Elections 2014 - interesting facts

5 reasons why 2014 elections is different?

India will vote for a new government from April 7 to May 12. The general election to be held on nine days will be different in many ways. Here are 5 facts on the polls:

Ø     For the first time, expenditure observers and deputy expenditure observers will monitor the use of "money power" which the Election Commission has described as the biggest challenge. More police will be posted in states where the problem is critical.

Ø     This time, the Election Commission will maintain a "paper trail" of votes cast. When voters press the button on the voting machine, a bit of paper with the name and symbol of the party will briefly appear and then fall into a box.

Ø     For the first time, voters in a national election will have the option of choosing "None of the Above" (NOTA) if they don't like any of the candidates in their constituency. The option was introduced in the December assembly election.

Ø     For the first time, voter slips that guide people to polling stations will have photographs to check fake voting.

Ø     There are 100 million more voters this time since the 2009 national election. There are over 9,30,000 polling stations across India, more than the previous election, and it is a challenge to conduct polls in some areas that are difficult to reach. Electronic Voting Machines are usually sent by road, water, air, even using mules and elephants.

India will vote for its next government starting April 7.  Voting will be held on nine days, ending with May 12.  The results will be declared on May 16. 814 million people are eligible to cast their votes -- 100 million more than in the last elections in 2009. State elections in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha will be held simultaneously. The world's biggest voting exercise pits the BJP's Narendra Modi  against Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the campaign of the Congress as the party asks voters for a third consecutive term in power. Opinion polls have forecast that the BJP under Mr Modi will emerge as the largest party. No single party has won a parliamentary majority since 1989 and the electorate has fractured in successive decades, turning regional leaders into powerful string-pullers. The anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal is likely to be seen as an unpredictable element in this year's polls. Just over a year since its formation, the party won enough seats in December's Delhi state elections to take power for just under two months. India goes for voting on: April 7, April 9, April 10, April 12, April 17, April 24, April 30, May 7 and May 12.

See Also:

Elections 2014 - poll dates