The ongoing general elections in world’s largest democracy and most populous country,India will see over 968 million registered voters head to the election booths to elect a new government for the next five years.
India’s 2024 general election kicked off on April 19, 2024 and are being conducted in seven phases at polling booths across the vast country spread across 3.3 million sq km. Voting will end on 1 June and results will be announced on 4 June.
Voters are casting their ballots to elect 543 Members of Parliament (MPs) for a five-year term in the lower house of Parliament, known as Lok Sabha. An individual party or coalition needs at least 272 seats to form a majority to form a government.
The current ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by PM Narendra Modi, is seeking a majority vote to win a third successive term.
The Election Commission of India has set up more than 1 million polling stations across the country, and a voter does not have to travel more than 2kms to reach a polling booth.
Nearly 15 million polling offcials and security staff have been mobilised to ensure smooth and peaceful election.
The highest altitude polling station in the world is located at 4,650 meters in Tashigang (Himachal Pradesh), and officials will have to trek nearly 40kms to a remote village in Arunachal Pradesh to enable a single female to cast her vote, according to the Election Commission.
Voters cast vote by pressing a button on an electronic voting machine(EVM), first used in India in 1982. Five-and-a-half million (5.5 million) EVMs will be used in this years’s elections.
Indian citizens residing overseas can also vote, but are required to register and must vote in India.
The Indian High Commission, Wellington is also making efforts to disseminate important information and spread more awareness relating to the general elections.