India can be proud for adhering to democracy, since 15th august 1947,when the country gained freedom. One single party was in power for a long period, and the elected lawmakersrepresenting the opposition were few in number during that period. The first prime ministerStrongly believed in parliamentary democracy, and gave all respect to the opposition and maintained high standards in the countries governance, and this has helped his successors to continue the same line, even after his demise.Single party form of governance gave way to the coalition system in stages. The political complexion of the leaders at the helm also changed. Still the country operated within the Parameters of the Constituition of India, with all emphasis on the PEOPLE OF INDIA, as enshrined in the preamble of our Rule book , safeguarding the powers given to the Executive, the Parliament and the Judiciary, the three important centers of power, in the governance of a nation. The voters of India, during the past, have proved that they are really intelligent, and areCapable of guarding democracy, by electing and rejecting the candidates. They could distinguish the power seekers, and those who valued the problems of the underdogs of the country, who formed a very high percentage, and this extraordinary skill of the electorate in the biggest populous democracy in the world, has helped the growth of the country stage by stage.The framers of our Rule Book, were men of great vision, as it is not easy to change the BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE CONSTITUITION, and this guarantees democracy , even in future.
The period of the fifteenth Lok sabha( the house of the representatives elected by the electorate) expires on 30th May 2014. The electorate will have to elect 543 law makers( MP's), Who in turn will select the leader of the party to hold office, for the next term.The general elections to the Parliament and the legislature is a Constituitional mandate. That vests in the Election Commission of India, an independent Constituitional authority in India, with all powers, independent of the Government at the Center and the states. The EC after elaborate preparations and consultations, announced the elections, to enable the new law makers to assume office, and the election process has commenced on 7 th April 2014And the entire exercise . will be over in stages on 12 th may 2014. Except some minor disturbances In few pockets , media reports, that the general climate has been peaceful till date. The results will be announced on 16th may 2014 and the new leaders can assume office, thereafter, as per the provisions in the Constituition of India. The political party, or the parties in the present coalition culture, getting the maximum number Of seats in the elections, will elect the leader. The President of India, will call upon this leader to select the council of ministers, to assume office , to continue the governance. The whole nationIs eagerly watching the developments , relating to the elevation of the next PRIME MINISTER of INDIA.It will be relevant to refer to some facts, on this great event, in the second biggest populous country in the world.- Indias population is now estimated to be 1.27 billion out of the world population estimated at 7 billion.- though the national language of the country is Hindi, the speaking language varies from one End to the other- different religions, and the customs and manners of the people also vary- high literacy in certain areas, total ignorance in certain areas, a large percentage of the population below the poverty line, lack of health care to many, caste considerations , moneyPower and muscle power, etcTo conduct an election , is a very huge responsibility, especially in a country of this size. The Previous commissions have done very good home work and the present commission has taken effective steps as stated hereunder( to mention the important few) to guarantee all fairness, in the conduct of the present elections.- the 814.5 million voters, can exercise their franchise, without fear, and the commission has taken all steps for a free and fair elections. Even 11844 overseas voters also can cast their votes. The poliing takes place in stages.- there are 93, 000 polling stations in the country and the voting is through electronic voting machines.- as per the decision of the Supreme Court of India on 27 th Sep 13, the voters can exercise the NOTA ( none of the candidates ) option, for the first time.- the candidates and the parties will have to follow the MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT, strictly.If they fail, penal consequences will follow.- there is a ceiling on election expenses and the election expenses of the candidates will be scrutinized.- the EC has appointed observers, of different types, in different areas to oversee and report in time, to take appropriate action, in the case of violation of the election rules in force and the model code.- security personnel is strong and sufficient and acting under the directions of the independent Commission to guarentee fairness from the beginning to the end, till announcement of resultsThe general elections in India, is a great event and the whole world is keeping a close watch on the polling , the final results and the swearing in ceremony of the next prime minister and his council of ministers.