India General (Lok Sabha) Elections 2019

General Elections 2014

The general elections of 2014 will be the 16th Lok Sabha elections of independent India. This election will be held in every parliamentary constituency across India, which will elect members of the parliament, who will, in turn, form the next central government in India. The Constitutional term of 15th Lok Sabha, the current parliament, will complete on 31 May 2014.

Present 15th Lok Sabha - An Overview

The current government has been formed by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA 2), which is a grand alliance of six political parties, headed by the Indian National Congress (having 206 seats), and supported from outside by ten more parties. The main opposition of the current 15th Lok Sabha is headed by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is a grand alliance of 11 political parties, led by Bharatiya Janata Party (having 117 seats). Another political space also exists which includes parties from the Left, All India Trinamool Congress party, AIADMK, JD(U), BJD, and others as well.

Major Political Parties in the Upcoming 16th General Election 2014 - An Overview

In the 2014 parliamentary election, the leading contenders are the Indian National Congress (INC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Left Parties (CPIM, CPI, FB, RSP, etc.) and other regional parties such as (AIADMK, JD(U), BJD, TMC, DMK, and many more. Another regional political party, which has recently announced its plans of contesting pan India, is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which many say is going to be the most prominent spoiler or game-changer in the upcoming General Elections of 2014.

State wise Lok Sabha Parliamentary Constituency Seats in 16th General Elections

State	Number of Seats
Andaman and Nicobar	1
Andhra Pradesh	42
Arunachal Pradesh	2
Assam	14
Bihar	40
Chandigarh	1
Chhattisgarh	11
Dadra and Nagar Haveli	1
Daman and Diu	1
Delhi	7
Goa	2
Gujarat	26
Haryana	10
Himachal Pradesh	4
Jammu And Kashmir	6
Jharkhand	14
Karnataka	28
Kerala	20
Lakshadweep	1
Madhya Pradesh	29
Maharashtra	48
Manipur	2
Meghalaya	2
Mizoram	1
Nagaland	1
Odisha	21
Pondicherry	1
Punjab	13
Rajasthan	25
Sikkim	1
Tamilnadu	39
Tripura	1
Uttarakhand	5
Uttar Pradesh	80
West Bengal	42

Overview of Issues that can Influence Voting Pattern

In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, many glaring issues are going to play an essential role in the mandate. One of the main issues before the electorate is the unprecedented corruption throughout India. Other issues include poor growth of the economy, increasing inflation or significant price rise, slacking industrialisation, lack of employment, farmer issues, and many more.

Capitalising on corruption and governance issues, the BJP has come up with their Prime Ministerial candidate and pitched Narendra Modi for the coveted position. He is projected as the messiah of good governance, growth, and creator of 'Vibrant Gujarat'. Though he has huge and dedicated support from large sections of the Indian populace, there are his detractors too.

Many see him as a divisive figure and also an instigator of the 2002 Gujarat riots. He is also perceived to be a follower of an economic model that is not bothered with the betterment of the Human Development Index. On the other hand, the INC is still undecided about their Prime Ministerial candidate. However, recent announcements from the current Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, of not running for the third term as PM candidate is seen by many as paving the way for Rahul Gandhi, the scion of Nehru-Gandhi family. Besides these two major political parties, there are other regional players, secular forces and Left Forces, who can play an important role in the formation of the 16th Parliament of India. Many see Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party as a potential game-changer in the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections, which is perceived to be a secular non-Congress and non-BJP party.

Major Political Parties and their PM Candidates

Major Political Parties

In India, there are two major political forces: the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Besides the two largest parties, some other significant political parties that can decide government-formation in the 16th Parliamentary Election include the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the Left Parties (CPIM, CPI, FB, RSP, etc.), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, the Samajwadi Party, the YSR Congress Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC), the Shiv Sena, the Janata Dal (Secular), the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), etc.

Prime Ministerial Candidates for the 2014 Elections

Just a few months back, the contest for the Prime Minister's position was supposed to be between the BJP's Narendra Modi and the Congress's Rahul Gandhi. However, after the assembly elections, held in December 2013, it is clear that there is a strong anti-Congress sentiment among the voters, especially due to the unprecedented corruption allegations against the current UPA government at the centre. Interestingly, the Modi-factor is also not working as strong as it was perceived some months back. According to some analysts, the voting pattern shows that people are eager to cast their vote in favour of a third force if a good and clean alternative is provided to them. The result of the last Delhi Assembly election of 2013 is an indication towards that. In case of the rise of a 3rd alternative, the alliance will be post-poll rather than pre-poll, and hence the choice of their prime ministerial candidate will be based on the prevailing political situation.

Opinion Polls

As per opinion polls conducted by various organisations, the mandate in the upcoming general elections of 2014 will be fractured. Neither the BJP nor the Congress is going to achieve the magic majority number of 272 seats for forming the government in the 545 member Lok Sabha. There are strong chances of the rise of a third secular alternative. With the rise of various regional parties and secular forces, the chance of the 3rd alliance forming the government with the outside support of Congress or vice versa is pretty strong.

Conservative estimates of various opinion polls by the end of 2013, in aggregate, show that the BJP can get anywhere between 145 to 178 seats, while the Indian National Congress can get anywhere between 120 to 150 seats. The remaining void will be filled by the regional, secular, and left parties. Some political observers predict that there are high chances that the secular non-BJP and non-Congress parties can win around 221 seats.

In the recent past, the Indian electorate has seen 14 secular non-BJP and non-Congress parties sharing the stage, on the initiative of Left Parties. Many analysts predicted it to be the first step towards a third alternative. However, some recent developments like the unprecedented rise of a new political outfit called Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have offered more positive chances to the third alternative. The AAP projects itself as a non-Congress, non-BJP party. This new political outfit has not only received around 30% vote in the last Delhi Assembly election but their Chief Ministerial candidate, Arvind Kejriwal, has also become the Chief Minister of Delhi. They have also announced their intention of participating in the coming Lok Sabha elections. The AAP will contest at over 80 parliamentary constituencies across 20 states, including Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. According to a recent opinion poll, AAP will receive more than 44% votes in the top metropolises in India. If they manage to bag 30 or more seats, they can eat into the vote shares of both Congress and BJP, and the prospect of the 3rd alternative will be more feasible.

Campaigning Strategies of Various Parties

BJP's Strategy

When it comes to strategising for 2014 Parliamentary Elections, BJP has already chalked out a plan. The first and foremost strategy includes "Modi for PM" slogan, which is believed to be their central plank of the campaign. Another innovative approach is named "One vote, one-note" mantra, through which they are trying to reach ten crore families. According to this plan, the BJP wants to reach crores of families throughout India and collect funds from them, anything between Rs. 10 and Rs. 1,000. Another primary strategy includes invoking nationalist sentiments, which they have already started with the Statue of Unity rally, related to the building of the tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat. Farmers and workers are called upon to chip in with soil and iron to make the project successful.

Congress's Strategy

Congress has to do an enormous amount of work in their strategy. Sonia Gandhi, the President of INC, is expected to chalk out a plan for the upcoming election, along with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra, especially after Dr Manmohan Singh declared he would not be the Prime Ministerial candidate of Congress in the coming 2014 general election. Since Sonia Gandhi has an experience of running two consecutive coalition governments for two successive terms - 10 years at a stretch - she is expected to give essential inputs on the next course of action. Rahul Gandhi, though not announced the PM candidate, will spearhead the campaigns. The first strategy, if available sources and their information is to be believed, will be to initiate a campaign, mainly through social media, to rebuild the image of Rahul Gandhi as an able administrator with sharp decision-making abilities. He will be projected as the leader who pitches against corruption. Congress has to project itself as a party that does not support corruption, especially after so many accusations of unprecedented corruption against the current UPA government.

Others' Strategy

The regional parties have their strategies, based upon regional demands mainly. The Left parties are also trying to prove their mettle, especially after they had been routed from West Bengal by Mamata Banerjee's TMC. The newest party on the block is the Aam Aadmi Party, who is vouching to provide the countrymen with corruption-free governance along with inclusive economics. These slogans are especially appealing to the urban populace. They are expected to make a significant dent in the vote banks of both the BJP and the Congress in the upcoming 2014 general election.

Key Highlights of General Election 2009

• The general election of 2009 witnessed 58.19% voting. In total, 71,69,85,101 electors cast their vote. Of these, 37,47,58,801 were male while 34,22,26,300 were female.
• The constituency with the highest voter turnout (90.32%) was Tamluk in West Bengal.
• The constituency with the lowest voter turnout (25.55%) was Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir.
• In total, 8,070 candidates were fielded by different parties. Out of the total candidates, 6.9 % (556) were female, while 93.1 % (7,514) were male.
• The Chennai South constituency had the maximum number of candidates fielded (43).
• The constituencies of Nagaland and Kokrajhar (Assam) saw the least number of candidates fielded (3).
• The national parties had fielded 1,623 candidates, out of which 376 had won.
• The state parties had fielded 394 candidates, out of which 146 won the polls.
• The un-recognised registered parties had fielded a total of 2,222 candidates, out of which 12 were successful in winning the polls.
• In total, 3,831 independent candidates contested the general election of 2009, out of which nine were victorious.
• The state with the highest number of electors was Uttar Pradesh (11,60,06,374).
• The state with the lowest number of electors was Lakshadweep (45,983).
• The candidate who secured the highest number of votes (8,32,224) was C.M. Chang (Nagaland).
• The candidate who secured the lowest number of votes (118) was Raja L.D. (Chennai South).
• In total, 8,34,919 polling booths were established across the country to hold the LS polls.
• Auleyphu (Ladakh PC) had the highest polling booth, situated at the height of 15,300 ft.
• Over 645 polling stations saw re-polling or adjourned polls.
• All in all, 79 parliamentary constituencies belonged to Naxalism-affected areas.

Lok Sabha Election Process

The entire election process includes certain steps such as the announcement of election dates by ECI, bringing in 'model code of conduct' for all political parties participating in the general election, followed by result announcement, and submission of successful candidates' list to the executive head of either state or centre. The last step in this entire process is the result submission, which then paves the way for government-formation.

The 2014 Lok Sabha election will see an electorate-base of more than 800 million. According to a top EC official, they already have come up with a list of electoral roll. However, this will be further updated in the coming days. As per the sources, the final list will be ready by January end. To ensure free, fair, and smooth election, the Election Commission will deploy around 1.1 crore polling personnel, half of them being security personnel. Before announcing the poll schedule, the Election Commission will hold a meeting with the Union Home Minister for finalising the dates to deploy central paramilitary forces throughout India.

The Chief Electoral Officer is also holding meetings with DGPs of all the states to assess the strength of state forces that can be made available for the polls. As per estimates, there will be more than 8 lakh polling stations that will be set up across the country for polling. The process of finalising names of the polling stations is also underway. Deployment of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) is also in the final stage. The Election Commission is expected to get around 2.5 lakh new EVMs by mid-February 2014.

Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutionally established autonomous federal authority that is solely responsible for administering the entire electoral process that takes place in India. Its objective is to ensure a free and fair election, whether it is Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha or local body elections. This autonomous body has a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. President of India appoints the two commissioners in consultation with the CEC. The current Chief Electoral Officer of India is V.S. Sampath.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)

The Chief Electoral Officer of Election Commission is known as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). Generally, a member of Indian Civil Services, mainly belonging to Indian Administrative Services, becomes the CEC. The President appoints the candidate. In case the elected CEC is required to be removed for certain reasons, then 2/3rd of the Lok Sabha, as well as Rajya Sabha, has to vote against the person on charges of improper actions or disorderly conduct.

The 2009 Lok Sabha election was the first instance when the office of the Chief Election Commissioner was successful in implementing complete electronic ballot throughout the country, even in remote areas as well as for illiterate people.

Lok Sabha Election History

The General Election of 2014 is going to be the 16th Lok Sabha election of India.A brief history of the general elections in India is given below:

The first ever general election was held in 1952, through which the Indian National Congress, led by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, assumed power. The INC won 245 seats out of 489 parliamentary constituencies across the then 26 states of India. On 17 April 1952, Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India.

The 2^nd General Election was held in 1957, when the INC formed the government, with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister.

The 3^rd General Election was held in 1962, where the INC formed the government, with Nehru as the Prime Minister yet again. However, he was not able to complete his tenure because he passed away due to a heart stroke in 1964.

After Jawaharlal's demise, Gulzarilal Nanda became PM, but just for two weeks. He was succeeded by Lal Bahadur Shastri. After Mr. Shastri died in Tashkent of the then Soviet Union, Indira Gandhi was elevated to the position of Prime Minister.

The 4th General Election was held in 1967, where the INC again formed the government, with Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister. However, many problems made Indira call mid-term election and the full tenure of five years couldn't be completed.

The 5th General Election took place in 1971 and Indira Gandhi had a landslide victory by campaigning on the famous slogan of 'garibi hatao' (eliminate poverty). During this tenure, she imposed Emergency on the country, which resulted in one of the darkest periods in Indian history. After Emergency was lifted on 12 June 1975, India went into the next election.

The 6th General Election was held in the year 1977, which was convincingly won by the Janata Party led by Morarji Desai. On March 24, 1977, Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress PM of India. But the tenure was tumultuous. Mr. Desai lost the trust vote and in June 1979, Charan Singh became the Prime Minister.

The 7th General Election took place in 1980 and Indira Gandhi was re-elected as the Prime Minister. However, he was assassinated on 31 October 1984. Her elder son Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as interim PM. The next election was announced in November 1984.

The 8th General Election was held in 1984-85 and Rajiv Gandhi became the youngest PM of India, riding on the sympathy wave following the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

The 9th General Election was held in 1989, where Janata Dal coalition assumed power, with V.P. Singh as the prime minister (2 December 1989 - 10 November 1990). On 6 March 1991, Chandra Shekhar became the PM, but political instability led to the next election.

The10th General Election took place in 1991 and the Congress had a decisive victory after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the LTTE during the polls. P.V. Narsimha Rao became the PM.

The 11th General Election was held in 1996 and H.D. Deve Gowda became the PM.

The 12th General Election was organized in 1998, which saw Atal Bihari Vajpayee of the BJP sworn in as the new PM.

The 13th General Election took place in 1999 and Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as the PM.

The 14th General Election took place in 2004 and the UPA came to power. Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister.

The 15th General Election was held in the year 2009 and UPA again came to power, with Manmohan Singh as the PM for the second consecutive time.

The 16th General Election will take place in 2014.