India's 2014 Lok Sabha Election Explained

1)It is the biggest voting event in the world: more than 800 million Indians are going to the polls over six weeks to elect a new government.The first phase of polling starts on 7 April. The ninth and last will be held on 12 May.Votes will be counted on May. 16,2014

2)India's lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, has 543 elected seats. Any party or coalition needs a minimum of 272 MPs to form a majority government.

3)Some 814 million voters - 100 million more than the last elections in 2009 - are eligible to vote at 930,000 polling stations, up from 830,000 in 2009

4)Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used at all polling stations. The entire process will be overseen by the Election Commission of India.

How the EVM work

• Candidates' names are written in the majority languages and scripts of the constituency. To help illiterate voters, each candidate is also identified by a symbol: the lotus for the BJP, for example, or a hand for Congress. Non-affiliated candidates can choose a symbol from an approved list.

• Voters press the blue button next to their preferred candidate to cast their ballot. For the first time, there is a button for None of the Above, as well as a serial number in Braille to help visually impaired voters.

• The control unit stores the votes and runs on a battery so that it can keep working in case of a power cut. During counting, the serial number of each candidate appears, along with the total number of votes cast.Once poll officials press the Close button under the flap, the machine stops recording any more votes. It is used at the end of polling or if anybody tries to forcibly enter a polling station with the intention of casting fraudulent votes.

•  To prevent anyone tampering with the unit holding the voting information, the unit is sealed with old-fashioned wax, supplemented by a secure strip from the election commission and a serial number

 Who are the main players?

This election is primarily a contest between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)and Indian National Congress(INC),the Ruling Party


The Indian National Congress(INC) Party has dominated modern India's politics for most of its history since independence in 1947.INC has been in power since 2004 but has not formed a government on its own since 1984

The BJP is going into the polls with a few smaller parties under the banner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Congress, too, is continuing with its ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) - though it has lost some key allies ahead of the polls.

A number of smaller regional parties, which have shunned both the NDA and the UPA before the polls, are likely to play an important role if neither of the main coalitions secures a majority.

Leaders of 11 regional parties have formed a "Third Front" against the Congress and the BJP - but analysts say it is likely to break apart in the event of a hung parliament.