The Indian elections kicked off yesteray as India’s 1.2 billion people headed to the polling stations.
India has a bicameral legislature, but the upper house — loosely modelled on the House of Lords — has just 245 members. It is the lower house which has financial powers and the capacity to veto legislation.
A voting population of over 800 million will elect 543 parliamentarians for the lower house – the Lok Sabha — from across the country in nine phases.data released by the Election Commission. The minimum voting age in India is 18.
According to data released by the Election Commission, India’s electorate has grown by 4.7 times from the first general elections held in 1951 to 1952. Of this, first time voters in the age bracket of 18 to 19 year olds are 23 million in number.
There has, however, been no increase in the proportion of women voters in the last 40 years. The 2011 census has registered a greater increase in urban population than rural population for the first time since India’s independence, so political parties have to now think of ways of wooing urban voters too. A Washington Post story stated that Indian election campaigns were mimicking Obama-style campaign tactics.
There are several firsts in the 2014 general election in India. These include:
The ‘none of the above (Nota) option in voting. The voter can opt for a Nota option which denotes his disgust with the existing options.
In all constituencies, electronic voting machines will be employed, which means even an unlettered candidate has to do nothing beyond pressing a button. However, a system of paper trail for electronic voting will be introduced in some constituencies on a trial basis.
Candidates in a parliamentary constituency in bigger states can spend up to Indian Rs7 million up from Indian Rs4 million in 2011.
