The Supreme Court Bench hearing the dispute between Shiv Sena factions in Maharashtra has made certain observations regarding the relationship between elected legislators and the political party which nominated them as candidates for elective office. According to media reports, the bench commented that a group of legislators cannot override the official directives of the parent political party merely because they hold a majority among the elected members. The bench also expressed the view that the maturity of a democracy is measured by the constancy of political parties and their members to their ideology.

Let us carefully examine the implications of these comments, particularly in the context of the evolution of the party system and the functioning of our democracy in the past 75 years. Undoubtedly, the conduct and functioning of many elected legislators are well below desired standards. We, as a people, are not getting the best out of our governance and politics. The sacred trust reposed in the elected legislators is often betrayed. I have always argued for several far-reaching political and governance reforms to make our democracy work for our people, not for a few people seeking power. Electoral system, rule of law, local governments, self-correcting mechanisms, legislative functioning—all require a major overhaul. But the assumption that strengthening the autocracy of the already unelected oligarchs and coteries that control most parties will make democracy better is a dangerous delusion. Such a view betrays the widely prevalent contempt for the electoral process and elected legislators.

Michael Dummett (1925-2011), the distinguished Oxford philosopher and a leading authority on electoral........

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