Election Quiz

(01)The number of 'reserved' Lok Sabha Constituencies in Tamil Nadu is

07

(02) The largest Lok Sabha Constituency in Tamil Nadu (by number of voters) is

Sri Perumbadur

(03) The smallest Lok Sabha Constituency in Tamil Nadu (by number of voters) is

Nagapattinam

(04) Number of reserved Lok Sabha constituencies in India is

84 for SC and 41 for ST

(05) The largest Lok Sabha Constituency in India (by area) is

Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir

(06) The smallest Lok Sabha Constituency in India (by area) is

Chandini Chowk in Delhi

(07) The largest Lok Sabha Constituency in India (by number of voters) is

Unnao in Uttar Pradesh

(08) The smallest Lok Sabha Constituency in India (by number of voters) is

Lakshadweep Const in Lakshadweep

(09) For the first time, EVMs are used for all 543 Lok Sabha Constituencies in the election of

2004 (XIV Lok Sabha Election)

(10) Which Lok Sabha Constituency has the record of witnessing more number of contestants in the election fray?

Nalconda LS Cont in Andhra Pradesh – 1996 General Election. 480 peoples contested

(11) The XVI General Election to be held in 9 phases, then in how many phases the previous XV General Elections was held

5 phases (Apr 16 – May 13, 2009)

(12) How many women candidates elected in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections?

59 (556 women contested)

Election 2014 - State and UT when to poll

The Greatest Show on Earth - 2014 General Election

A repeat of 1998 for Congress

After a gap of 16 years, the Congress in Tamil Nadu is facing the prospect of contesting parliamentary polls without either of the two major Dravidian parties in alliance. Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president B.S. Gnanadesikan said that the party would field candidates in all 39 seats if it cannot find allies. But the previous time it did so in 1998, it drew a blank.

Often, the Congress’ vote strength in the State is rated only behind the two principal Dravidian parties. Hence, a notion persists that the front that included it had better chances of victory.

But the reality is that the TNCC has not faced a single election without either of the two Dravidian majors in the last 16 years. In fact, even senior leaders in the party admit that they are unable to gauge its current strength.

The last time the party faced the election without a substantial ally was in 1998. Two years earlier, a vertical split in the TNCC saw G.K. Moopanar forming the Tamil Manila Congress (TMC)

The DMK, TMC and Communist Party of India (CPI) constituted the United Front in the State in the run up to the 1998 polls, whereas the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress was left with two small outfits as partners.

Data from the Election Commission of India (ECI) showed that the Congress fared poorly, losing deposit in all the 35 seats it contested. Its vote share dropped from about 18 per cent in 1996, when it allied the AIADMK, to a mere 4.8 per cent.

Though it ended up with only three of the 20 seats it contested, the TMC, in alliance with the DMK, polled in 20 per cent of total votes in 1998 elections.

But the TMC, which merged with the parent party in 2002, too had to face a rout when its turn to fight the elections without the DMK and the AIADMK came in 1999.

Head of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Madras, Ramu Manivannan, said the Congress faced an even steeper climb in 2014 given a wave against it in Tamil Nadu on numerous issues. The benefit of the TMC merger no longer existed. “The Congress compromised its own organisational strength by counting on the two Dravidian parties. The effect of this laxity would be visible if they go it alone this time,” he observed. Also, Mr. Manivannan said the party no longer had a leader of the standing of Mr. Moopanar to rally the cadre.

A senior TNCC leader said despite the heavy loss in 1998, the party was wooed by the AIADMK for the 1999 elections. Despite losses, the loyal cadre of the party had not deserted it. The trend would continue to provide the Congress a substantial vote bank.

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

Elections 2014 - poll dates

Poll Date	Number of Parliamentary Constituencies	States & Number of LS Const to be polled
7 April	6	Assam (5), Tripura (1)
9 April	7	Arunachal Pradesh (2), Manipur (1), Meghalaya (2), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1)
10 April	92	Andaman & Nicobar Islands (1), Bihar (6), Chandigarh (1), Chhattisgarh (1), Haryana (10), Jammu & Kashmir (1), Jharkhand (5), Kerala (20), Lakshadweep (1), Madhya Pradesh (9), Maharashtra (10), Delhi (7), Odisha (10), Uttar Pradesh (10)
12 April	5	Assam (3), Sikkim (1), Tripura (1)
17 April	122	Bihar (7), Chhattisgarh (3), Goa (2), Jammu & Kashmir (1), Jharkhand  (5), Karnataka  (28), Madhya Pradesh (10), Maharashtra (19), Manipur (1), Odisha (11), Rajasthan (20), Uttar Pradesh (11), West Bengal (4)
24 April	117	Assam (6), Bihar (7), Chhattisgarh (7), Jammu & Kashmir (1), Jharkhand (4), Madhya Pradesh (10), Maharashtra (19), Puducherry (11), Rajasthan (5), Tamil Nadu (39), Uttar Pradesh (12), West Bengal (6)
30 April	89	Andhra Pradesh (17), Bihar (7), Dadra & Nagar Haveli (1), Daman & Diu (1), Gujarat (26), Jammu & Kashmir (1), Punjab (13), Uttar Pradesh (14), West Bengal  (9)
7 May	64	Andhra Pradesh (25), Bihar (7), Himachal Pradesh (4), Jammu & Kashmir (2), Uttar Pradesh (15), Uttarakhand (5), West Bengal (6)
12 May	41	Bihar (6),  Uttar Pradesh (18), West Bengal (17)
Counting Date: May 16, 2014

See Also:-

Elections-2014: Interesting Facts

Rajinikanth’s film in 6 languages

For the first time in the history of Indian Cinema, the much-awaited period film 'Kochadaiyaan' featuring Tamil superstar Rajinikanth and Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone in the lead, would be released in six different languages. The movie will be released in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Punjabi, Bhojpuri and Marathi. The film is scheduled to be released during the summer season. This is the first time in Indian Cinema history that a movie is getting released in six Indian languages.

Meanwhile, Karbonn Mobiles, one of the movie's sponsors, is planning to undertake a massive marketing campaign for the film. Hoardings and banners of the movie will be displayed at 3,650 Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd petrol outlets in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Eros International and Media One Global Entertainment, are the producers of the movie, which is directed by Rajinikanth's daughter, Soundarya R Ashwin. The music is scored by double Oscar winner A R Rahman and sound recording by another Oscar winner Resul Pookutty.

The movie also has actor-politician R Sarathkumar, Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff, Tamil actors Adhi, Nasser, actress and danseuse Shobhana.