Leaving now our laurels alone, it becomes imperative to take stock of the present state of affairs which causes concern and anxiety because of the existence of the looming danger threatening to cut at the very roots of free and fair elections. The role of money and muscle powers at elections deflecting seriously the well accepted democratic values and ethos and corrupting the process; rapid criminalization of politics greatly encouraging evils of booth capturing, rigging, violence etc.; misuse of official machinery, i.e. official media and ministerial; increasing menace of participation of non-serious candidates; form the core of our electoral problems. Urgent corrective measures are the need of the hour lest the system itself should collapse. Electoral reforms are correctly understood to be a continuous process. But attempts so far made in this area did not touch even the fringe of the problem. They appeared to be abortive. Some of the recent measures like reduction of voting age and anti-defection law are no doubt laudable and the basic principles underlying those measures should be appreciated. But there are other vital and important areas in election field completely neglected and left high and dry.