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Election Process in India

By NEXT IAS Content Team - May 7, 2024

Election Process in India

The Election Process in India, as defined by the Constitution and other election statutes, is

crucial for a vibrant democracy in the country. This structured process plays a pivotal role in

upholding the efficiency and integrity of elections across the nation. This article of NEXT IAS

aims to study in detail the Election Process in India, its meaning and various stages,

including the schedule of elections, counting of votes, declaration of results and other
related aspects.
 1. What are Elections?
2. Election Process in India
3. Time of Elections
4. Announcement of Election Schedule by the ECI
5. Issue of Notification by the ECI
→ 6. Filing of Nominations by the Candidates
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7. Oath or Affirmation of Candidates

8. Election Campaign
9. Election Manifestos
10. Allocation of Symbols
11. Polling Days
12. Voting Procedure
13. Supervising Elections
14. Media Coverage
15. Counting of Votes
16. Constitution of House
17. Election Petitions
18. Conclusion
19. Electronic Voting Machine (EVM)
19.1. Advantages of EVM
20. Opinion Polls and Related Rules
21. Exit Polls and Related Rules

What are Elections?

Elections can be defined as the formal process by which citizens of a country or other political
entity, such as a State or Local Government, choose their representatives or leaders through voting.

Elections are fundamental to democratic societies as they embody the principle of “Popular
Sovereignty”, where the legitimacy of the government derives from the consent of the governed.

Election Process in India

The Election Process refers to a series of steps through which elections are conducted and
representatives are chosen by voters in a democratic system.

Constitutional and legal frameworks related to elections in India have defined a comprehensive
and structured election process as well as dedicated Election Machinery for the conduct of
elections.

From the announcement of elections to the declaration of results, the election process includes
various stages as listed below:
Announcement of Election Schedule by the ECI,

Issue of Notification by the ECI,

Filing of Nominations by the Candidates,

Oath or Affirmations of Candidates,

Election Campaigns by the Candidates,

Polling of Votes,

Counting of Votes, and

Constitution of House.
 Each of these stages in the Election Process in India and related concepts have been
discussed in detail in the sections that follow.

→Time of Elections
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The elections for the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly have to take place every five
years unless called earlier due to premature dissolution of the houses.

The Constitution provides that the gap between the last session of the dissolved Lok
Sabha/Legislative Assembly and the recalling of the new house cannot be longer than 6 months.
Thus, the elections have to be concluded before the expiry of 6 months after the dissolution of
the house.

Constitutional Provisions Regarding Premature Dissolution of Lok Sabha and State Legislative
Assembly
– Under the provisions of Article 85, the President of India is authorized to dissolve the Lok Sabha
at any time even before the completion of 5 years and call a General Election.
a. Usually, the President does so when the Union Government no longer commands the confidence
of the Lok Sabha and there is no alternative government available to take over.
– Under the provisions of Article 174, the Governor of State is authorized to dissolve the
concerned State Legislative Assembly at any time even before the completion of 5 years, and call
a General Election.
a. Usually, the Governor does so when the State Government no longer commands the confidence
of the Legislative Assembly and there is no alternative government available to take over.

Announcement of Election Schedule by the ECI

When the five-year term of the legislature has expired or the legislature has been dissolved and
new elections have been called, the Election Commission of India (ECI) puts into effect the
electoral machinery to conduct the upcoming elections.

The Election Commission of India normally announces the schedule of elections in a major press
conference a few weeks before the formal process is set in motion.
The election schedule includes important dates of various events of the election process such
as the date of filing nominations, date of polling etc.

The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the guidance of candidates and political parties comes
immediately into effect after such an announcement.

Issue of Notification by the ECI

A few days after announcing the election schedule, the Election Commission of India (ECI) issues
the notification for elections.

The formal process for the elections starts with the notification or notifications calling upon the
electorate to elect Members of a House.
 Filing of Nominations by the Candidates

As soon as notifications for elections are issued by the ECI, candidates can start filing their
nominations in the constituencies from where they wish to contest.
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The candidates are given a week to put forward their nominations.
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These nomination papers are scrutinised by the Returning Officers and if not found to be in
order can be rejected after a summary hearing.

Validly nominated candidates can withdraw within two days after nominations have been
scrutinised.

Oath or Affirmation of Candidates

A candidate has to make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation before an officer authorised by
the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The authorised persons appointed by the Election Commission of India are, usually, the Returning
Officer and the Assistant Returning Officer for the constituency for any particular election.

The candidate is required to personally make the oath or affirmation either immediately after
submitting their nomination papers or, at the latest, on the day before the date of scrutiny of the
nomination papers.

Election Campaign

After the candidates are done with filing of nominations, they start their Election Campaigns.

The Election Campaign refers to the period when the political parties put forward their candidates
and arguments with which they hope to persuade people to vote for their candidates and parties.

The official Election Campaign period begins at least two weeks from the list of nominated
candidates is finalized and concludes 48 hours before the polling stations close on election day.

During the Election Campaign, the political parties and contesting candidates are expected to
abide by the Model Code of Conduct.

Election Manifestos

Election Manifestos are documents released by political parties during election campaigns that
outline the policies, programs, and promises they intend to implement if elected to power.

These manifestos serve as the party’s blueprint for governance, highlighting their vision, priorities,
and proposed solutions to key issues.

These manifestos also highlight the strengths and capabilities of the party’s leadership, as well as
criticize the shortcomings and failures of their political opponents and their leaders.
 Allocation of Symbols

After the nomination of candidates is complete, a list of competing candidates is prepared by the
Returning Officer (RO).
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Of all the candidates, those from national parties and state parties already have symbols which are
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exclusively reserved for their parties. Rest of the candidates are allotted symbols from a list of free
symbols.

Polling Days

Election polling in India is typically conducted over multiple days across different constituencies.

This staggered approach enables the deployment of security forces and election monitors to
maintain law and order and ensure that the voting process remains free, fair and peaceful
throughout the electoral exercise.

Voting Procedure

The voting in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly elections are conducted using the
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Voting is done by the system of “Secret Ballot”, which means ensuring the secrecy of the
voter’s choice.

Polling stations are usually set up in public institutions, such as schools, community halls, etc.
Usually, the Election Commission of India (ECI) tries to ensure that there is a polling station
within two kilometres of every voter and that no polling station should have to deal with more
than 1200 voters.

Each polling station is open for at least eight hours on the day of the election.

When the elector enters the polling station to cast his/her vote, the elector is checked against the
electoral roll, an identity document is verified, indelible ink is applied on the left forefinger and a
voter slip is issued.
Finally, the voter is allowed to cast his/her vote by activating the ballot button in the Control Unit
by the Presiding Officer of the House.

Supervising Elections

The Election Commission of India (ECI) deploys a sizable number of election observers to ensure
the election campaign is carried out in a fair and impartial manner, and that voters can exercise
their franchise freely and without any undue influence.

The Election Expenditure Observers keep a check on the amount that each candidate and party
spends on the election.
 Media Coverage

The Media are actively encouraged and provided with extensive facilities to cover the elections to
bring transparency in the electoral process while also adhering to maintaining the secrecy of the
→ vote.
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The Media persons are given special passes to enter polling stations to cover the poll process and
the counting halls during the actual counting of votes.

The Media are also free to conduct Opinion Polls and exit polls.

Counting of Votes

After the polling has finished, the votes cast in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs) are counted
under the supervision of Returning Officers and Observers appointed by the Election Commission
of India (ECI).

Once the counting of votes is over, the Returning Officer (RO) declares the name of the candidate,
to whom the largest number of votes have been given, as the winner.

Constitution of House

As the final step in the process of election, the Election Commission of India (ECI) compiles the
complete list of members elected and issues an appropriate notification for the due constitution of
the House.

With this, the process of elections is complete and the President, in the case of the Lok Sabha, and
the Governors of the concerned States, in the case of State Legislative Assemblies, can then
convene their respective Houses to hold their sessions.

Note:
1. Elections to the Lok Sabha are carried out using a First-Past-the-Post Electoral System.
a. The entire country is split up into separate geographical areas, known as Constituencies, and the
electors can cast one vote each for a candidate.
b. The candidate who gets the maximum votes is being declared as the winner.
2. Similarly, elections to the State Legislative Assemblies in India also employ the First-Past-the-
Post Electoral System, in a manner analogous to the Lok Sabha elections.

Election Petitions

Any elector or candidate can file an Election Petition if he/she thinks there has been malpractice
during the election process.

An Election Petition is not an ordinary civil suit but is treated as a contest in which the whole
constituency is involved.

Election Petitions are tried by the High Court of the State involved, and if upheld, can even lead to
the restaging of the election in that particular constituency.
 Conclusion

The Election Process in India is a dynamic and robust system that upholds the core
democratic principles of free, fair and transparent elections. It remains the cornerstone of
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the world’s largest democracy, upholding the will of the people and reinforcing the
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foundations of representative governance. As India continues to evolve and progress, the

India Election Process and System must adapt to meet the changing needs of the country,
while preserving the core principles that have made it a model for democracies around the
world.

Electronic Voting Machine (EVM)

An Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is a simple electronic device used to record votes in
place of ballot papers and boxes which were used earlier in conventional voting systems.

Advantages of EVM

The advantages of the EVM over the traditional ballot paper or ballot box system are
mentioned below:

It eliminates the possibility of invalid and doubtful votes which, in many cases, are the root causes
of controversies and election petitions.

It makes the process of counting votes much faster than the conventional system.

It significantly reduces the amount of paper required, thereby saving a large number of trees and
making the election process more environmentally friendly.

It reduces the cost of printing (almost nil) as only one sheet of ballot paper is required for each
Polling Station.

Opinion Polls and Related Rules

An Opinion Poll in the context of elections is a survey conducted to gauge the preferences of
voters regarding candidates and political parties. These polls are used to measure public
sentiment and predict the possible outcomes of forthcoming elections.

The current rules of the Election Commission of India (ECI) stipulates that the results of Opinion
Polls cannot be published between two days before the start of polling and after the close of poll
in any of the constituencies.
 Exit Polls and Related Rules

An Exit Poll is a survey conducted just after voters have cast their votes at polling stations, which
aims to gather information about who voters chose in the election. Based on the data so collected,
→ an analysis is drawn to predict the outcome of the election before the actual results are declared.
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It is to be noted that unlike Opinion Polls that ask people whom they plan to vote for, Exit Polls ask
voters whom they actually voted for. This distinction makes exit polls more accurate.

The current rules of the Election Commission of India (ECI) stipulates that the results of Exit Polls
can only be published after half an hour of the end of polling hours on the last day of the poll.

NEXT IAS Content Team

https://www.nextias.com/