India in Election Mode

The numbers say it all. With about 81.45 crore people eligible to vote, India will witness a nine-phase election over a 36-day span covering 9,30,000 polling stations that will press into service 18,78,306 electronic ballot units — the largest and lengthiest democratic exercise in the world. The country added more than 10 crore voters since the last election five years ago, and significantly, those in the age group of 18 to 19 years will constitute 2.88 per cent of the total number of voters as against a mere 0.75 per cent in that age group in 2009. With security concerns in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast and the Naxalite-affected areas adding to the problems of logistics, the Election Commission of India has done well to stick to a relatively tight schedule while taking into account school examination dates — most of the polling stations will be housed in school buildings — and festival days. Stretching the election period beyond this would have been unfair to the voters and candidates, who will have to go through a gruelling campaign in the middle of another harsh Indian summer. Among the new features in this general election would be the introduction of the ‘none of the above’ option in the electronic voting machines, and the adoption of a voter verifiable paper audit trail system in some constituencies.