elections are carnival of democracy. how?
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The world’s biggest carnival of democracy is in full flow. It’s a carnival in every sense of the word – in terms of sheer drama, spectacle and colour, along with all that hurly-burly and exuberant noise, the parliamentary elections in India have set new benchmarks that are hard to match anywhere else in the world. The statistics are staggering and overwhelm the imagination: 814.5 million Indians in a country of 1.2 billion people are eligible to vote in the 16th Lok Sabha elections that are being held in nine phases across India from April 7-May 12. The size of the electorate –- every adult Indian who is 18 (as on January 1, 2014) is free to choose his representative -- exceeds the total population of the 28-nation European Union the US and South Asia minus India. Around 100 million people have been added to the voters’ roll since the last elections in 2009. And here are some more factoids that are truly mind-boggling: this year, there are 919,452 polling stations in which 814.5 million registered voters will use 1,878,306 electronic voting machines to choose candidates fielded by over 300 political parties.
Logic and Logistics
The logistics of organising the elections on this scale are truly awe-inspiring, but the Election Commission of India, an autonomous constitutional body known for unimpeachable standards of integrity, has more than risen to the occasion to ensure free, fair and credible elections over 67 years of India’s independence. This year, the EC has deployed around 11 million-plus personnel to ensure the world’s largest democratic exercise goes off without a hitch. The EC has also been proactive in organising a string of awareness campaigns, roping in celebrities, to exhort Indians to exercise their franchise “in an informed and ethical manner” and treat voting as their sacred duty in the service of democracy.
The Lok Sabha elections in India, held every five years unless a mid-term poll is forced upon the nation due to compelling circumstances, are without doubt a stupendous blockbuster of democracy, a celebration of argumentative Indians and a veritable feast of pomp and polemics. Above all, the elections, based on universal adult franchise, is a great leveller in so far as all adult Indians above 18, be it a celebrity billionaire or an anonymous penniless bard, have one vote each to decide the fate of their aspiring rulers.
Global Media Frenzy
Small wonder, the elections in India tease the global imagination like nothing else, and bring in hordes of journalists, paparazzi and plain curiosity-hunters who don’t mind braving the unforgiving Indian summer to have a first-hand feel of this rambunctious festival bristling with theatrics and eloquence. Going by the latest buzz, there are some 200-odd foreign correspondents who are criss-crossing the length and breadth of India and trying to unscramble what is clearly the most unpredictable and globally watched elections in the world. And these journalists represent some of the most powerful media networks in the world, ranging from behemoths like BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, Time, Sydney Morning Herald, Reuters, AFP, AP and Asahi Shimbun and Kyodo News to smaller media outfits from neighbouring countries like Jamuna Television and Banglanews.
The global interest in the 2014 elections in India is without parallel, and for a reason: given India’s growing diplomatic profile and the country’s increasing intertwining with the global economy, the world has a stake in who gets to rule India and what he or she stands for. The electoral arena this time is qualitatively different, and has come to resemble personality-oriented presidential-style campaigning: competing for the hearts and minds of over 800 million Indians are a former tea-seller turned political star of the BJP, the heir-apparent of India’s longest-running political dynasty representing the ruling Congress-led coalition and a maverick engineer-turned-anti-corruption crusader who aspires to change the old status quo politics of privilege that has been practised in this country for much of its independent
Explanation:
Pliz mark as braniest