Before you go ahead and vote, you need to have a fair idea of how elections work in the country. India is a democratic country with its asymmetric federal government. As such, the officials get elected right from the local level to the state and federal level. So, the elections to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha or the President and the Prime Minister don’t happen the same way.
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The Lok Sabha elections:
The Lok Sabha members get elected through the general elections that are held every five years. Presently, the Lok Sabha has 545 members. Out of these 545 members, two members are representatives of the Anglo-Indian community and the President of India nominates them.
The Rajya Sabha elections:
The Electoral College of the Union Territories and the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies elect the Rajya Sabha members. Thus, it is said that the Rajya Sabha members are elected indirectly by the people. It has 245 members and out of these 233 members get elected for six years. One-third of the Rajya Sabha retires after every two years.
Electing the Prime Minister:
The elected Lok Sabha members elect the Prime Minister. He is the chief representative of the government in this parliamentary democracy.
Electing the President:
An electoral college, which has members of the State Legislatures and Federal Legislatures, elects the President of India for five years. The President of India, on the other hand, elects for several important posts, such as the chief commissioner of the Election Commission of India.
The process of general elections in India
The Election Commission of India came into existence to oversee the process of elections and run it smoothly. This body is in charge of all the things related to elections, including election control, supervision, direction, and election conduct. Below is a brief description of the election process in India.
- You will need to have your registration on the electoral roll. It is a complete list of all eligible voters in an area.
- Thereby, you will get your voter ID that you will have to present at your polling booth. Also, before that, make sure you know about the candidates standing for the elections. You will also have to figure out where that polling booth is in your respective constituency.
- You’ll cast your vote on the EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines).
- If you only know English, get yourself familiarized with the candidate symbols as the candidate names will come up in an alphabetical manner in the most widely spoken state language.
- You will now need to press the blue button present next to the name and symbol of your preferred candidate.
- If you do not want to vote for anyone on the list, you can vote NOTA (None of The Above).
After voting, you will get an ink mark on your finger to signify that you have voted. This ink mark not only signifies that you’ve already voted, but also acts as a proud symbol denoting that you have exercised your rights as a citizen.
