Secret voting in the state upper house may be a thing of past

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government seems to be inclined to give its nod to the proposal, for open voting for elections to the state legislative council, mooted by the Election Commission. The proposal seeking opinion of the state was sent a few days before the Council elections which took place on June 10.

The commission has, simultaneously, asked the opinion of other states to make the necessary changes in the voting pattern. According to commission sources, five states have already accepted the proposal which can have a positive impact on horse-trading.

In view of secret voting, members who cross-vote and defy the party they belong to, escape legal scrutiny. For the election to the Rajya Sabha the same voting system is followed.

The UP government has constituted a four-member committee to go into this question. The Committee has been asked to submit its report soon. Informed sources say that the constitution of the committee and the decision to wait for its report is just a formality.

The state government has nothing against the proposal. This change is needed in the light of the recent Council election in the state. At least five Samajwadi Party members had cross-voted and supported other party candidates during the election. The Congress members had followed suit.

The other two parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Bhartiya Janata Party had lesser number of rebel members. However, the cross-voting had not affected prospect of any candidate selected by these parties. All official nominees had won.