NEW DELHI, May 27: Notwithstanding protests from political parties, the Election Commission is determined that the upcoming elections for the country's next President will be a ``whip-less'' affair.

Armed with the rule books, in this case the Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections Act, 1952, and the Constitution of India, the EC is convinced that it is against the law for parties to issue a whip to their members as this would be tantamount to ``coercing, compelling, threatening or forcing'' a member to vote for a particular candidate.

A few weeks ago when Election Commissioner G V G Krishnamurty raised the issue of a ``conscience vote'' for the President, most political parties had reacted vociferously implying that the EC was overstepping its bounds. The EC's job was to conduct elections in a ``free and fair'' manner, and did not extend to the internal functioning of political parties, they said.

The issue is bound to stir up a hornet's nest since political parties will not brook what they view as the EC's attempts to move onto their turf.``Political parties can canvass, appeal or request their MLAs and MPs to vote for a particular candidate,'' Election Commissioner G V G Krishnamurty told The Indian Express. ``But a whip is a threat, implying that if a member does not heed the party whip he can be liable for disciplinary action including expulsion from the party.''

Election Commission officials emphasise that the vote for the highest office in the country is totally different from voting for a Bill or a motion on the floor of the House. When a party issues a whip on a particular Bill or motion, it is because the party holds a particular view, either for or against the Bill or motion.

Under the terms of the electoral college that elects the President, when an MLA or an MP casts his vote for a candidate, he does so not as a representative of his party, but as a representative of his constituency.

There are no nominated candidates of a party, nor any symbols. Parties can merely extend their support to a candidate.

The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, unambiguously prohibits the use of ``undue influence or bribery'', making these offences punishable under law.In the coming days as the Commission gets down in earnest to the task of conducting the election of the eleventh President of the country, it intends to remove all ambiguity about the ``whip'' question.

Some of the fire resulting from Krishnamurty's ``conscience vote'' call, has been defused following the recent meeting of the Commission with the major national and regional parties, where the EC pointed out the provisions in the Constitution which empowers the Commission to lay down the law in this instance.

But a major national debate on the issue is in the offing. And the Commission is hoping this happens so that ``the matter is cleared up once and for all''.

Following the political uproar after Krishnamurty's remarks, a number of prominent lawyers and Constitutional experts, including Ram Jethmalani, Kapil Sibal, Subhash Kashyap, K T S Tulsi and Shanti Bhushan have expressed their support for the EC's position. Their concerted view is that the President as head of state should be above party politics, and should not be sponsored by any party so that he can function independently.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.