.

.
 EL EC TI O N S
d e c is io n m a k ing
l e c t io n is a f o rm al
• An e a t i o n c h o o se s a n
s s b y wh ic h a p o pul
proce o ff ice.
h ol d p u b l ic
individual to
• Electoral reform d
escribes the process of
introducing fair electora
l systems .To elect mea
- to choose or make a d ns
ecision and so sometim
other forms of ballot su es
ch as referendums are
referred to as elections
, especially in the Unite
States. d
.

The state of Haryana was governed by

Congress however, people were not
pleased with the policies of government
as the time for next elections
approached, Devi Lal Chaudhary formed a
party and joined hands with another party
against the ruling party Congress
 Minimum Conditions of a Democratic
Election
 First ,everyone should  Third , the choice should
be able to choose . This be offered at regular
means that everyone intervals .Elections must
should have one vote be held regularly after
and every vote should few years .
have equal value  Fourth , the candidate
 Second , there should preferred by the people
be something to choose should get elected .
from. Parties and  Fifth , elections should
candidates should be be conducted in a free
free to contest and fair manner where
elections and should people can choose as
offer some real choice they really wish
to the real voters.
 Is It Good. To Have
Political Competition ?
 DEMERITS:  MERITS:
 It creates a sense of  Political competition
disunity and
factionalism in every may cause divisions
locality. and some ugliness ,
 Different political but it finally helps
parties and leaders to force political
often allegations against parties and leaders
another level. to serve the
 Parties and candidates
people.
often use dirty tricks
to win elections.
 Our System .Of Elections
GENERAL ELECTION
Elections are held in all constituencies at the same time ,
either on the same day or within a few days.
BY-ELECTION
Sometimes election is held only for one constituency to fill the
vacancy caused by death or resignation of a member.
ELECTORAL CONSTITUENCIES
The country is divided into different areas for purposes of
elections . These areas are called electoral constituencies.
The voters who live in an area elect one representative.
 t he co un tr y is d iv ided into 543
ions , tituency is
For Lok Sabha elect e d f ro m ea c h cons
s .T h e re presentative elect
consti tu e n c ie
M e m ber o f P a rl ia ment or an MP.
called a f ic n um ber of Assembly
ed in to a s pe ci
Each state is divid e d re p re se n ta tiv e is called the
it ue n ci e s .I n th is case , the elect an MLA.
const la ti ve A ss e m b ly or
Member of Legis

PANCHAYAT AND MU
NICIPAL ELECTIONS
Each village or town is
divided into several “w
like constituencies .E ards” that are
ach ward elects one m
village or the urban lo ember of the
cal body

V ED CO NS T I T U ENCIES be long
RESER p e op le w h o
c ie s a re r e s erv ed for
Some constituen e s ( S C) a n d s c h eduled
ca s t
to the scheduled ,in the Lo k S a b h a ,8 4 s e ats are
T ) .C ur r e nt ly duled
tribes(S stes a n d 4 7 f or s c h e
ed s c h ed u le d c a
reserv
tribes.
 e r B ack w ard C lass es(OBC) as well.
bo d ie s a re n ow reserved for Oth and urban local bodes
Local in rur a l
rly , on e -th ird se ats are reserved
Simila s.
for women candidate

VOTER’S LIST
In a democratic
election , the lis
vote is prepared t of those who a
much before the re eligible to
everyone This lis election and give
t is officially is n to
is commonly know c alled the electora
n as Voter’s list. l Roll and

s a g e d 1 8 y e a r s and
u nt r y , a ll t h e citizen
 In o u r c o
n . E v e r y c it iz e n h as t h e
n elect io
above can vote in a o f h is o r h e r , ca s t e ,
ec t iv e
right to vote irresp
religion or gender v e r nm e n t t o g et the
o n s ib il ity of th e g o
 It is th e r e s p n t h e v o te r ’s list .
li g ib le voters p u t o
name s o f a ll t h e e r e a dded to
g a g e n a m e s a
s n e w p e r s o n s a t t ain votin
A
the voter’s list.
There are total constituencies of
543 where 412 are reserved by
general,84 are reserved by SC and
47 reserved by ST

.
OMINATION OF
. CANDIDATE
Anyone who can be a voter can also
become a candidate in elections . The only
difference is that to be a candidate the
minimum age is 25 years.

Political parties nominate their candidates

who get the party symbol and support .
Party’s nomination is often called ”ticket”

Every person who wishes to contest an

election must fill a “nomination form” and
give some money as ”security dance”
.
EVERY CANDIDATE MUST MAKE A LEGAL
DECLARATION,GIVIMG FULL DETAILS OF:

Serious criminal cases pending •against

. the
candidate;

Details of the assets and liabilities of the

candidate and his or her family

Education qualifications of the candidate .

The information must be made public . This
provides an opportunity to the voters to
make their decision based on the
information provided by the candidates
 N C A MPAI G N
 Such ca
ELECTIO
mpaign take
announceme place foe tw
nt of the fi o week peri
polling . Dur n al list of ca od between
ing this per ndidates an the
political lea iod the cand d the date
ders addres idates conta of
mobilize the s election m ct their vot
ir supporter eetings and e rs ,
newspapers s . This is a p o litical partie
and televisi lso the peri s
and debates o n news are fu o d when
. l l o f e l e c t io
n related st
ories
pa r t ie s in
en t p o litical
b y d i f f e r
ra G an d hi)
o g a ns g iven a o (b y Indi ler
s sf u l s l ri bi h a t t he t il
 S uc c e lec t io n s ar e Ga
ar t y ) , la nd t o
self
ri ou s e ja nt a p e c t th e
va
oc r a c y (by
t io n ) , “ P ro t
Save dem al assembly elec ama Rao)
ng R
(west be Telgus” (by N.T
of
respect
 According to our election law , no party or candidate can:
a) Bribe or threaten voters;
b)Appeal to them in the name of caste or religion;
c)Use government resources for election campaign;
d)Spend more than Rs 25 lakhs in a constituency for Lok
Sabha election or Rs 10 lakhs in an assembly election .If
their election can be rejected by the court even after they
have been declared elected.
All the political parties in our country have agreed to a model
code of conduct for election campaigns . According to this,
no party or candidate can:
a)Use any one place of worship for election propaganda;
b)Use government vehicles, aircrafts and officials for
elections;
c)once elections are announced , ministers shall not lay
foundation stone of any projects, take my big policy decision
or make any promises of providing public facilities.
• .

• .
 POLLING AND
.
COUNTING OF VOTES
• On Election day every person whose name is on the voter’s list
can go to a nearby “polling booth” ,situated usually in a local
school or a government office and cast their vote.
• Nowadays electronic voting machines (EVM) are used to record
votes. The machine shows the names of the candidates and the
party symbols . Independent candidates too have their own
symbols , allotted by government officials. All the voter must do
is to press the button against the name of the candidate• .she
wants to give her vote.
• Once the polling is over, all the EVMs are sealed and taken to a
secure place . A few days later , on a fixed date, all the EVMs
from a constituency are opened and the votes secured by each
candidate are counted
• The candidates who secures the highest numbers of votes from
a constituency is declared elected .
Newspapers and television reports often
refer to allegations . Such as:
.

 Inclusion of false names and exclusion of

genuine names in the voter’s list;
 Misuse of government facilities and
officials by the ruling party;
 Excessive use of money by rich candidates
and big parties;
 Intimidation of voters and rigging on the
polling day.
• .
 Independent election commission
.
In our country elections are
conducted by an independent
and very powerful Election
Commission (EC) . The Chief
Election Commissioner (CEC) IS
APPOINTED BY THE
PRESIDENT OF India . But
once appointed , the Chief
Election Commissioner is not
answerable to the President or
the Government
EC takes decisions on every aspect
of conduct and control of
elections from the announcement
of elections to the declaration
of results.
• It implements the Code
of Conduct and punishes . duty , the
any candidate or party
that violates it.
• During the election
period, the EC can
order the government to
follow some guidelines,
to prevent use and
misuse of governmental
power to enhance its
chances to win elections
, or to transfer some
government officials.
• When on election
government offices
work under the
control of the EC
not the government.
• When election
officials come to the
opinion that polling
was not fair in some
booths or even an
entire constituency ,
they order a repoll.
.
POPULAR PARTCIPATION
• People’s participation in
election is usually measured
by voter turnout figures .
Turnout indicates the per
cent of eligible voters who
cast their vote.
• In India the poor , illiterate
and underprivileged people
vote in larger proportion as
compared to the rich and
privileged sections. this
contrasts with western
democracies
• Common people in India
attach a lot of importance to
elections. They feel that
through elections they can
bring pressure on political
parties to adopt policies and
programs favorable to them.
• The interest of voters in
election related activities has
been increasing over the
years . One out of every seven
voters is a member of a
political party.
VOTER TURNOUT IN INDIA AND UK
90
• .
80
70
60
50
INDIA
40 UK
30
20
10
0
1991 2015
 The outcome of India ’s elections speaks for itself :
• The ruling parties routinely
lose election in india both at
the national and state level.
In facts , every two out of the
three elections held in the
last fifteen years , the ruling
party lost.
• In US , an incumbent or
“sitting” elected
representative rarely loses an
election . In india about half
of the sitting MPs or MLAs
lose elections.
Candidates who are known to
have spent a lot of money on
“buying votes” and those
with known criminal
connection often lose
election.
Barring very few disputed
elections , the electoral
outcomes are usually
accepted as “people’s verdict
“ by the defeated party.
 .
ALLENGES TO FREE AND FAIR ELECTIO
• Candidates and parties with
a lot of money may not be
sure of their victory but they
do enjoy a big and unfair
advantage over smaller
parties and Independents.
• Inn some part of the country
candidates with criminal
connection have been able to
push others out of the
electoral race and to secure a
“ticket” from major parties .
• Some families tend to
dominate political parties;
tickets are distributive to
relatives from these families.
• Very often election often little
choice to ordinary citizens ,
for like each other both in
policies and practice.
• Smaller parties and
independent candidates suffer
a huge disadvantages
compare to bigger parties.
THANKS FOR WATCHING !
A
PRESENTATION
BY
RAGINI SINGH
IX - A