INDIA:GENERAL ELECTIONS: FACTS AND FIGURES(1951-52,2009 AND 2014)

                                   

         
                                                :ELECTIONS OF 1951:
 
     FIRST GENERAL ELECTIONS TO THE FIRST LOK SABHA SINCE INDEPENDENCE WERE HELD IN INDIA BETWEEN 25 OCTOBER AND 21 FEBRUARY 1952.THE FIRST VOTES OF THIS ELECTION WERE CAST IN THE TEHSIL OF CHINI (NOW KALPA) IN HIMACHAL PRADESH ON 25 OCTOBER 1951. THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS STORM INTO POWER BY WINNING  364  OF 489 SEATS AND THEIR TOTAL VOTE SHARE WAS 45% OF THE TOTAL VOTE POLLED.
     BEFORE INDEPENDENT INDIA  WENT TO POLLS,TWO FORMER CABINET COLLEGUES OF NEHRU ESTABLISHED SEPARATE POLITICAL PARTIES TO CHALLENGE THE INC'S SUPREMACY. WHILE SHYAMA PRASAD MOOKHARJEE WENT ON TO FOUND JAN SANGH (OCTOBER 1951), DALIT LEADER DR.B.R. AMBEDKAR REVIVED THE SCHEDULED CASTE FEDERATION (WHICH WAS LATER RENAMED THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF INDIA)                                                      
                                 : FACTS AND FIGURES OF 1951 ELECTIONS  :

1. THE FIRST GENERAL ELECTIONS WHICH WERE CONDUCTED FOR 489 SEATS IN 401 CONSTITUENCIES REPRESENTS 26 INDIAN STATES. 
2. THERE WERE 314 CONSTITUENCIES WITH 1 SEAT, 86 WITH 2 SEATS AND ONE WITH 3 SEATS.
3. TOTAL NUMBER OF CANDIDATES :1874 .
4. SECOND LARGEST PARTY: CPI WITH 16 SEATS.
5. ONLY NORTH BENGAL CONSTITUENCY  HAD 3 SEATS.                                           
6. FIRST CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER: SUKUMAR SEN (21 MARCH 1950-19 DECEMBER 1958)
7.  VOTER TURNOUT : 44.87%
8. TOTAL NUMBER OF NATIONAL PARTIES: 14
9. TOTAL NUMBER OF STATE PARTIES: 54 
10.  INDEPENDENT INDIA'S FIRST AND OLDEST VOTER: SHYAM NEGI.(TILL DATE)

                                                    :ELECTIONS OF 2009:
     15 TH LOK SABHA GENERAL ELECTIONS WERE HELD IN INDIA DURING 16 APRIL 2009 AND MAY 2009.THE PREVIOUS ELECTIONS TO THE 14 TH LOK SABHA WAS CONDUCTED IN MAY 2004 AND IT'S TERM WOULD HAVE NATURALLY EXPIRED ON 1 JUNE 2009.                                          
                              :FACTS AND FIGURES OF 2009 ELECTIONS:

1. ELECTIONS WERE HELD IN 5 PHASES.
2. VOTER TURN OUT :56.97%
3. TOTAL NUMBER OF CANDIDATES CONTESTED FOR 543 LOK SABHA SEATS: 8070.
4. RS.1,120 CRORES WAS BUDGETED FOR ELECTION EXPENSES BY THE INDIAN PARLIAMENT.
5. TOTAL NUMBER OF EVM'S USED:13,68,430.
6. TOTAL NUMBER OF POLLING STATIONS:8,28,804.
7. % OF VOTES SHARED BY THE CONGRESS: 37.22%
8. % VOTES SHARED BY THE BJP: 24.63%
9. 262 NUMBER OF SEATS WON BY UPA. (CONGRESS-206 SEATS)
10. 159 NUMBER OF SEATS WON BY NDA. (BJP-116 SEATS )
11. ONLY 79 SEATS WON BY THE THIRD FRONT.
12. PRE-POLL SURVEY RESULTS (MARCH 2009):                                                                     STAR-NIELSON -       UPA  257  (CONGRESS-144)                                                                                             NDA 184 (BJP-137)                                                                                                             OTHERS-96                                                                                        TIMES OF INDIA-     UPA  201(CONGRESS-146)                                                                                                NDA 195(BJP-138)                                                                                                              OTHERS-147.
13. EXIT POLLS: IN FEBRUARY 2009,THE ELECTION COMMISSION BANNED THE PUBLISHING OF ALL EXIT POLLS STARTING 48 HOURS BEFORE PHASE 1 OF THE ELECTION UNTIL THE END OF THE PHASE 5.THIS WAS INTENDED TO PREVENT EXIT POLLS FROM EARLIER PHASES AFFECTING VOTERS DECISIONS IN LATTER PHASES.THE BAN ENDED WITH THE CLOSE OF PHASE 5 VOTING AT 5 PM ON MAY 13, 2009.                                                                                                                                           STAR-NIELSON-13 MAY 2009(EXIT POLLS)                                                                                        UPA-199,NDA-196,THIRD FRONT-100                                                                                       FOURTH FRONT-36.                                                                                                     CNN-IBN-DAINIK BHASKAR-13 MAY 2009(EXIT POLLS)                                                               UPA-185-505,NDA-165-185,THIRD FRONT-110-130                                                                 FOURTH FRONT -25-35.
14. ACTUAL RESULTS OF 2009 GENERAL ELECTIONS: 16 MAY 2009                                       UPA-262,NDA-159,THIRD FRONT-79.                          
15. CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER: N.GOPALSWAMI(30 JUNE-2006-20 APRIL 2009) AND NAVIN CHAWALA (21 APRIL 2009-29 JULY 2010)

                                                                                                                                                                                                SOME MORE FACTS 

1. THE MULTI SEAT CONSTITUENCIES WERE ABOLISHED IN THE 1960'S.
2. EVM'S WERE FIRST USED IN INDIA DURING 1989-90 FOR 16 ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES OF 3 STATES. 
3. IN APRIL 2011 GUJARAT BECAME THE FIRST INDIAN STATE  TO EXPERIMENT WITH INTERNET VOTING BY USING SECURE REMOTE VOTING TECHNOLOGY. 
4. MAHANT BHATARDAS DARSHANDAS IS THE LONE VOTER IN THE MIDST OF GUJARAT'S GIR FOREST,HOME TO THE ASIATIC LION , FOR WHOM AN ENTIRE ELECTION TEAM SETS UP A POLLING BOOTH EVERY ELECTION.HE CASTE HIS VOTE IN THE 2004 AND 2009 LOKSABHA ELECTIONS AND THE 2007 AND 2012 STATE ELECTIONS.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        :ELECTIONS OF 2014:  FACTS AND FIGURES                                                                                

• THE  GENERAL ELECTIONS WILL BE HELD IN 9 PHASES,THE LONGEST ELECTION IN COUNTRY'S HISTORY,FROM 7 APRIL TO 12 MAY 2014.
• VOTING WILL TAKE PLACE IN ALL 543 PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCIES OF INDIA. 
• THE RESULT OF THIS ELECTION WILL BE DECLARED ON 16 MAY BEFORE THE  15 TH LOK SABHA COMPLETES IT'S MANDATE ON 31 ST MAY 2014.
• AT LEAST 4 ELECTION COMMISSION OFFICIALS WILL TRAVEL TO BANEJ TO ENABLE MAHANT DARSHANDAS,THE ONLY VOTER IN THE MIDST OF GIR FOREST , TO CASTE VOTE ON APRIL 30.
• TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTERS: 81.45 CRORES.
• NEWLY ELIGIBLE VOTERS: 10 CRORES.
• ELECTION WILL COST: RUPEES 3500 CRORES.
• PARTIES ARE EXPECTED TO SPEND RUPEES 30,500 CRORES. 
• WITH 90,000 PER SEAT ,YOUNG INDIA COULD SWING ELECTIONS OF 2014 . 
• CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER: V.S. SAMPATH            
• "ELECTIONS ARE SOUL OF DEMOCRACY" ( CEC V.S. SAMPATH). SO, CASTE YOUR VOTE WISELY.