General Elections 2014

PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
*******

New Delhi: 14th March, 2014

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS OF INDIA

INTRODUCTION

When Elections Take Place

Elections to the Lower House or House of the People (Lok Sabha) of the Indian
Parliament
Party or coalition that secures majority in Lok Sabha forms Government at the Centre.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

Every five years, unless House is dissolved earlier

Called earlier by the President upon dissolution of Lok Sabha, if Government loses
confidence of majority of members and if there is no alternative Government to take over
2014 Elections shall be the 16th ; the 1st General Election was in 1951 - 1952.

Who can vote

ELECTORS

Any Indian citizen over the age of 18 on 1st

January of the year and who is ordinarily resident
in the constituency concerned
Based on universal adult suffrage
Eligible elector to register in
respective
constituency
Indian citizens living abroad also can be enrolled
at the address given in their passports

Population

Independent constitutional authority

For holding regular, free and fair elections
Three member body
Headquartered at New Delhi with organs
at state and district levels

Electors
Enrolled
Electors
Voters

POLITICAL PARTIES
CANDIDATES

Conduct of elections largely dependent on their behaviour

Should be registered with ECI

Who can contest

Contestants in the
2009 General Elections

Political Parties that participated in the

2009 General Elections
34
National Parties

1623
State Parties

3829

759

Members of National Parties

Members of State Parties

Registered (Unrecognised) Parties

322

Any Indian citizen who is registered as a voter & is over 25 years of age
May be either belonging to a party or independent
Every candidate is required to make a security deposit
Deposit is Rs. 25,000/- for General Candidates, Rs. 12,500/- for SCs and
STs
Candidates to file affidavit about their assets, liabilities, criminal
background and educational qualifications.

1859

Members of Registered Unrecognized Parties

Independents

DECIDING THE
BATTLEFIELDS

Division into Parliamentary Constituencies

Whole of India divided into 543 constituencies.
Based on number of seats allocated to each of the 28 states and 7 union territories
on the basis of their population.
Size and shape determined by Delimitation Commission of India.
One member elected to Lok Sabha from each constituency, filling 543 of 545
seats.
Two members nominated by the President from the Anglo-Indian community.
79

41
423

Reserved for SC
Reserved for ST
General

ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION

EPIC

Electors Photo Identity Card

Provided upon registration to each individual elector
Provided free of cost

Scheduling the Elections

Done by Election Commission of
India
Considering
weather,
festivals,
school exams, etc.
Seeking to maximize electoral
participation
Generally held in phases to ensure
effective security arrangements for
peaceful poll

Manifestos
Issued by parties and candidates on the eve of
election
Detail programmes they wish to implement if
elected, highlighting ones own strengths and
failures of opponents

Election Symbols
An election symbol is allotted to each candidate
and to each political party
Enable illiterate voters to identify the party and
candidate they wish to vote for
Candidates of recognized parties are allotted the
party symbol

REGULATORY MECHANISMS

Systematic Voter Education

and Electoral Participation
To
improve
electoral
participation & to build up a
culture
of
participative
democracy
Integral part of election
management in India

WHATS NEW
None of the Above (NOTA)

Each elector can vote for one

candidate
Candidate with maximum votes wins

SVEEP

Electoral Rolls
Lists of registered electors in each constituency
Revised annually
All rolls computerized & include photos of each
elector.

Introduced in 2013 in State Assembly

Elections
Shall be the last button on the EVM
Voter can press this button if he/she
does not wish to vote for any of the
candidates

BETWEEN CONTESTANTS &

ELECTORS

First-past-the-post Electoral
System

THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

Voter Verifiable Paper Audit

Trail (VVPAT)
Prints a ballot slip showing the name and
symbol of candidate to whom vote has
been given
To improve voter satisfaction

Timeline of Poll Events

Model Code of Conduct

Supervising Elections

For political parties and contestants

Broad guidelines on conduct during
campaign
Evolved by ECI on the basis of consensus
among political parties
To maintain campaign on healthy lines &
to ensure a level playing field

Done by Observers appointed by ECI

In order to:
Ensure fair conduct of
campaigns
Ensure free and ethical voting
Keep a check on election
expenditure
Types of Observers:
General Observers
Police Observers
Expenditure Observers
Awareness Observers
Micro Observers

Limit on Poll Expenses

Tight legal limits on poll expenditure by
candidates
Varies between Rs.54 lakhs and Rs.70
lakhs

POLLING MANAGEMENT
Proxy Voting
Electronic Voting
Machines
Voting by secret ballot
Used exclusively since 2004
General Elections

Option to vote through proxy or through

postal ballot is available to service voters
belonging to the Armed Forces or to members
belonging to a force to which the Army Act
applies

Indelible Ink

Polling Stations
Usually set up in public institutions
Within 2 km of every voter
No polling station to deal with more
than 1,500 voters

Applied to voters left fore-finger before

permitting him/her to vote
Used to control fake voting
Dries up in 60 seconds and remains for a
few months
Cannot be removed by chemicals, detergents
or oil

Counting of Votes
Postal Ballot

INTERESTING FACTS OF GENERAL ELECTIONS 2009

Highest Polling station: Auleyphu in Leh (15,300 m)
Maximum number of votes polled by a candidate: 8,32,224
Minimum number of votes polled by a candidate: 118
Maximum number of candidates in a constituency: 43
Minimum number of candidates in a constituency: 3
Maximum voter turnout in a constituency: 90.32%
Minimum voter turnout in a constituency: 25.55%
Largest constituency (by area): Ladakh (J&K) 1,73,266.37 sq. km
Smallest constituency (by area):Chandni Chowk (Delhi) - 10.59 sq. km
Largest constituency (by size of electorate): Outer Delhi (NCT of Delhi) 31,03,525 electors
Smallest constituency (by size of electorate):Lakshadweep - 37,619
electors
A polling station was set up in Junagadh district in Gir Forests of Gujarat
for just one elector.
RM

Certain sections of voters entitled to

vote by post
Includes those on election duty,
service voters & certain others

Done after completion of all phases of polling

Under the supervision of Returning Officers
and Election Observers
Counting for all 543 constituencies done on a
single day
Results declared within a few hours

WORLDS LARGEST DEMOCRATIC EXERCISE

2009 ELECTIONS
8,070 Candidates
363 Registered Political Parties
10 Million Personnel on poll duty (including
police personnel)
834,919 Polling Stations
717 Million Registered Electors
2,046 Observers
1,39,284 Micro Observers
46,90,575 Polling Staff
2014 ELECTIONS
9,19,452 Polling Stations
Nine Poll days

EVMs: 9,08,643 control units

11,83,543 ballot units

74,729 Videographers
40,599 Digital Cameras
Election Expenditure by Central Government
- 8,466 million rupees
1080 Counting Centres
Five Phases
Spread over one month
814 Million Registered Electors
EVMs: 17,20,080 control units
18,78,306 ballot units
* Source : Election Commission of India