Seventy-seven years to the date, crores of Indians could have had their say on the poll field, because the nation winds up its common elections to the 18th Lok Sabha, held throughout seven phases and 44 days.
The duty of conducting free-and-fair elections to select representatives to 543 parliamentary constituencies unfold throughout different geographical areas is a gigantic one, and the Election Fee of India has been fulfilling it for many years.
Many firsts
Going again in historical past, there are data of ballot-based elections within the time of the medieval Chola dynasty in at the moment’s peninsular India, the place the Kudavolai (pot and palm leaf) system was used to elect native physique representatives.
It wasn’t till 1920, through the British colonial rule, that centrally organised provincial and central legislative meeting elections had been held for the primary time within the Indian subcontinent after the Authorities of India Act was enacted a 12 months earlier.
Impartial India’s first parliamentary election in 1951 was held utilizing poll bins in numerous colors for every candidate, whose title was additionally inscribed on it. Voters needed to drop their poll paper within the field of their alternative. Godrej reportedly made 1.7 million of those bins. Poll papers with symbols got here into use later.
Hauling democracy
The conduct of nationwide elections entails large-scale transport of human and materials assets. This consists of the motion and deployment of election officers to numerous polling centres; armed, paramilitary and police forces to offer safety; and digital voting machines (EVM) and different polling-related paraphernalia.
The marketing campaign trails of contesting candidates once more entails intensive use of transport programs.
The variety of polling stations has elevated from 1.96 lakh in 1951 to a whopping 10.5 lakh in 2024 amid efforts to take the polling course of as near the citizens as doable.
In his e-book An Undocumented Surprise: The making of the nice Indian election, former chief election commissioner SY Quraishi mentions that 14 lakh EVMs had been used throughout 8.39 lakh polling stations through the 2009 elections.
As many as 119 particular trains transported central police forces, and 55 helicopters and 600-plus sorties airlifted safety forces. Buses, jeeps, tractors, bikes, bullock carts, mules, camels and elephants had been additionally used to maneuver assets.
No terrain too robust…
Fifteen years later, the train has change into much more complicated with extra polling stations arrange for improved protection throughout terrains starting from plains, hills and islands to the more difficult deserts, swamps, snow-clad mountains, and delicate worldwide borders, amongst others.
The Election Fee of India’s current social media posts described how its personnel take EVMs and different election-day materials to distant terrains.
The fascinating journey log ranges from trekking on hilly terrains to succeed in villages like Gasheng in Arunachal Pradesh to scaling snow-clad Himalayas in thermal put on, lugging EVM backpacks; trekking alongside a harsh 10-km terrain to succeed in Paddar/Nagseni in Jammu & Kashmir; journey on foot and tractors to succeed in inside villages in Namakkal district, and on horseback to succeed in elements of Dindigul district in Tamil Nadu; braving the currents of Myntdu river on a ship to succeed in Kamsing in Meghalaya; and flying in EVMs on helicopters to Bastar in Chattisgarh.
Transport additionally makes one other distinctive mark, actually, in elections. Bicycle, bus, cart, boat, aeroplane, automobile, dolli, and railway engine, amongst others, discover their method to EVMs as election symbols of candidates.
The usage of multimodal logistics has been integral to the largely clean and profitable democratic train that the nation has undertaken each 5 years.
(The author is an affiliate professor of selling at IFMR Graduate Faculty of Enterprise, Krea College)
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