Articles > Lok Sabha Elections

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India proudly calls itself the largest democracy in the world. Elections form a very important component of any democracy, as it gives an opportunity to every citizen to exercise voting right and get his/her voice heard. The 15^th national elections for India are now approaching. Elections are a unique representation of the great diversity of independent India.

The 15th Lok Sabha Election of India is scheduled to take place in the month of April 2009. They will be contested on new constituency boundaries for the first time in over 30 years, the change which was implemented on the findings of the Delimitation Commission[1]. Some of the other major changes in this election include merging of areas of various constituencies to eradicate population inconsistencies between different seats and reservation/de-reservation of seats.[2]

The Election process in India is an elaborate process, as India has an electorate larger than 670 million people - over twice the electorate for the elections of European Parliament. Due to the large number of electorates, the elections  has to be conducted in a number of phases & require an expenditure of around $300 million, using more than 1 million electronic voting machines, making elections in India no small exercise. In fact a unique feature of elections in India is the use of advanced technology of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), which helps in making the election process fair & transparent. The process of elections involve a number of step-by-step processes starting from announcement of election dates by the Election Commission of India, to the announcement of results and submission of the list of successful candidates to the Executive head of the state/centre. The Election Commission of India has brought into force the 'model code of conduct' for the political parties, which keeps a strong check on the functioning of political parties during elections. The submission of results marks the end of the election process, thereby paving way for the formation of the new government.[3]

The National Democratic Alliance officially elected L. K. Advani as their candidate for Prime Minister for the General Election 2009 on January 23rd, 2008.

The Indian National Congress (INC) and its allies though haven’t officially announced their candidate for Prime Ministership for India Election 2009; one speculation is Rahul Gandhi, the son of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the current Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Apart from them, the other political parties haven’t yet officially announced their Prime Ministerial candidates for the 2009 India election.[4]

The strength of Lok Sabha, is 552, comprising 530 members who represent the States, up to 20 members who stand for the Union Territories and not more than 2 members from the Anglo-Indian Community who are nominated by the President. The first general elections were conducted in India in 1951, for 489 constituencies representing 26 Indian states.

Excited about the possible turning point in India’s governance, at RFG India, we will continue to update you with latest news and information on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Keep watching this space! For more information/ queries or inputs, do write in to us at: info@rfgindia.org