India's general elections is on-going until 19 May.The sub-continent’s political parties display low “intra-party democracy” because policy decisions are routinely made by a small group of party elites.More importantly, party tickets are typically distributed, or even sold, by these elites in the absence of a functioning democratic process within the party.As a result, many candidates from the major political parties view contesting elections as an investment rather than a sunken cost.They also tend to bankroll the parties in the campaign period.In this second report from a two-part series on the power of money power in India’s elections, correspondent Murali Krishnan explains why a fundamental change in electoral laws is desperately needed.
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