Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Stage set for the first phase of the great Indian election

NETV Bureau, April 14th: The stage is set for the biggest voting process on the earth. Barely 48 hours before the first phase of election kicks off on April 16 , all ground works have been completed by the election commission to conduct free and fair election for the largest democracy on the earth.

Welcome to the Indian election. The mother of all elections, the great Indian election will commence on Thursday with over 700 million eligible voters choosing candidates who can live up to their expectations and realize their dreams. Only 48 hours is left for the first phase and candidates and political parties are making a last ditch effort to woo voters to their kitty.

India's electorate totals 714 million - more than the population of the US and Russia put together the largest and the third largest countries in the world . The first round of balloting will take place April 16 and the fifth and last one May 13 - an exercise involving millions of officials and security personnel. Nearly 16 per cent of candidates contesting in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls have pending criminal cases against them, with Bihar and Uttar Pradesh accounting for the maximum such contestants.

The Congress edge past BJP in the number of tainted candidates. Of Congress' 93, 24 have criminal cases pending against them. While 23 of BJP's 79 candidates have a criminal record. There are 1,715 candidates, including 122 women, in fray for the first round of the five-phase Lok Sabha elections. On an average 13 candidates are contesting at each of 124 seats in the first phase of polling on April 16. In Andhra Pradesh, where polling will be held in 22 constituencies, 315 candidates are in the fray of whom 25 are women. The highest number of 32 candidates each are contesting in Mehboobnagar (Andhra Pradesh) and Raipur (Chhattisgarh) constituencies, In the north east six states will go for poll on the first phase.

There are 25 seats at stake and the main tussle is between the congress and the regional parties. In Assam a direct fight between the congress and the AGP-BJP combine is on the card. In Arunachal Pradesh where the BJP enjoyed 100 % representation in the Lok Sabha faces an uphill task to retain both the seats. In Tripura the congress is on Head to Head with the left parties in both the seats. In Manipur, the Congress is pitted against the Manipur people party (MPP). And in Meghalaya the state which is under political turmoil has two seats, Shillong and Tura. Shillong has been a traditional strong hold of the Congress and Tura is the base of Purno Sangma. He has won every election in the seat in the last 30 years. This time Agatha Sangma is trying her luck for the second time.

In India elections have been fascinating… more than 1 billion voters exercise their franchise. All eyes are on the first phase of the elections which will determine the future course of a political prospect, which will further lead the nation to be stronger and powerful.

Source: http://www.netvindia.com

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