Question

Describe how elections are held in India.

Answer 1

The voters who live in an area elect the one representative.
(ii) Voters' List: Once the constituencies are decided, the next step is to decide who can and who cannot vote. This decision cannot be left to anyone till the last day. In a democratic election, the list of those who are eligible to vote is prepared much before the election and given to everyone.
(iii) Nomination of Candidates: Every person who wishes to contest an election has to fill a nomination form by the due date, which the Election Commission fixes. Every candidate has to give some money as security deposit alongwith nomination form.
(iv) Election Campaign: Election campaigns take place for a two-week period between the announcement of the final list of candidates and the date of polling. During this period the candidates contact their voters, political leaders address election meetings and political parties mobilise their supporters.
(v) Polling and Counting of Votes: The final stage of an election is the day when the voters cast or poll their vote. That day is usually called the election day. Every person whose name is on the voters' list can go to a nearby polling booth. Once the voter goes inside the booth, the election officials identify him/her, put a mark on his/her finger and allow him/her to cast his/her vote. There are electronic voting machines (EVMs) which are used to record votes. The machine shows the names of the candidates and the party symbols. What the voter has to do is to press the button against the name of the candidate he/she wants to give his/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 candidate who secures the highest number of votes from a constituency is declared elected.