Elections And The Armed Forces

Increase of election fever in the country with the ongoing Lok sabha and some state assembly elections necessitates an assessment of the effect, if any, that the large constituency of serving and retired soldiers would have on the outcome.

GEN DEEPAK KAPOOR (RETD)

With close to 1.3 million serving and 2.3 million retired soldiers affecting the voting pattern of approximately 18 million voters on the premise of five voting members in a family (3.6 x 5 = 18), this large chunk can influence the outcome substantially. It is by now a well known fact that the rewarirally of 1.5 million ex-servicemen and their families in mid 2014 in favour of the BJP was a major contributor to the overall fortunes of that party in Lok sabha.

While this large number is almost uniformly spread across the 542 Lok sabha constituencies of the country, thereby seemingly making it a minor player in the game of numbers, the tendency of services voters and their families to vote en bloc for their preferred choice can and does have an effect on the results especially in close contests. In fact, the strong bonds within the services fraternity, of both serving and ex-servicemen, engender respect and support for issues of common concern, leading to collective support for the favoured candidate.

Debate has been ongoing whether the serving soldiers’ votes should be counted at the stations where they are posted or in the constituencies where they are domiciled. In the former case, stations where serving personnel are posted in large numbers will influence the results, thereby putting pressure on the prospective candidates to work for the improvement of civic facilities in those military stations. However, a much larger chunk is committed in operational/ forward areas for limited durations where developmental issues are not relevant. for these soldiers, the election commission has provided the option of online voting enabling them to exercise their franchise at their respective places of domicile.