Are you confused about the ongoing elections? Do you not understand what voting is all about? Do you want to vote? Do you want something interesting to talk about over the next few weeks? Read on to find out..
What are these elections?
These elections are for the Lok Sabha – the ‘house of people’ at a national level. India is divided into 543 distinct regions or parliamentary constituencies for this purpose. The division of these constituencies is roughly on the basis of population (while ensuring that all regions are represented). For example, Uttar Pradesh has the most number of MPs, i.e. 80 MPs. One Member of Parliament (MP) is elected from each constituency. All MPs are sworn in for a five year period.
When are these elections?
The Lok Sabha 2019 elections are being held in 7 phases.
You can Click Here to view a list of when polling is being held in your constituency.
Varun B. Krishnan/The Hindu have created an interactive map to check when polling is in your constituency (or if you have more time, you you can stare at this jpg map created by the Election Commission)
All results will be declared on Thursday, May 23, 2019
Who is currently in power?
BJP is currently in power. A party or coalition of parties can form a government if wins at least 50% of the seats i.e. 272+. In 2014, BJP won a majority of seats (282 in total) by itself. A single party winning more than 50% of the seats by itself had not happened for over three decades and is considered quite rare. Usually, in the event where a single party can not get 50% of the total seats, a coalition government is formed. For e.g. in 2009, Congress won maximum seats (206). It then combined with other parties under the umbrella of the United Progressive Alliance to achieve the figure of 272+.
Why should you vote?
– Elected Representatives make the laws and policies that govern how we live. So why not have a say in that.
– Voting is the single most powerful way to send a message to governments and politicians. Even more powerful than candle-marches and hunger-strikes. For example, elections in the past few years have seen a corrupt central government removed,
the longest-serving democratically elected Communist government in the world was ousted from West Bengal, the 2G-scam tainted DMK was thrown out of power in Tamil Nadu, the illegal mining BJP lords of Karnataka were defeated, an activist with no political background was elected twice as the chief minister of Delhi and the all-powerful Behenji Mayawati was rejected by UP’s voters.
– If you don’t vote you really should have no right to complain about government decisions you don’t like (no matter how much they actually suck).
Where and How can you vote?
– You should be listed on the electoral roll of your constituency in order to vote. You can vote where you permanently reside or where you have been for a 6 month period. The Election Commission has attempted to make existing electoral rolls available online. You can check if you name is on the rolls – CLICK HERE
– If you are not registered to vote, Indian voters can register online – CLICK HERE
– Indians who are overseas, can also register online – CLICK HERE
– To find where to vote – CLICK HERE
– You can also take a look at the Election Commission’s FAQ page for voters here.
– Even if you are unable to vote this time, make sure you register yourself to vote because there are elections every few years. In most of India, you will get a chance to vote in Lok Sabha elections (like this one), Vidhan Sabha elections and Municipal elections.
For whom should you vote?
This is completely up to you. However, it makes sense to know who you are voting for. Watch this space – www.myneta.info to get a complete snapshot of candidates contesting elections in your constituency. This site is usually updated a few days before the date of polling.
And even if the candidate you vote for loses, you would have expressed your opinion in supporting a candidate, party or ideology! This includes those who want to show their displeasure with the entire electoral system – just use the ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) option on voting machines if you don’t like any of the candidates.
AND REMEMBER
Updated: Nov 2017 (previous versions: Feb’17, Apr’14, Oct ’13 and Jan ’12)
Best of Lok Sabha 2014
- Worst MPs of the outgoing Lok Sabha
- Dear Indian Voter, why are you still voting for Criminals?
- Gunda-Raj continues with Lok Sabha 2014 – Well done India!
- Lok Sabha Electoral Malpractice Awards for States 2014
- 7 stats on the 2014 Lok Sabha elections that will blow your mind into many pieces
- Women’s Empowerment in Indian Politics is here to stay (just kidding)!
- Lok Sabha Honours List 2017 – Our most useless MPs
- The ‘Criminal’ Quota in Indian Politics
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Why Does the Govt. not give us the right to reject all the candidates who may be corrupt,criminal or just incapable. Why not the option of NONE OF THE ABOVE Button. Atleast, that will give me an option to record my protest. In the absence of that choice, I can only protest by abstaining from Voting.And I intend to do so.
@1674e6a570a05ba77aa79207a35a95cd:disqus This right currently exists. As of now, you can go to the polling booth, identify yourself, get yourself marked in the electoral roll by the booth officer and then according to section 49-O refrain from voting. You will need to fill out a separate form at the booth for this. Unfortunately the ECI has not incorporated ‘None of the Above’ in the Electronic Voting Machines yet.
Thus the issue is that the it would be known to everyone that you refrained from voting.
Voting or non voting. Going to the Centre is equally important. Irrespective you are on the list or not to reaffirm you faith in democracy. For every one who can vote there are many who cannot vote like the homeless. All the more reason to vote to help them. You single vote can change the elected candidtate’s propects and equally you not voting can improve the prospects of those whom you do not want to vote. GOT THE ARTHMATIC. EVERY VOTE NOT CAST IMPROVES THE MARGIN AND PROVES AN ARROGANCE FACTOR FOR THE CANDIDATE WHO WINS.
ultimate initiative!!! this generation was waiting for elaboration of concept like you have done here, in their manner, 😀
Thank you so much. Please spread the word!
The initiative is applauded.
The Bacchan family showing their middle finger is hilarious ( Isn’t it the forefinger that is marked,though)
I think volunteers should hold plays/skits on the day(s) of voting in areas leading up to the election centre so that people recollect the actions/promises of govt/candidates. (Is that prohibited)
@d7982ec5584d69c24a660e6f9caef3b0:disqus Thank you. Yes, you are right. It should normally be the forefinger. However, when this photo was taken there were 2 elections (general and assembly) in Maharashtra held close to each other. Hence to differentiate, the authorities were marking the fore-finger for one election and the middle finger for the other.
the initiative is good Shruti Ji, but the vital question still remains there: what if i don’t find a single politician to be good enough for being voted for??? while Anna Ji’s ‘right to reject’ must be emphatically supported until it is realized, there is one more way to show these undeserving idiots how much we dislike them… the rule 49-A under which prescribes that if a voter wants to cast his vote to none of the contestants, still wants to use his right to vote for expressing his participation in the legislative process, he can ask the polling officer for giving the form no. 17-A, filling which he can clearly express his displeasure towards all the contesting leaders… India Against Corruption has sent around 10,000 SMS’s to make the voters aware of this rule, and i urge you, Shruti Ji, to spread the word around…!! thanks…
@facebook-1059115310:disqus How do you know that there will not be a single ”good enough” politician? Do not jump to conclusions. The thought of ”rejecting” candidates is wonderful but what will you achieve through that? If a good candidate according to you is one who is in favour of Janlokpal and otherwise maybe completely incompetent, then there are some fundamental issues in your strategy. Do you know that as of now, if you reject a candidate, your vote is not even counted.
And by the way 10,000 is about 0.008% of the people on the electoral rolls for the upcoming elections.
First things first, having born and brought up in my area, covering all the local, Vidhan Sabha & Lok Sabha elections over here village to village, booth to booth since the year 2001 and knowing all the candidates contesting for the upcoming Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha elections within my constituency inside out, I KNOW FOR A FACT NONE OF THEM DESERVES TO REPRESENT THE RESIDENTS OF THE CONSTITUENCY…!! A person sitting hundreds of miles away from my town cozily sitting at his PC within the luxury of his drawing room might be expected to JUMP AT THE CONCLUSIONS, NOT ME FOR SURE!!
Secondly, saying ‘Thought of Rejecting Candidates is Wonderful’ is immature in itself, this thought is not at all wonderful, neither the ‘Right to Reject’ is going to provide us with some fancy excitement of having rejected all the candidates… The idea is to bring those educated, aware and sensible citizens who able to think beyond petty issues of caste, religion, language and other nonsense issues; to the polling booth who are badly disillusioned and annoyed with the current scenario and prefer not to vote to any candidate at all, as THEY ARE AWARE NO GOOD CANDIDATE IS OFFERED TICKETS BY ANY POLITICAL PARTY AT THIS MOMENT… As you seem to have an impeccable bank of information upon the mega scams and other noble deeds being committed by our respected leaders, I hope you must be well aware of the inner dirty games that are played within the political parties while distributing tickets to aspiring candidates. Whether or not you are aware, at least I am aware of them and I am not alone in my constituency to be aware of them, actually there are hundreds or thousands and instead of WASTING their votes by casting them in favor of an undeserving candidate, they prefer to stay back home with family and watch a film on DVD. The idea by getting the ‘Right to Reject’ implemented is to empower these voters express their anguish and disgust towards the rotten system we’re living in, for when they’ll come in large numbers to reject all the undeserving candidates, IT WILL MAKE AN IMPRESSION AND A STATEMENT that a section of Indian voters are getting politically and socially aware now, and they NEED TO CHOOSE A RIGHT CANDIDATE NOW…
Thirdly, saying that a rather incompetent candidate will be supporting Anna’s JanLokPal for his vested interests, I’d like to inform you that despite its opportunistic support to Anna’s JanLokPal Bill, the BJP is not getting any huge favor among the voters, and this I am saying by interacting with people, talking to them and listening to their views on an everyday basis, it being my job… If you consider the voters to be that ignorant or stupid that merely supporting Anna an incompetent leader might win their favor, I GUESS THERE LIES SOME HUGE FLAW WITHIN YOUR FUNDAMENTAL COMPREHENSION OF THE PSYCHE OF INDIAN VOTERS…
Fourthly, Yes, I know that by rejecting the candidates, our votes will not be counted until and unless the ‘Right to Reject’ is formally implemented and an option for the same is provided within the EVM itself; still I know from my common sense that if a single polling booth sees hordes of people coming and asking for the Form 17-A, it is for sure going to create a havoc among the media and begin scaring the hell out of party high commands…
I thought this website it is an awesome place to share our thoughts about what mess these corrupt leaders and bureaucrats have brought all of us into, but didn’t know one has to rhyme one’s words in your tunes over here if one doesn’t want to be harshly and insensitively treated like an absolutely ignorant and uneducated intruder…
I congratulate you for being so aware about your own constituency. It is indeed an achievement and definitely praise-worthy. What is even more commendable is that “Annaji’s message of right to reject” is being emphatically supported by the likes of you until it is realized. This is wonderful because a lazy youth which is largely indifferent towards politics (apart from ‘liking’ things on facebook and lighting a candle or 2) should now conveniently ‘reject’ all candidates without even bothering because you feel that the same yardsticks as your opinion on your constituency should apply to the entire country. NO GOOD CANDIDATE IS OFFERED TICKETS BY ANY POLITICAL PARTY AT THIS MOMENT – this is a hare-brained rhetorical assumption that Hazare’s clan want to propagate and something that is easy for the youth to lap up. There is no practical political solution with alternate candidates or candidates deemed ‘ok’ by Team Anna being offered. All that is being said is that everyone is bad. The stupidity of the Janlokpal argument was made apparent in the Hisar election where ”Congress ko Harao” meant that it was ‘ok’ to go ahead and choose Ved Pal or Virender who had charges like murder, attempt to murder and assault against them. I agree that ‘Right to Reject’ is empowering however in a setup where (correct if wrong) even if ”right-to-reject” would get >50% of the votes, it would make no difference as some other candidate who has maximum absolute number of votes would be sworn in as MLA. However, we support your efforts of making the voters aware of this ”right to reject”. You and the other hundreds/thousands in your constituency who waste votes/watch DVDs at home – if you are so aware of the problem, you can always back 1 person who you deem to be fit for the legislative assembly, right? This page aimed to get people to understand the value of voting, to get their names in the electoral rolls and to vote in this election and subsequent elections. We do not wish to propagate the message that voting is useless because EVERY candidate who contests elections is useless because this is a decision that should be left to the discretion of the voter.
Lol… this is hypocricy at its best from WahSarkar… If you go through the “Neta Profiling” page hosted on this site itself, you yourself are clearly implying that all our candidates are “ameer gundas” and if that is actually the case, then what is the option the common man has ? Either stay out of the elections or vote for the “Ameer gundas”
@e4fb046d3b817c4ed9638f701a9819fd:disqus – No Child… the Neta Profiling page has details of parliamentarians and NOT candidates. Just to make it simpler for you — anyone who contests an election is called a candidate. Those who win, are sworn in as parliamentarians (MP/MLA)..
So you have a choice to vote for candidates who are NOT criminals based on their backgrounds if you wish to. Read the ”for whom to vote” section on this page for more info on this.. Feel free to reach out if you still need help in understanding this…
A nice initiative…
Dnt Miss !
showing middle figure to corrupt, while you vote.. for a change is a nice idea
Good post. A much needed one. Please correct the Party in Power of Manipur state. Its a coalition govt of INC + Left called SPF 🙂
We must vote
lolz grt
I just dont understand why few retards find the word “sexy” offensive!!!!!!!!!!!!
..
.And explaining them this is like shouting “We want lokpal” in front of Soniya Gandhi.
want right to reject vote !!
वाह सरकार, जिस तरह के SEXY Word यूज किए गए हैं , आप लोगों के वेब में, लग रह हैं कि Voting ke Liye तो nahin आपके Web Site के Darshan करने लोग जरूर Pahunchenge. महरथियों कुछ तो Khaयाल करो…
राज, आप भी तो पहोंच ही गए यहाँ 🙂
Voting or non voting. Going to the Centre is equally important. Irrespective you are on the list or not to reaffirm you faith in democracy. For every one who can vote there are many who cannot vote like the homeless. All the more reason fo vote to help them. You single vote can change the elected candidtate’s propects and equally you not voting can improve the prospects of those whom you do not want to vote. GOT THE ARTHMATIC. EVERY VOTE NOT CAST IMPROVES THE MARGIN AND PROVES AN ARROGANCE FACTOR FOR THE CANDIDATE WHO WINS.
Unfortunately you need to be on the electoral roll/list in order to cast your vote. Hence if you are not on the list, it may make more sense to make an effort to get onto the list through the methods mentioned in the post.
Vote for your choice of CRIMINAL!!
BECAUSE A CRIMINAL IS GOING TO WIN in U.P.
Dont waste your vote.
@f75380bded821b1b36f8bacc44b76834:disqus So maybe you shouldn’t vote for a criminal then.. no Sushil?
Nice efforts..good
Good Job Team, Proud of you for spreading the awareness. Keep it up. Forgive the Cynics & appreciate the Critics.
Naresh Thakur,
IAC Mumbai Volunteer
Very positive message nicely sent out. Thanks.
Thanks… shall update the page soon with relevant information..
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I THINK ” BY THE USE OF PRINCIPLES OF MOBILE BANKING TRANSACTIONS & BIOMATRIC SYSYEM, THE ELECTRORAL VOTING MAY BE POSSIBLE. ”
WHETHER GOVT. & EC WILL CONSIDER IT ? May all Political Parties come forward over this issue ?
—– CHANDRAKANT VAJPEYI. Sr. Citizen & Non Political Social Worker, Aurangabad.
Email : chandrakantvjp@gmail.com Mob. : +91 9730500506.
Losers vote. Winners buy Bond. Electoral Bond.