Elections in India

For the most recent general election, see Indian general election, 2009.

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India has a quasi federal government, with elected officials at the federal (national), state and local levels. On a national level, the head of government, the Prime Minister, is elected directly by the people^{[citation needed]}, through a general election. All members of the federal legislature, the Parliament, are directly elected. Elections in India take place every five years by universal adult suffrage.

In 2009, the elections involved an electorate of 714 million^[1] (larger than both EU and US elections combined^[2]). Declared expenditure has trebled since 1989 to almost $300 million, using more than one million electronic voting machines.^[3]

The size of the huge electorate mandates that elections be conducted in a number of phases (there were four phases in 2004 General Elections and five phases in 2009). It involves a number of step-by-step processes from announcement of election dates by the Election Commission of India, which brings into force the 'model code of conduct' for the political parties, to the announcement of results and submission of the list of successful candidates to the executive head of the state or the centre. The submission of results marks the end of the election process, thereby paving way for the formation of the new government.

Indian electoral system

The Parliament of India comprises the head of state — the president of India — and the two Houses which are the legislature. The President of India is elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of members of federal and state legislatures. Parliament of India has two chambers. The House of the People (Lok Sabha) has 545 members, 543 members elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies and two members appointed to represent the Anglo-Indian community (as envisaged by the Constitution of India, as of now the members of Lok Sabha are 545, out of which 543 are elected for 5-year term and 2 members represent the Anglo-Indian community). The 550 members are elected under the plurality ('first past the post') electoral system.

Council of States (Rajya Sabha) has 245 members, 233 members elected for a six-year term, with one-third retiring every two years. The members are indirectly elected, this being achieved by the votes of legislators in the state and union (federal) territories. The elected members are chosen under the system of proportional representation by means of the Single Transferable Vote. The twelve nominated members are usually an eclectic mix of eminent artists (including actors), scientists, jurists, sportspersons, businessmen and journalists and common people.

History of elections in India

Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people chosen by direct election on the basis of the adult suffrage. The maximum strength of the House envisaged by the Constitution is 552, which is made up by election of up to 530 members to represent the States, up to 20 members to represent the Union Territories and not more than two members of the Anglo-Indian Community to be nominated by the President, if, in his/ her opinion, that community is not adequately represented in the House.

• 1st Lok Sabha (1952)
• 2nd Lok Sabha (1957)
• 3rd Lok Sabha (1962)
• 4th Lok Sabha (1967)
• 5th Lok Sabha (1971)
• 6th Lok Sabha (1977)
• 7th Lok Sabha (1980)
• 8th Lok Sabha (1984-85)
• 9th Lok Sabha (1989)
• 10th Lok Sabha (1991)
• 11th Lok Sabha (1996)
• 12th Lok Sabha (1998)
• 13th Lok Sabha (1999)
• 14th Lok Sabha (2004)
• 15th Lok Sabha (2009)

History of political parties

The dominance of the Indian National Congress was broken for the first time in 1977, with the defeat of the party led by Indira Gandhi, by an unlikely coalition of all the major other parties, which protested against the imposition of a controversial Emergency from 1975–1977. A similar coalition, led by VP Singh was swept to power in 1989 in the wake of major allegations of corruption by the incumbent Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. It, too, lost its steam in 1990.

In 1992, the heretofore one-party-dominant politics in India gave way to a coalition system wherein no single party can expect to achieve a majority in the Parliament to form a government, but rather has to depend on a process of coalition building with other parties to form a block and claim a majority to be invited to form the government. This has been a consequence of strong regional parties which ride on the back of regional aspirations. While parties like the TDP and the AIADMK had traditionally been strong regional contenders, the 1990s saw the emergence of other regional players such as the Lok Dal, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Janata Dal. These parties are traditionally based on regional aspirations, e.g. Telangana Rashtra Samithi or are strongly influenced by caste considerations, e.g. Bahujan Samaj Party which claims to represent the Dalits.

Presently, the United Progressive Alliance led by the Congress Party is in power, while the National Democratic Alliance forms the opposition. Manmohan Singh was re-elected the Prime minister of India.

Election Commission

Elections in India are conducted by the Election Commission of India, the authority created under the Constitution. It is a well established convention that once the election process commences; no courts intervene until the results are declared by the election commission. During the elections, vast powers are assigned to the election commission to the extent that it can function as a civil court, if needed.

Electoral process

Electoral Process in India takes at least a month for state assembly elections with the duration increasing further for the General Elections. Publishing of electoral rolls is a key process that happens before the elections and is vital for the conduct of elections in India. The Indian Constitution sets the eligibility of an individual for voting. Any person who is a citizen of India and above 18 years of age is eligible to enroll as a voter in the electoral rolls. It is the responsibility of the eligible voters to enroll their names. Normally, voter registrations are allowed latest one week prior to the last date for nomination of candidates.

Pre elections

At first before the elections the dates of nomination, polling and counting takes place. The model code of conduct comes in force from the day the dates are announced. No party is allowed to use the government resources for campaigning. The code of conduct stipulates that campaigning be stopped 48 hours prior to polling day. For Indian states a pre-election is a must^{[clarification needed]}

Voting day

Government schools and colleges are chosen as polling stations. The Collector of each district is in charge of polling. Government employees are employed to many of the polling stations. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are being increasingly used instead of ballot boxes to prevent election fraud via booth capturing, which is heavily prevalent in certain parts of India. An indelible ink is applied usually on the left index finger of the voter as an indicator that the voter has cast his vote. This practice has been followed since the 1962 general elections to prevent bogus voting.

"None of the above" voting option

"None of the above" is a proposed voting option in India that would allow voters who support none of the candidates available to them to register an official vote of "none of the above", which is not currently allowed under India election regulation.^[4] The Election Commission of India told the Supreme Court in 2009 that it wished to offer the voter a None of the above button on voting machines; the government, however, has generally opposed this option.^[5]

The Bharatiya Janata Party has expressed a desire to have more parties involved in the discussion, but as of 2009 had not taken a definite stance on the issue.^[5]

Several individuals, including MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Indian National Congress party and social activist Anna Hazare^[6] have expressed support for this bill.

Post elections

After the election day, the EVMs are stored in a strong room under heavy security. After the different phases of the elections are complete, a day is set to count the votes. The votes are tallied typically, the verdict is known within hours. The candidate who has mustered the most votes is declared the winner of the constituency.

The party or coalition that has won the most seats is invited by the President to form the new government. The coalition or party must prove its majority in the floor of the house (Lok Sabha) in a vote of confidence by obtaining a simple majority (minimum 50%) of the votes in the house.

Voter registration

For few cities in India, the voter registration forms can be generated online and submitted to the nearest electoral office.^{[citation needed]}

Absentee voting

As of now, India does not have an absentee ballot system. Section 19 of The Representation of the People Act (RPA)-1950^[7] allows a person to register to vote if he or she is above 18 years of age and is an ‘ordinary resident’ of the residing constituency i.e. living at the current address for 6 months or longer. Section 20 of the above Act disqualifies a non-resident Indian (NRI) from getting his/her name registered in the electoral rolls. Consequently, it also prevents a NRI from casting his/her vote in elections to the Parliament and to the State Legislatures.

In August 2010, Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill-2010 which allows voting rights to NRI's was passed in both Lok Sabha with subsequent gazette notifications on Nov 24, 2010.^[8] With this NRI's will now be able to vote in Indian elections but have to be physically present at the time of voting. Several civic society organizations have urged the government to amend the RPA act to allow NRI's and people on the move to cast their vote through absentee ballot system.^[9][10] People for Lok Satta has been actively pushing combination of internet and postal ballot as a viable means for NRI voting.^[11]

See also

	India portal
	Politics portal

• 49-O Popularly known as 'No Vote'
• General elections in India
• State Assembly elections in India

References

1. ^ Shashi Tharoor (2009-04-16). "The recurring miracle of Indian democracy". New Straits Times. http://www.straitstimes.com/vgn-ext-templating/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=eece35b378aa0210VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=0162758920e39010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD. 
2. ^ EU (25 states) electorate = 350mn (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3715399.stm), US electorate=212 mm (http://elections.gmu.edu/preliminary_vote_2008.html)
3. ^ Indian General Election Expenditure, from ECI website accessed 14 May 2006.
4. ^ Mishra, Gaurav (20 April 2009). "Strong India poll reaction online". Al Jazeera. http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/indiaelections/2009/04/2009418114915169787.html. Retrieved 23 April 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Bagriya, Ashok (29 January 2009). "EC suggests 'none of the above' option on the ballot". IBN Live. http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/indiaelections/2009/04/2009418114915169787.html. Retrieved 23 April 2011. 
6. ^ http://www.sunday-guardian.com/investigation/annas-next-target-is-electoral-reform
7. ^ Representation of the People Act-1950
8. ^ gazette notifications
9. ^ Petition for Absentee Voting in Indian Elections
10. ^ Non-Resident Indians Voting rights in the upcoming general elections
11. ^ People for Lok Satta- NRI voting campaign

• Subrata K. Mitra and V.B. Singh. 1999. Democracy and Social Change in India: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the National Electorate. New Delhi: Sage Publications. ISBN 81-7036-809-X (India HB) ISBN 0-7619-9344-4 (U.S. HB).
• Subrata K. Mitra, Mike Enskat, Clemens Spiess (eds.). 2004. Political Parties in South Asia. Greenwood: Praeger.
• Subrata K. Mitra/Mike Enskat/V.B. Singh. 2001. India, in: Nohlen, Dieter (Ed.). Elections in Asia and the Pacific

External links

• Elections in India History and Information
• Indian Assembly Election Results
• Election Commission of India
• Adam Carr's Election Archive