PPI demandes electoral reforms, level-playing field for new parties

The Professionals Party of India (PPI), which created quite a stir in urban areas when it was launched, has demanded electoral reforms and a level-playing field for new and small parties vis-a-vis the more established parties.

“We find that the current structure simply favours established parties by giving them an advantage when it comes to the symbol being used,” said Rajendra Thakkar, who had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from Mumbai North as a PPI candidate. He pointed out that symbols to unregistered parties (such as the PPI) or independents is given just 20 days before elections. “A Lok Sabha constituency has 16 lakh people. How do you get your message across to so many people in just 20 days?” he asked.

Unregistered parties and independents are allotted symbols before the elections, and may even get different symbols for different constituencies. Registered parties get a single symbol for all constituencies in the state. National parties get the same symbol for use across India. A party is considered registered if it wins 6% of the votes cast in an election.

PPI was set up by professionals and is headquartered in Pune. It was an early example of civil society taking the political plunge.