How Are Election Held in India?

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Elections in the Republic of India include elections for the Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha, the Legislative Assemblies, and numerous other Councils and local bodies.

According to Constitution of India, elections for the Parliament and the State Legislative Assemblies should take place every five years, unless a state of emergency has been declared. Any vacancy caused by death or resignation must be filled through an election within six months of any such occurrence

The elections for the lower houses (in Parliament and in the states) use the first-past-the-post electoral system (i.e. the candidate with the majority of the votes wins the election).

Elections for one-third of the seats of the upper house of the Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, are conducted every two years. The members of the upper house are elected indirectly by the state legislative assemblies based on proportional representation. Members of the state legislative councils (in states that have an upper house) are elected indirectly through local bodies.

The 2014 general election involved an electorate of 863,500,000 people. It was conducted in nine stages.[1][2] The expenditure for the 2014 election was approximately 3765 crore. The cost per voter was Rs 1375.[3] Votes were cast using over one million electronic voting machines.

In the 2014 election, the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power. The BJP secured a majority of 282 seats and Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India. As per the Center for media studies, Rs. 30,000 crore were spent during the 2014 Lok sabha elections in India.

India's government is based on Federalism. Elected officials are appointed at federal, state and local levels. In India, there is universal suffrage. Results of elections are determined by first-past-the-post electoral system.[5] Elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India.

The Prime Minister of India is elected by members of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament. The Constitution of India allows for up to 552 members in the Lok Sabha, with up to 530 members representing the States. Up to 20 members represent the Union Territories. In practice, 543 members of the Lok Sabha are elected every five years. Two members are elected by the President of India to represent the Anglo-Indian community

In 1952, there were 1874 candidates vying for places in the Lok Sabha. In 1996, this number rose to 1,39,529 candidates. In 2009 there were only 80,708 candidates. The number of votes and seats won provides a ranking of the major political parties

The Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the parliament. 233 of its members are elected indirectly by the legislative assemblies of the states and the Electoral College of the Union Territories. The President of India appoints 12 of its members. (See Wikipedia, "Rajya Sabha".

It was the first ever election in the Indian Republic. Elections were held for 489 seats.The total number of eligible voters were about 17.3 crore. The Indian National Congress (INC) won 364. Only two other parties won double digit seats.The CPI with 16 seats and the Socialist Party with 12 seats.

The 233 members are elected for a six-year term. Every two years, one-third of the members retire. The elected members are chosen by proportional representation via the single transferable vote. There are twelve nominated members who are usually an eclectic mix of eminent artists (including actors), scientists, jurists, sportsmen and women, executives, journalists and other citizens.

From 1947 to 1964, the Indian National Congress was India's dominant political party. It was led by Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 – 1964), K Kamaraj (1903 – 1975) and then Lal Bahadur Shastri (1905 – 1966). In the 1970s, the Congress party splintered. Indira Gandhi then led the party to election victory.

Ensuring that free and fair elections are conducted: The major function of EC is to conduct free and fair elections whether it is the general elections or the legislative assembly elections.

In 1977, the Congress party lost to an opposition coalition that represented voters opposed to India's state of emergency which had been imposed in 1975. Indira Gandhi regained power but was assassinated in 1984. After her death, her son, Rajiv Gandhi (1944 – 1991) led the party. In 1989, the Congress party lost to a coalition led by VP Singh (1931 – 2008) after Rajiv Gandhi was accused of corruption. In 1991, the Congress party returned to power, led by P V Narasimha Rao (1921 – 2004).

The Election Commission is the organisation responsible for fostering the democratic process in India. It was formed in 1950 to conduct elections in the country. The headquarters of the Election Commission are situated in the capital city of New Delhi.

In 1996, a coalition government was formed, mostly from regional parties. Further coalition governments followed, led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, I K Gujral and H D Deve Gowda. In 1999, the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power and completed a full term. For the next decade, the United Progressive Alliance led by the Indian National Congress party formed the government under Manmohan Singh.

The Election Commission of India consists of 3 major members who are the Chief Election Commissioner and two other election commissioners who are chosen by the president. All the election commissioners serve a six year term in office.

Parties with strong traditional regional bases include the Telugu Desam Party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. In the 1990s, new regional parties emerged including the Indian National Lok Dal, Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and Janata Dal. Such parties may promote regional aspirations such as Telangana Rashtra Samithi and Shiv Sena or caste considerations as in the case of the Bahujan Samaj Party. Though India is a democratic country but malpractices during the elections have been continuing since the first government was formed.

The Election Commission has its subsidiaries present in each state in India which is known as the state election commission. The Election Commission’s job is to conduct the largest political activity that takes place anywhere in the world.

The Indian electorate exceeds 668 million people with 800,000 polling stations across the country. Conducting the general elections with keeping these numbers in mind is not an easy task at all.

It is the responsibility of the election commission to ensure that the electoral roll for the elections are prepared correctly. No voter who has successfully registered to vote in an election should be disallowed to do so.

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous entity prescribed in the Constitution of India. It is the federal authority responsible for administering all the electoral processes of India and ensuring they are free and fair.

Requisition of staff when required: It is the duty of the Election Commission to ensure the smooth conduction of elections and if it means requisition of staff, so be it. The EC can request the government for requisition of staff from such as the army for proper conduction of elections and to prevent malpractices such as vote rigging, false voting, booth jams etc.