Indian elections explained

India, by far the world's largest democracy in terms of electorate, is set to embark on a nearly six-week long journey to elect members to its parliament. The lower house of India's bicameral parliament, the Lok Sabha, will have its 543 members elected in seven phases starting from April 19 and ending on June 1.

Why is the election held in phases

India's enormous size makes it so that if elections were to be conducted in a free, fair, and orderly manner across the country, doing it all in one day would put tremendous pressure on the country's election commission and its logistical operations. That is why the elections are conducted in seven phases. Every step of the process, like date of notification, nomination filing, scrutinising, withdrawing, and of course, polling, is conducted in a staggered fashion across the country. The polling for each phase is conducted within one day, and the seven polling dates this year are April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.

All the votes from all seven days will be counted and tallied on June 4, 2024.

Which states vote during which phase

When the voters of any of India's 28 states and eight union territories will vote depends on its size and location. For example, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal, three of India's largest states by population, will vote on all seven days. Smaller states like Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, or Goa will vote on one of the seven days. There are exceptions too, like Tamil Nadu's 39 seats (5th highest in number) which will all be contested on one day, April 19. On the other hand, the five seats in the politically contentious Jammu and Kashmir will be contested on five different days.

What are the logistical challenges

India's vast size, and its varied landscapes and people pose a unique challenge for conducting a national level election. Electoral rules in India require that polling booths are available within 2 kilometres walking distance of every voter. This creates stark challenges, like the team of polling officers who have trekked 40 kilometres to set up a booth in the village of Malgam in Arunachal Pradesh, for only one voter, 44-year-old Sokela Tayang, as reported by The Times of India. This same trek took four days and 483 kilometres in 2019.

There are more examples of this, like the single-voter polling booth in Gujarat's Gir forest where Asiatic lions are known to prowl, or the highest polling booth in the world in Himachal's Tashigang, 15,256 feet above sea level and 29 kilometres from the Indo-Chinese border (there is a possibility that the 48 voters in Tashigang may boycott the election due to unemployment, as reported by the Hindustan Times). While these are extreme cases, the prevalence of such challenges make it necessary for the authorities to stagger the election, ensuring the best possible access to the democratic process for citizens.

The big picture

Pre-election polling and experts suggest that Narendra Modi, the sitting Prime Minister and leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is set to win a third consecutive term. In fact, Modi has set the target for his coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), to win an unprecedented majority of 400 out of the 543 seats.

India's largest opposition party, the Indian National Congress, is in a much more difficult spot. Having spent two terms out of power following decades-long control, the party has lost 75 percent of the seats it controlled before the 2014 election. This year, they have formed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) with a view to posing a serious challenge to the Modi-led BJP juggernaut. But till now, it has not gone well. Disputes over leadership and seat-sharing have left the coalition weak, with several members walking out. For example, All India Trinamool Congress, initially a part of the alliance, will field candidates against the INDIA bloc in West Bengal.

The BJP is running with the plank of "Modi ki guarantee" (Modi's guarantee), looking to focus on promises for the Uniform Civil Code (a legal code that will replace personal religious laws), One Nation, One Election (a proposal to synchronise Lok Sabha and state elections), and the expansion of the welfare programmes that have made the government popular in many parts of the country. Congress, on the other hand, is running on the platform of "Nyay" (justice), specifically the five "pillars of justice"–youth, women, farmers, workers, and equity.

The choices have been put in front of the Indian people. They start choosing on April 19.