1.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
2.
Constitution of India
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The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It is the longest written constitution of any country in the world. The nation is governed by it, B. R. Ambedkar is regarded as its chief architect. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, with its adoption, the Union of India became the modern and contemporary Republic of India replacing the Government of India Act,1935 as the countrys fundamental governing document. To ensure constitutional autochthony, the framers of the repealed the prior Acts of the British Parliament via Article 395 of the constitution. India celebrates its coming into force on 26 January each year and it declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty, and endeavours to promote fraternity among them. The major portion of the Indian subcontinent was under British rule from 1857 to 1947, when the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, it repealed the Indian Independence Act. India ceased to be a dominion of the British Crown and became a democratic republic. The date of 26 January was chosen to commemorate the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence of 1930. Articles 5,6,7,8,9,60,324,366,367,379,380,388,391,392,393 and 394 of the Constitution came into force on 26 November 1949 and it is drawn from many sources. Keeping in mind the needs and conditions of India its framers borrowed different features freely from previous legislation viz and it was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by elected members of the provincial assemblies. The 389 member Constituent Assembly took almost three years to complete its task of drafting the Constitution for independent India, during which. Of these,114 days were spent on the consideration of the draft Constitution, on 29 August 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar to prepare a draft Constitution for India, while deliberating upon the draft Constitution, the assembly moved, discussed and disposed of as many as 2,473 amendments out of a total of 7,635 tabled. Ambedkar, Sanjay Phakey, Jawaharlal Nehru, C, there were more than 30 members of the scheduled classes. Frank Anthony represented the Anglo-Indian community, and the Parsis were represented by H. P. Modi, the Chairman of the Minorities Committee was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, a distinguished Christian who represented all Christians other than Anglo-Indians. Ari Bahadur Gurung represented the Gorkha Community, prominent jurists like Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Benegal Narsing Rau and K. M. Munshi, Ganesh Mavlankar were also members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the first temporary 2-day president of the Constituent Assembly was Dr Sachchidananda Sinha
3.
Law enforcement in India
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Law enforcement in India is performed by numerous law enforcement agencies. At the federal level, the agencies are part of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Larger cities also operate metropolitan police forces, under respective state governments, all senior police officers in the state police forces, as well as those in the federal agencies, are members of the Indian Police Service. The central agencies are controlled by the central Government of India, the majority of federal law enforcement agencies are controlled by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The head of each of the law enforcement agencies is always an Indian Police Service. The constitution also permits the government to participate in police operations. Central police forces can assist the police force, but only if so requested by the state governments. In practice, the government has largely observed these limits. During the Emergency of 1975-77, the constitution was amended to permit the government to dispatch. This action proved unpopular, and the use of the Central Police Forces was controversial, after the Emergency was lifted, the constitution was amended in December 1978 to make deployment of central Police forces once again dependent on the consent of the state government. In addition to managing the Indian Police Service, the Ministry of Home Affairs maintains several agencies and organisations dealing with police, Police in the union territories comes directly under MHA. The Central Bureau of Investigation investigates crimes that might involve public officials or have ramifications for several states, the Indian Border Security Force is responsible for policing Indias land borders during peacetime and preventing trans-border crimes. It is a police force operating under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. It performs a variety of duties ranging from VIP security to election duties, the BSFs policing capabilities were used in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 against the Pakistani Armed Forces in areas which were least threatened. During wartime or upon orders from the central government BSF operates under the command of the Indian Army, BSF troops took part in the Battle of Longewala in 1971 in this capacity. After the 1971 war which led to the creation of Bangladesh, although originally charged with guarding Indias external boundaries, the BSF has more recently been given the task of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations. BSF operates a Tear-Smoke Unit situated at BSF Academy, Takenpur, Gwalior, BSF operates Dog Squads and runs the National Dog Training and Research Centre. BSF is one of several Indian police forces which has its own Air and it provides helicopter, dog and other support services to the State Police
4.
Government of India
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It is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. There is a bicameral Parliament with the Lok Sabha as a lower house, the judicial branch systematically contains an apex Supreme Court,24 high courts, and several district courts, all inferior to the Supreme Court. Similar to the government, individual state governments each consist of executive, legislative. The legal system as applicable to the federal and individual state governments is based on the English Common, the full name of the country is the Republic of India. No other name appears in the Constitution, and this is the name appears on legal banknotes, in treaties. The Union Government, Central Government or Government of India are often used in an official and unofficial capacity to refer to the Government of India, because the seat of government is in New Delhi, New Delhi is commonly used as a metonym for the Central Government. Legislative branch in India is exercised by the Parliament and a legislature consisting of the Rajya Sabha. The latter is considered the house or the House of the people. The Parliament does not have control and sovereignty, as its laws are subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court of India. However, it does exercise some control over the executive branch, the members of the cabinet, including the prime minister and the Council of Ministers, are either chosen from parliament or elected there to within six months of assuming office. The cabinet as a whole is responsible to the Lok Sabha, the Lok Sabha is a temporary house and can only be dissolved when the party in power loses the support of the majority of the house. Whereas the Rajya Sabha is a permanent house which can never be dissolved though the members of the Rajya Sabha who are elected for a six-year term, the Executive Branch of government is the one that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers. The executive power is vested mainly in the President of India, the President has all constitutional powers and exercises them directly or through officers subordinate to him as per the aforesaid Article 53. The President is to act in accordance with aid and advice tendered by the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers remains in power during the pleasure of the President. However, in practice, the Council of Ministers must retain the support of the Lok Sabha, if a President were to dismiss the Council of Ministers on his or her own initiative, it might trigger a constitutional crisis. Thus, in practice, the Council of Ministers cannot be dismissed as long as it holds the support of a majority in the Lok Sabha, the President is responsible for making a wide variety of appointments. His/Her work is to facilitate smooth transaction of business in Ministries/ Departments of the Government, the President is de jure the Commander in Chief of the Indian Armed Forces
5.
President of India
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The President of the Republic of India is the Head of State of India and the Commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. The oath of the President is taken in the presence of the Chief Justice of India, the President resides in an estate known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan situated in Raisina Hill in New Delhi. The presidential retreats are The Retreat in Chharabra, Shimla and Rashtrapati Nilayam in Hyderabad, the 13th and current President is Pranab Mukherjee, who was elected on 22 July 2012, and sworn in on 25 July 2012. He is also the first Bengali to be elected as President, India achieved independence from the British on 15 August 1947, initially as a Dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations with George VI as king, represented in the country by a governor-general. Still, following this, the Constituent Assembly of India, under the leadership of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Constitution of India was eventually enacted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950, making India a republic. The offices of monarch and governor-general were replaced by the new office of President of India, the constitution of the Republic of India gave the President the responsibility and authority to defend and protect the constitution of India and its rule of law. Invariably, any action taken by the executive or legislature entities of the constitution shall become law only after Presidents assent, the president shall not accept any actions of the executive or legislature which are unconstitutional. The president is the foremost, most empowered and prompt defender of the constitution, the primary duty of the President is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law of India as made part of his oath. The President is the head of all independent constitutional entities. All his actions, recommendations and supervisory powers over the executive and legislative entities of India shall be used in accordance to uphold the constitution, there is no bar on the actions of the President to contest in the court of law. Legislative power is vested by the Parliament of India of which the president is the head. The President of the Republic summons both the Houses of the Parliament and prorogues them and he can dissolve the Lok Sabha. The President inaugurates Parliament by addressing it after the general elections, the Presidential address on these occasions is generally meant to outline the new policies of the government. All bills passed by the Parliament can become laws only after receiving the assent of the President per Article 111, after a bill is presented to him, the President shall declare either that he assents to the Bill, or that he withholds his assent from it. As a third option, he can return a bill to Parliament, if it is not a money bill, when, after reconsideration, the bill is passed accordingly and presented to the President, with or without amendments, the President cannot withhold his assent from it. Article 143 gave power to the president to consult the Supreme Court about the validity of any issue. These are in the nature of interim or temporary legislation and their continuance is subject to parliamentary approval, ordinances remain valid for no more than six weeks from the date the Parliament is convened unless approved by it earlier. Re-promulgation of ordinances after failing to get approval within stipulated time of the houses of parliament is unconstitutional act by the President
6.
Head of state
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A head of state is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a sovereign state. In some countries, the head of state is a figurehead with limited or no executive power, while in others. Former French president Charles de Gaulle, while developing the current Constitution of France, some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of models. An independent nation state normally has a head of state, the non-executive model, in which the head of state has either none or very limited executive powers, and mainly has a ceremonial and symbolic role. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely the chief executive officer, heading the executive branch of the state. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has a majority support in the legislature and it also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies, the legitimacy of the head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system, usually, the king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino—the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, so, Italy had a de facto parliamentarian system, but a de jure presidential system. These officials are excluded completely from the executive, they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, hence their states governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majestys Government or His/Her Excellencys Government. Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist, the constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet, who is chaired by the prime minister and responsible to the Diet. The emperor is defined in the constitution as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people and he is a ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Today, the Speaker of the Riksdag appoints the prime minister, Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. In contrast, the contact the President of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach to the president. However, he or she has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach. The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers, such as referring a bill to the court to test its constitutionality. The most extreme non-executive republican Head of State is the President of Israel, semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably a requirement that the government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a minister who is chosen by the president
7.
Head of government
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The term head of government is often differentiated from the term head of state, as they may be separate positions, individuals, and/or roles depending on the country. In parliamentary systems, including constitutional monarchies, the head of government is the de facto leader of the government. For example, in the United Kingdom, the prime minister advises the Queen on the appointment of the cabinet, advice she is required to accept. On the other hand, the Queens long service as the head of state enables her to provide the prime minister with information and insight into many matters to better run the government. However, because the United Kingdom is a monarchy, the Prime Minister uses his or her own discretion regarding whether or not to follow the Queens advice. The Queen also is entitled to appoint a new Prime Minister, in presidential republics or in absolute monarchies, the head of state is also usually the head of government. The relationship between that leader and the government, however, can vary greatly, ranging from separation of powers to autocracy, in semi-presidential systems, the head of government may answer to both the head of state and the legislature, with the specifics provided by each countrys constitution. A modern example is the present French government, which originated as the French Fifth Republic in 1958, in France, the president, the head of state, appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government. In some cases, the head of state may represent one political party, in this case, known as cohabitation, the prime minister, along with the cabinet, controls domestic policy, with the presidents influence is largely restricted to foreign affairs. In directorial systems, the executive responsibilities of the head of government are spread among a group of people, a prominent example is the Swiss Federal Council, where each member of the council heads a department and also votes on proposals relating to all departments. A common title for many heads of government is prime minister, various constitutions use different titles, and even the same title can have various multiple meanings, depending on the constitutional order and political system of the state in question. In addition to prime minister, titles used for the democratic model, some of these titles relate to governments below the national level. Have been used by various Empires, Kingdoms and Princely States of India as a title for the Prime Minister, maltese, In Malta, the head of government is Prim Ministru. In this case, the prime minister serves at the pleasure of the monarch, some such titles are diwan, mahamantri, pradhan, wasir or vizier. However, just because the head of state is the de jure dominant position does not mean that he/she will not always be the de facto political leader, in some cases, the head of state is a figurehead whilst the head of the government leads the ruling party. In some cases a head of government may even pass on the title in hereditary fashion, the ability to vote down legislative proposals of the government. Control over or ability to vote down fiscal measures and the budget, all of these requirements directly impact the Head of governments role. Many parliamentary systems require ministers to serve in parliament, while others ban ministers from sitting in parliament, heads of government are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by Resignation, following, Defeat in a general election
8.
Indian Police Service
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The Indian Police Service or IPS, is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India. It has replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India gained independence from Britain, the service is not a force itself but provides leaders and commanders to staff the state police and all-India Central Armed Police Forces. Its members are the officers of the police. The Bureau of Police Research and Development is responsible for research, in 1861, the British Government introduced the Indian Councils Act of 1861. The act created the foundation of a modern and professionalised police bureaucracy in India and it introduced, a new cadre of police, called Superior Police Services, later known as the Indian Imperial Police. The highest rank in the service was the Inspector General, in 1902-03, a Police Commission was established for the Police reforms under Sir Andrew Frazer and Lord Curzon. It recommended the appointment of Indians at officer level in the police, Indians could rise only to the ranks of Inspector of Police, the senior N. C. O. However they were not part of Indian Imperial Police, from 1920, Indian Imperial Police was open to Indians and the entrance examination for the service was conducted both in India and England. Prior to Independence, senior police officers belonging to the Imperial Police were appointed by the Secretary of State on the basis of a competitive examination. The first open civil service examination for admission to the service was held in England in June 1893 and it is not possible to pinpoint an exact date on which the Indian Police came formally into being. In this sense,1907 could be regarded as the starting point, in 1948, a year after India gained independence, the Imperial Police was replaced by IPS. In 1972, Kiran Bedi joined the IPS, becoming the first woman police officer, as per media reports in 2016, there is massive shortfall of IPS officers in India, which is nearly 19% to 22% of total strength. Historically, few officers have been awarded United Nations Medal and have participated in Indian Army United Nations peacekeeping missions, the Indian Police Service is not a force itself but a service providing leaders and commanders to staff the state police and all-India Central Armed Police Forces. Its members are the officers of the police. Leading and commanding the Indian Intelligence Agencies like Research and Analysis Wing, Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation, Indian Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Civil and Armed Police Forces in all the states and union territories. To interact and coordinate closely with the members of other All India Services and with the Indian Revenue Service, to lead and command the force with courage, uprightness, dedication and a strong sense of service to the people. Endeavor to inculcate in the forces under their command such values. IPS officers are recruited from Civil Services Examination and they are also promoted from State Police Services and DANIPS
9.
Speaker of the Lok Sabha
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The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. Their role is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in countries that use the government. The speaker is elected in the very first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general elections, serving for a term of five years, they are chosen from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha, and is by convention a member of the ruling party or alliance. The current speaker is Sumitra Mahajan of the Bharatiya Janata Party and she is the second woman to hold the office, after her immediate predecessor Meira Kumar. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha conducts the business in house and they maintain discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for their unruly behaviour by suspending them. They also permit the moving of various kinds of motions and resolutions such as a motion of no confidence, motion of adjournment, motion of censure, the Speaker decides on the agenda to be taken up for discussion during the meeting. The date of election of speaker is fixed by the President, further, all comments and speeches made by members of the House are addressed to the speaker. The speaker also presides over the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, the counterpart of the Speaker in the Rajya Sabha is the Chairman, who is the Vice President of India. In the warrant of precedence, the speaker of Lok Sabha comes next only to The Deputy Prime Minister of India, Speaker has the sixth rank in the political executive of India. Speaker can be removed by the Lok Sabha by a resolution passed by a majority of all the members of the House per Articles 94 and 96. Speaker is also removed on getting disqualified for being Lok Sabha member under sections 7 &8 of Representation of the People Act,1951 and this would arise out of speakers wrong certification of a bill as money bill inconsistent with the definition given in Articles 110 of the constitution. The appointment has to be approved by the president, the first meeting after the election when the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are selected by members of the Parliament is held under the pro tem Speaker. In absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker acts as Speaker, the names, terms of office and Lok Sabhas were taken from, Former Speakers. The Office of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Office of the Lok Sabha Speaker
10.
Elections in India
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India has an asymmetric federal government, with elected officials at the federal, state and local levels. At the national level, the head of government, Prime Minister, is elected by members of the Lok Sabha, the elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India. The 2014 general election involved an electorate of 863,500,000 people, declared expenditure has trebled since 1989 to almost $300 million, using more than one million electronic voting machines. The size of the huge electorate mandates that elections be conducted in a number of phases and it involves a number of step-by-step processes from announcement of election dates to the announcement of results paving the way for the formation of the new government. The House of the People represents citizens of India, the 543 members are elected under the plurality electoral system. The Council of States has 250 members,238 members elected for a six-year term, the members are indirectly elected, this being achieved by the votes of legislators in the state and union territories. The elected members are chosen under the system of representation by means of the single transferable vote. The twelve nominated members are usually a mix of eminent artists, scientists, jurists, sportspersons, businessmen and journalists. Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the chosen by direct election on the basis of the adult suffrage. In 1952 Lok Sabha Elections there were 1874 candidates, which rose to 13952 candidates in 1996, however, in 2009 Lok Sabha Elections only 8070 candidates contested. Historical share of seats and votes of major parties are ranked by the number of seats won. *,12 seats in Assam and 1 in Meghalaya did not vote, the party continued its dominance under the leadership of K Kamaraj and Lal Bahadur Shastri. The Congress party was split into two in the 1970s and Indira Gandhi led Congress to election victory, but, Indira Gandhi regained power soon after and her son Rajiv Gandhi led the party after her assassination. A coalition led by VP Singh swept to power in 1989 in the wake of allegations of corruption against then Prime Minister. But the coalition lost steam in 1990 necessitating new elections with the party again emerging victorious under the leadership of P V Narasimha Rao. This has been a consequence of strong regional parties which ride on the back of regional aspirations, there were multiple governments within a span of few years led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, I K Gujral and H D Deve Gowda. In 1999, National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power, for the next decade, congress led coalition United Progressive Alliance formed the government under Manmohan Singh. Narendra Modi, the BJPs Prime Ministerial candidate, is now serving his first term as the Prime Minister of India, the Election Commission of India is an autonomous, constitutionally established federal authority responsible for administering all the electoral processes in the Republic of India
11.
Indian general election, 2009
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India held general elections to the 15th Lok Sabha in five phases between 16 April 2009 and 13 May 2009. With an electorate of 714 million, it was the largest democratic election in the till the Indian General Elections 2014 held from 7 April 2014. By constitutional requirement, elections to the Lok Sabha must be held five years. The previous election to the 14th Lok Sabha was conducted in May 2004, Elections are organised by the Election Commission of India and are normally held in multiple phases to better handle the large electoral base and its security concerns. The 2009 elections were held in five phases, in February 2009, Rs.11.20 billion was budgeted for election expenses by the Indian Parliament. A total of 8070 candidates contested for 543 Lok Sabha seats, the average election turnout over all 5 phases was around 59. 7%. The results of the election were announced three days of phase five, on 16 May 2009, following the first past the post system. Manmohan Singh became the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term, the UPA was able to put together a comfortable majority with support from 322 members out of 543 members of the House. Though this is less than the 335 members who supported the UPA in the last parliament, External support came from the Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal, Rashtriya Janata Dal and other minor parties. On 22 May 2009, Manmohan Singh was sworn in as the Prime Minister at the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan. The election, while following the normal cycle, came after a break in the old UPA alliance after the left parties withdrew support of the Indo-US nuclear deal forcing a vote of confidence. The 2009 elections adopted re-drawn electoral constituencies based on the 2001 census, following the 2002 Delimitation Commission of India, in the 2009 general elections,499 out of the total 543 Parliamentary constituencies were newly delimited constituencies. This affected the National Capital Region of Delhi, the Union Territory of Puducherry and all the states except Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland. As in the 2004 election, this election was conducted completely using electronic voting machines. There were 828,804 Polling Stations around the country – a 20% increase over the number from the 2004 election and this was done mainly to avoid vulnerability to threat and intimidation, to overcome geographical barriers and to reduce the distance travelled by voters. The electoral rolls had to be completely updated because of the delimitation that took effect from February 2008, the process of updating the electoral rolls continued until the last date of filing nominations. 714 million people were eligible to vote in 2009, up 6. 4% from 2004 and this election also saw the entire country except the states of Assam, Nagaland and Jammu & Kashmir use photo electoral rolls. This meant that the photo of each elector was printed on the electoral rolls, in addition to the photo electoral rolls, the electors also needed to provide separate photo identification
12.
Indian general election, 2014
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The Indian general election of 2014 was held to constitute the 16th Lok Sabha, electing members of parliament for all 543 parliamentary constituencies of India. Running in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014, around 23.1 million or 2. 7% of the total eligible voters were aged 18–19 years. A total of 8,251 candidates contested for the 543 Lok Sabha seats, the average election turnout over all nine phases was around 66. 38%, the highest ever in the history of Indian general elections. The results were declared on 16 May 2014, fifteen days before the 15th Lok Sabha completed its mandate on 31 May 2014. The counting exercise was held at 989 counting centres, the National Democratic Alliance won a sweeping victory, taking 336 seats. The BJP itself won 31. 0% of all votes and 282 of all seats, the United Progressive Alliance, led by the Indian National Congress, won 58 seats,44 of which were won by the Congress, that won 19. 3% of all votes. It was the Congress partys worst defeat in a general election, in order to become the official opposition party in India, a party must gain 10% of the seats in the Lok Sabha, however, the Indian National Congress was unable to attain this number. Due to this fact, India remains without an opposition party. By the requirement, elections to the Lok Sabha must be held at an interval of five years or whenever parliament is dissolved by the president. The previous election, to the 15th Lok Sabha, was conducted in April–May 2009, the election to the 16th Lok Sabha was organised and conducted by the Election Commission of India and was held in multiple phases, to better handle the large electoral base and security concerns. Since the last general election in 2009, the movement by Anna Hazare. Kejriwal went on to form a political party, Aam Aadmi Party. The 2012 presidential election resulted in Pranab Mukherjee of Indian National Congress becoming the president, Andhra politics was further shaken following the death of its chief minister, Y. S. R. Reddy. His son, Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, then broke from the INC and founded the YSR Congress Party, the final session of parliament started on 6 February and ended on 21 February. Amongst the agenda in the session was passing the The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill,2013 in tackling corruption. This revision of the ceiling on the elections were attributed to the increase in the number of electors, satyendra Singh, a doctor with a disability, showed the lack of preparedness by the Election Commission of India towards electors with disabilities through the Right to Information Act. The Chief Electoral Officer in Delhi, Vijay Dev then started a campaign on providing accessibility for the disabled, Singh conducted sensitisation workshops for election officers and helped in setting up a registration link for voters with disabilities to register to vote and provide their requirements. The Chief Election Commissioner of India, V. S. Sampath, voting was scheduled to be held in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May, and the results of the election were announced on 16 May
