first election in India - Jai Ho
Gandhinagar capital town of Gujarat state is going to witness its first municipal corporation election on 19 April 2011. Most eye catching feature of election campaigning here is that it has been very peacefully and in very ‘cool’ manner except last day i.e. 17 April 2011 campaigning. Reason behind this peaceful campaigning maybe it’s a FIRST municipal corporation election of this city. This election reminds about the very first election world’s largest democracy, India. While reading Guha’s book it bring out the real pain of those who frame election processes of this country which that time was facing issues of refugees, military advents, political uncertainties etc.
Sukumar Sen, a ICS was appointed as Chief Election Commissioner of India from 21 March 1950 to 19 December 1958, with a big project of conducting fair election in a country where there was 176 million people aged 20 years or more and among them 85% were illiterate. First step of making voters list seemed to be very tedious because each of one had to be identified, named and registered. It was merely first step for election. List of faced diffculites are very long . Here are the available numbers which gives clear picture of this giant and most successful project in Indian democracy. - Sites for polling needed to be identified and hones staff for conducting fair elections needed to recruit
- About 18,000 candidates are running for 4,412 seats: 497 in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of parliament, and the rest in state government. - BBC, 10th February 1952
- 224000 polling booths were constructed.
- 2 million steel ballot boxes worth 8200 tons of steel where brought in.
- 16500 clerks were hired for 6 months contract.
- 380000 reams of papers used for printing ballot papers.
- 56000 presiding officers where chosen to supervise voting process.
- 280000 helpers and 224000 policemen were deployed to guard polling booths.
- Election and electorates consumed area of million square miles.
- Bridges where specially constructed to reach out hilly and remote areas.
- Naval vessels were used to reach out small or tiny island in Indian ocean
- 2.8 million Women stuck off the voting list because they used identity like A’s mother or B’s wife instead of providing their real names and identity.
- To avoid impersonation, Indian scientists developed indelible ink which was applied to every voter, 389816 phials of this ink was used.
- To educate public about election and voting process about 3000 cinemas and all India radio was extensively used.
- J. Nehru, firs Prime Minister of India and prominent politician travelled about 25000 miles in all 18000 by air, 5200 by car, 1600 by train, 90 miles by boat.
- Highest voting turnout of 80.5% was from Kottayam, Kerala while 18%, lowest was registered in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh
- Bombay had high density of polling booth 1349 packed in 92Sq miles while the Mizo, a tribal area had 113 polling booths packed in 8000Sq Miles
- There were 1250 election offence among which 817 where case of impersonate voters, 106 where case of taking ballot paper out of polling station and 100 where cases of canvassing within area 100 yards of polling station.
- Such a big project showed real capacity of Indians to face difficulties and overcome it with a bang
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