
- Proposed five electoral reforms to restore confidence in India's electoral system
- When
- December 9, 2025
- Where
- Lok Sabha, India
- Why
- To address concerns about the neutrality of the Election Commission, illegal electoral roll revisions, EVM trustworthiness, pre-election cash transfers, and the Anti-Defection Law
- Date of Proposal
- December 9, 2025
- Proposed Additional Members for Election Commission Selection
- Chief Justice of India and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha
- Current Selection Mechanism Members
- Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, and a Cabinet minister
- Proposed Constitutional Provision
- Article 293A to prohibit cash transfers by governments with high debt-to-GDP ratios
- Proposed Debt-to-GDP Ratio Thresholds
- 10% (ideal) or 20% (minimum)
- Current Government Debt
- Rs 2.67 lakh crore as of March 24, 2025
- States with Debt-to-GDP Ratios Exceeding 30%
- 18 out of 28 states
- Proposed Anti-Defection Law Reform
- MPs to lose membership only on confidence motions, no-confidence motions, and financial matters