In the list of many thing India can be genuinely be proud of, holding general elections tops unquestionably. It is indeed an enourmour achievement for the administration to hold peaceful elections in such an immense country with so diverse cultural, liguistric, gographical and ethological divesrity.
India is holding it’s 18th Parliamentary elections since 1952. The tenure of Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian parliament is 5 years. It is no mean achievement to engage the entire population of this vast country in the process and uphold democracy by peaceful transition of power.
The present elections are fought in seven stages for administrative convenience and effective deployment of manpower. The elections in 379 seats from various states and union territories have been completed for four phases on 19 April, 26 April, 7 May and 13 May. Out of 543 total seats, future of 69.8% seats is already sealed. Remaining three phases’ elections will be held on 20 May, 25 May, and 1June for 49,58 and 57 seats respectively.
Approximately 45.1 crore people have voted in the last four phases of election, which is a turnout of about 66.95% of registered voters for the constituencies. The Election Commission of India aid that they are trying even harder to increase the voter participation in the remaining phases. The ECI has enlisted various outreach campaigns they have undertaken in this regard.
The Commission aims to enhance the participation in voting process by reaching out to every eligible voter through celebrities and cricket legends endorsements.
The Election Commission coutrted controversy and sharp criticism by the opposition parties when on April 30, it published the final voter turnout percentage. The revised figure, published days after actual polling, showed a sharp increase by about 5-6% as compared to the initial percentage announced. The critics found it baffling that in this era of digital capabilities, the Commission took so long to publish the data. Another area of criticism was that the Commission provided data only in percentage terms without providing base for absolute numbers.
The results of the elections will be announced on June 4.
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