The Process of Elections in India (Lawsisto)

 

Written By: Falakdipti

An election is a process by which a population, usually of a democratic country, choose individuals and political parties that would represent them and hold a public office. Although the concept of election is quite ancient, elections in the contemporary world emerged at the beginning of the 17th century in Europe and North America. The first general election in India was held from October of 1951 to February of 1952. 

The type of election process we follow in India is called the First Past The Post system, better known as the FPTP system or the majority system. The candidate who has the highest number of votes is declared the winner. This system is used in the Lok Sabha and the State legislative assembly elections. The Rajya Sabha follows the Proportional Representation system. This system is pretty complicated which is why the countries that follow this system usually only have a few constituencies. It may work in small countries but in India where more than 500 Lok Sabha constituencies exist a more effective method was required.  The reason behind the employment of the majority system in India being a success is its simplicity. It makes the whole election process very easy to apprehend, even for a common voter with no special knowledge of elections. A clear choice of candidates for a constituency is also presented and the voters get to choose between individuals instead of parties. In other systems such as the proportional representation system the choice is commonly asked to be made between parties instead of individuals, therefore, there is no one specific representative.

The Process of Elections in India

Step 1: Formation of Constituencies

Constituencies are the basic units from where the people living in that area can vote for their representatives and stand for elections. According to the constitution of India, the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha per state shall be readjusted after every census. The same method applies seats of legislative assemblies since the number of seats are in proportion to the population of the particular state.

Step 2: Preparation of Electoral Rolls

Electoral Rolls are the list of total voters of a constituency. India follows the law of Univeral Franchise, which means that anyone above the age of 18 is eligible to vote for a candidate. After attaining the age of majority an individual has to apply for a voter ID and his name is added as a voter in the next election.

Step 3: Registration of Political Parties and Candidates

In order to contest elections, a political party has to fill out the registration form. Every party has to choose a symbol to represent itself. For example, the symbol of BJP is a lotus and the symbol of SP is a bicycle. Each party gives a 'ticket' to its candidate. In order to propose one's name for the elections, the person has to fulfil the eligibility criteria and file the nomination papers with the returning officer. The eligibility criteria for a potential candidate are:

a) Should be at least 30 years of age for Rajya Sabha and state legislative council elections and at least 25 years of age for Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections.

b) Should not hold any office of profit

c) Should be of sound mind

d) Should be a citizen of India

e) Must not be disqualified by any law of the Parliament

f) Must not be a proclaimed criminal

g) must be a registered voter under any constituency

Step 4: Analysis of Nominations

The Returning Officer analyses the submitted nomination papers carefully. If the submission is found satisfactory the candidate has to make a security deposit. For people belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, the deposit amount is reduced by half. The deposits are made so that if a candidate fails to secure 1/6th of the total votes, the amount can be forfeited. In case of any misinformation in the submissions, the person is disqualified from the election and banned from contesting in elections for 6 years. 

Step 5: Political Campaigning

A political party has to campaign for a minimum of 2 weeks to gather attention and votes. All parties release their election manifesto which summarises the objectives of the political party such as health care programmes, forming better laws, making more investment in the education sector etc. Candidates of the parties may go door-to-door to ask for votes, organise rallies in the streets, coin new slogans and advertise via televisions, posters and radios. In India, parties are given a limit of expenditure on campaigning and cannot spend more than the set amount. Furthermore, campaigning has to cease 48 hours before the election day.

Step 6: Election Day

It is the day when the voters get to cast their votes to their preferred candidate. While in some countries solely ballots are used for this process, India uses EVMs (Electronic Voting Machine) to vote as well. The voter presses the button next to the symbol of the party the candidate belongs to and his vote is recorded, while in case of ballots the voter puts a seal next to the symbol/candidate's name. The process is supervised by a Presiding Officer to ensure that the norms and rules of the electoral procedure are being followed.

Step 7: Counting of Votes and Declaration of Results

After the voting has concluded, the EVMs or the ballot boxes are sealed and taken to the counting stations. The candidate who obtains the highest number of votes is declared the winner.