DMK’s pitch for proportional representation triggers wider debate

The DMK rooting for a proportional representation (PR) system has brought to the fore a similar demand made by other parties in Tamil Nadu, though there are apprehensions about its possible misuse, especially voter mobilisation on sectarian lines and domination of caucuses in parties.

Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S. Ramadoss is a strong advocate of the system. CPI(M) State secretary G. Ramakrishnan has also welcomed the DMK’s demand.

“When we proposed the system, nobody seemed to take us seriously. Now the DMK has suggested the same idea,” Dr. Ramadoss said.

Mr. Ramakrishnan said it was a good thing that the DMK had come forward to support the system.

South Asia expert V. Suryanarayan said that though he was not sure whether the DMK had favoured the idea out of conviction or raised the issue to showcase the 97 lakh votes it had polled in the Lok Sabha elections, the advantage of the PR system was that small parties would get representation in Parliament and the Assemblies.

“In Sri Lanka, small parties such as the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Ceylon Workers Congress could get representation only because of the PR system. In the first-past-the-post system, which is followed in India, such representation is impossible,” he said.

But the former Union Minister, S.R. Balasubramonian, rejected Prof. Suryanarayan’s argument, saying that in a country like India, very small parties and smaller States would be denied the opportunity to send their representatives to legislative bodies under the PR system. “We need a person to represent a particular constituency, and such an opportunity would be given the go-by in the PR system. Individuals, who have a fairly good name and who have done good work for people, will also be prevented from representing their people,” he said.

Mr. Balasubramonian, who was also Congress Legislature Party leader, said that comparing the vote share of the DMK with the DMDK was odious.

“The DMK contested from 34 constituencies and secured 97 lakh votes. But the DMDK contested only in 14 seats,” he pointed out.

In the past too, there were campaigns in favour of the PR system, and they were abandoned after they failed to find favour with the people, he said. “Unlike in the U.S. Senate, where every State has two representatives, irrespective of their size and population, in India we have queered the pitch for the States by electing outsiders to represent them [in the Rajya Sabha, for instance]. The first-past-the-post system alone can offset such a disadvantage,” he said.

However, Prof. Suryanarayan pointed out that as no party would be in a position to secure an absolute majority under the PR system, it would always lead to a coalition government.

“In Sri Lanka, neither Chandrika Kumaratunga nor Ranil Wickremesinghe was able to get a majority. Only [Mahinda] Rajapaksa achieved it,” he said.

He agreed that the caste-based parties could turn the PR system to their advantage and send their representatives alone to Parliament. Nonetheless, the DMK flagging the issue has rekindled a virtually forgotten debate in Tamil Nadu.