Election process in India

The ECI is an independent constitutional authority responsible for conducting

elections at the national, state, and local levels. It ensures elections are conducted
in a free, fair, and transparent manner. The election process begins with the
election notification issued by the President under Section 14 of The People’ s
Representation Act, 1951. The notification is followed by the announcement of
election dates by the election commission. These dates specify the dates and time
of filling up nominations, making withdrawals, election campaigns and polling.
Thus, Elections in India are conducted according to the procedure laid down by
law. Following are the main process of election in India

1. Delimitation of Constituencies:

To facilitate the process of elections, a country has to be divided into several

constituencies. Constituency, it is a territorial area from where a candidate
contests election. The task of delimiting constituencies is generally performed by
the Delimitation Commission consisting of serving or retired judges of the
Supreme Court and the Chief Election Commissioner who is its ex-officio member.
All secretarial assistance (at all levels, national, state, district) is provided to the
Delimitation Commission by the Election Commission. The Delimitation
Commission is constituted by the Government from time to time.

Preparation of Electoral Rolls

Each electoral constituency prepares a separate electoral roll. ‘Electoral rolls ‘are
the lists of voters in one constituency. Eligible voters (18+ years) are listed in the
Electoral Roll. It became the fundamental document for conducting elections. The
Electoral Roll is prepared and kept up to date by the election commission.
Generally, the electoral rolls are revised after each census or before the notification
of elections. In India, there is a universal franchise by law. Meaning, that every
individual, above the age of 18 has a right to vote and choose his representative.
So, it is very essential that all their names should appear in their respective
electoral rolls. Today, eligible voters have also been permitted to enrol their names
in the electoral roll through election commission website named voters’ portal.
Voter Registration:
Indian citizens who are 18 years or older are eligible to vote. They must register
with the Election Commission to be included in the electoral rolls.
Voter registration is done at the constituency level through the Chief Electoral
Officer (CEO) of each state.

Recognition of political parties and allotment of symbols

Representation of Peoples Act 1951 authorises the Election Commission to

register and recognise political parties. Election commission classified political
parties either as national party or state political party. The allotment of symbols for
political parties and individual candidates is also a function of the commission.
The election commission also has the power to adjudicate upon disputes with
regard to recognition of political parties, allotment of symbols etc.

Notification for Election and appointment of officials:

The process of election officially begins when on the recommendation of Election
Commission, the President in case of Lok Sabha and the Governor in case of State
Assembly issue a notification for the election. Through notification the
commission announces the dates for Nomination, scrutiny, withdrawal of
candidates etc. With the announcement of the election schedule the commission
also appoints returning officers for various constituencies. In addition to returning
officers the commission also appoints several officers like presiding officers,
polling officers, polling assistants, observers and subordinate staff in every
electoral constituency for the smooth conduct of elections.
Announcement of Elections:
The Election Commission of India (ECI) announces the schedule for elections.
This includes the dates for the filing of nominations, campaigning, voting, and the
declaration of results.

Filing of nominations:

Filing nomination of candidates is an important part of the election process.

Election commission publishes the date of filing nomination of the upcoming
election in a particular constituency. Filing of Nomination indicates a person who
intends to contest an election is required to file the nomination paper in a
prescribed form indicating his name, age, postal address and serial number in the
electoral rolls. The candidate is required to be duly proposed and seconded by at
least two voters registered in the concerned constituency. Every candidate has to
take an oath or make an affirmation. These papers are then submitted to the
Returning Officer designated by the Election Commission. Seven days are given to
candidates to file nominations. The seventh day is the last date after the issue of
notification excluding Sunday.
Security Deposit: Every candidate has to make a security deposit at the time of
filing nomination. For the Lok Sabha election a general candidate has to make a
security deposit of Rs.25,000/- and 12000 for SC/ST candidates. In the State
Assembly Election Rs. 10,000 is fixed for general candidate candidates belonging
to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The security deposit is forfeited if the
candidate fails to get at least 1/6 of the total valid votes polled.
Nomination of Candidates:
Political parties and independent candidates file their nominations for contesting
the elections.Candidates need to meet certain eligibility criteria, such as age,
nationality, and criminal record (if applicable).

Scrutiny and Withdrawal of Nominations:

All nomination papers received by the Returning Officer are scrutinized on the day
fixed by the Election Commission. This is done to ensure that all papers are filled
according to the procedure laid down and accompanied by required security
deposit. The Returning Officer is empowered to reject a nomination paper on any
one of the following grounds:

(i) If the candidate is less than 25 years of age.

(ii) If he/she has not made a security deposit.

(iii) If he/she is holding any office of profit.

(iv) If he/she is not listed as a voter anywhere in the country

Scrutiny of nomination papers is done on the day normally after the last date of
filing nominations. The second day after the scrutiny of nomination papers is the
last date for the withdrawal of the nomination of candidates. In case that day
happens to be a holiday or Sunday, the day immediately after that is fixed as the
last day for the withdrawal. The Returning Officer scrutinizes the nomination
papers very carefully. When someone is dissatisfied, he is officially stopped from
contesting an election for six years.

After the scrutiny and withdrawal of nomination papers, the election commission
finalises the list of candidates and allot them symbols. The candidate political
parties are allowed to reserve symbols, while other candidates are allowed to use
free symbols.

7. Election Campaign: After the finalization of candidates ,14 days are permitted
for election campaign. Campaigning is the process by which a candidate tries to
persuade the voters to vote for him rather than others. During this period, the
candidates try to travel through their constituency to influence as many voters as
possible to vote in their favour. The political parties publish their candidates list
and propagate their names and qualities to attract the minds of the voters. In
recent times, the Election Commission has granted all the recognised National and
Regional Parties, free access to the State-owned electronic media, the All India
Radio (AIR) and the Doordarshan to do their campaigning. The total free time is
fixed by the Election Commission which is allotted to all the political parties
Campaigning stops 48 hours before the day of polling. The publicity campaign
ends exactly 24 hours before the date of polling. A number of campaign
techniques are involved in the election process. Some of these are:
1. Holding of public meetings
2. Making use of posters, banners, flags
3. Distribution of handbills and pamphlets, highlighting the main issues of their
election manifesto (election manifesto is a document issued by a political
party. It is a declaration of policies and programmes of the party concerned.
4. Door to door canvassing, rallies,personal appeal by influential people in the
party.
5. Broadcasting and telecasting of speeches by various political leaders,
publicity through media.

7.Model Code of Conduct:

During the campaign period the political parties and the contesting candidates are
expected to abide by a model code of conduct evolved by the Election
Commission of India on the basis of the consensus among political parties. It
comes into force the moment the schedule of election is announced by the
Election Commission. The code of conduct is as follows:

(i) Political Parties and contesting candidates should not use religious
places for election campaigns.
 (ii) Such speeches should not be delivered in a way to create hatred
among different communities belonging to different religions, castes and
languages, etc.

(iii) Official machinery should not be used for election work.

(iv) No new grants can be sanctioned; no new schemes or projects can

be started once the election dates are announced.

(v) One cannot misuse mass media for partisan coverage.

8. Voting/polling day: In order to conduct polling, a large number of polling
booths are set up in each constituency. Each booth is placed under the
charge of a Presiding Officer with the Polling Officers to help the process.
On the polling day, at the fixed hour voters are permitted to enter in the
polling booths with their identity cards and vote for the candidates. The
officer in charge of the electoral roll verifies the person whose names on the
list, then he is permitted to record his vote in electronic voting machine. The
voters record their votes by pressing a button on an electronic voting
machine against the name of the candidate they want to vote. A voter casts
his/her vote secretly in an enclosure, so that no other person comes to know
of the choice he/she has made. It is known as a secret ballot. In order to
prevent a voter who has already cast his vote from voting against any other
registered voter’ s name, an official put mark is done on his specified figure
with indelible ink. After the polling is over, voting machines are sealed in the
presence of agents of the candidates and despatched to the office of the
returning officer for counting. Agents ensure that no voter is denied the right
to vote, provided the voter turns up within the prescribed time limit. Voting:
o Elections are held through electronic voting machines (EVMs), and in
some cases, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) are used
to enhance transparency.
o Voters cast their votes in polling booths. Voting is compulsory,
though not enforced with penalties.

7Counting of Votes and Declaration of Results:

After the polling has ended the ballot boxes or the voting machines are sealed and
carried under custody to the counting stations. On the counting day, Counting
takes place under the supervision of the Returning Officer and in the presence of
candidates and their agents. As soon as counting is over, the candidate securing
the maximum number of valid votes win the election in that particular constituency
and is declared elected by the Returning Officer. after counting, the returning
officer officially declares the results and informs the election commission.
Counting of Votes:
After the voting, the ECI ensures secure counting of votes. The counting process is
done under strict supervision to prevent any malpractices.

Declaration of Results:
After counting, the ECI announces the winners of the election. The candidate with
the highest number of votes (for individual constituencies) or the party with the
most seats (for the Lok Sabha and state elections) wins.

Scrutinization of election Expenses:

The political parties and the candidates contesting elections spend large sums of
money on their election campaigns. However, the Election Commission has the
power to scrutinize the election expenses to be incurred by the candidates. There
is a ceiling on expenses to be incurred in Parliamentary as well as State Assembly
elections. Every candidate is required to file an account of his election expenses
within 45 days of declaration of results. In case of default or if the candidate has
incurred (expenses) more than the prescribed limit, the Election Commission
can take appropriate action and the candidate elected may be disqualified and his
election may be countermanded.
Formation of Government:
Based on the results, the winning party or coalition forms the government. The
leader of the majority party is appointed as the Prime Minister (in the case of
general elections) or the Chief Minister (in state elections).