Dance of Democracy

Democracy is the “Government of the people, By the people, And for the people". It is blessed to be born in a democrat country and One of the most important features of the democratic polity is elections at regular intervals.

The Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body was established on January 25, 1950 with the aim to define and control the process for elections conducted at various levels: parliament, state legislatures, and the offices of the president and vice president of India. In other words, the ECI ensures smooth and successful functioning of the democracy.

Role of Election Commission

In its assigned role, the most crucial challenge before the Election Commission of India is to implement norms and the Model Code of Conduct to ensure free and fair elections in the country. Its existence and independence are necessitated by history, which has shown that democratic elections are not free from sabotage. Towards this end, it has been empowered to oversee political parties and candidates and take appropriate action in case of violations.

In some point between 1970's to 1990's, for some politicians the election was matter of joke and it was muscle power who won in the rural area by terrorizing the voter but the reform and style of voting change in 1991 when T.N. Seshan appointed as chief election commissioner.

Father of Reform

The appointment of T.N. Seshan as chief election commissioner in 1991 reinvigorated the Election Commission and curbed the illegal manipulation of India's electoral system. By canceling or re-polling elections where improprieties had occurred, disciplining errant poll officers, and fighting for the right to deploy paramilitary forces in sensitive areas, Seshan forced candidates to take the Election Commission's code of conduct seriously and strengthened its supervisory machinery.

First Election

Democracy took a giant step forward with the first general election held in 1951-52 over a four-month period. These elections were the biggest experiment in democracy anywhere in the world. The elections were held based on universal adult franchise, with all those twenty-one years of age or older having the right to vote. There were over 173 million voters, most of them poor, illiterate, and rural, and having had no experience of elections. The big question at the time was how would the people respond to this opportunity.

2014 Election

Estimated 814 million voter, out of that 23 millions are first time voter will vote for 3305 candidates in fray for 543 Loksabha seat spread over 35 Constituencies. 2014 Election will be a Nine-phased elections which began on April 7 and will conclude on May 12.

States	Total Constituencies
Uttar Pradesh	80
Maharashtra	48
Andhra Pradesh	42
West Bengal	42
Bihar	40
Tamil Nadu	39
Madhya Pradesh	29
Karnataka	28
Gujarat	26
Rajasthan	25
Odisha	21
Kerala	20
Assam	14
Jharkhand	14
Punjab	13
Chhattisgarh	11
Haryana	10
National Capital Territory of Delhi	7
Jammu & Kashmir	6
Uttarakhand	5
Himachal Pradesh	4
Arunachal Pradesh	2
Goa	2
Manipur	2
Meghalaya	2
Tripura	2
Mizoram	1
Nagaland	1
Sikkim	1
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	1
Chandigarh	1
Dadra and Nagar Haveli	1
Daman and Diu	1
Lakshadweep	1
Puducherry	1
Total	543

!!!As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. - Abraham Lincoln!!!