BETWEEN TODAY and May 13th, 714 million Indian voters will be able to go to electronic polls in the world’s largest exercise in representative democracy to date – the 15th Indian general election since independence from Britain in 1948. Organised by the Election Commission of India and working with four million officials at 828,804 polling stations in five staggered stages, it will be free and fair, electing 545 members to the Lok Sabha, the House of the People, India’s lower house of parliament.
Each of them will represent two million people and will have been chosen from among 5,000 candidates in all.
We have come to take Indian democracy for granted simply because it has worked so well – but that is a mistake. Compared to China, its only equivalent in scale and population, this is a remarkable record and one that will stand to India’s benefit as, increasingly, it plays with similar political and economic strength on the world stage. Whether in terms of manufacturing, services or industrial and technical innovation, India is now much stronger and more open to international trade, investment and political interdependence. Its huge domestic market is attracting increased attention. On many global issues it is insisting that its voice be heard and represented adequately.
One indication of these changes is the growing demand for political voice from the country’s 350 million strong middle class. Many of them are disenchanted with the traditional pattern of Indian politics and seek to change it. That is a trend to be watched in future elections, but it will probably not make much difference on this occasion. The two major party blocs are centred around the outgoing Congress Party of prime minister Manmohan Singh and the Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party led by LK Advani. Neither is expected to gain an outright majority and will therefore try to negotiate a coalition between the results declaration on May 16th and the parliamentary opening on June 2nd. Mr Singh said yesterday he will probably look for allies to his left, while Mr Advani also has associated groups offering to help, although he is still the less favoured to win. They have been involved in highly personalised attacks on each other. Policy competition covers the conventional fields of economic and political management and how best to protect India’s interests in the current global crisis. There is also a sharp bidding war for cheap rice and the BJP is offering to abolish income tax on soldiers to win their votes.