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Three Indian states—[[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Orissa]] and [[Sikkim]] also conducted [[State Assembly elections in India, 2009|elections]] to their respective [[Vidhan Sabha|legislative assemblies]].
Three Indian states—[[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Orissa]] and [[Sikkim]] also conducted [[State Assembly elections in India, 2009|elections]] to their respective [[Vidhan Sabha|legislative assemblies]].

Even though election turnout for all five phases were around 59.7%, India's [[electorate]] increased by 43 million from last year to 714 million voters. This electorate is larger than all 50 countries in [[Europe]] put together, all 54 countries in [[Africa]], all 41 countries in North and South [[America]], and the entire [[British Commonwealth]] minus India. Due to the staggering amount of people that could vote in this election, the election was set in five phases, even though many officials believe that it could have been done in one phase, if there were enough security personnel.<ref>http://www.samaylive.com/news/indian-election-statistics-astonish-british-mps/632142.html Indian election statistics astonish British MPs</ref>


On 16 May 2009, after poor showing in early trends that showed the [[Indian National Congress]] led [[United Progressive Alliance]], with 250+ seats, [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] conceded defeat, and acknowledged that they could not be the single largest party or a single largest alliance.<ref>[http://www.hindustantimes.com/Election09/storypage.aspx?ID=3d50092b-aed2-4c89-af55-2b0481f9877c&Category=Chunk-HT-UI-Elections-SectionPage-TopStories&Headline=UPA-set-to-return-to-power;-BJP-concedes-defeat UPA trashes predictions, makes strong comeback- Hindustan Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
On 16 May 2009, after poor showing in early trends that showed the [[Indian National Congress]] led [[United Progressive Alliance]], with 250+ seats, [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] conceded defeat, and acknowledged that they could not be the single largest party or a single largest alliance.<ref>[http://www.hindustantimes.com/Election09/storypage.aspx?ID=3d50092b-aed2-4c89-af55-2b0481f9877c&Category=Chunk-HT-UI-Elections-SectionPage-TopStories&Headline=UPA-set-to-return-to-power;-BJP-concedes-defeat UPA trashes predictions, makes strong comeback- Hindustan Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Revision as of 17:30, 5 June 2009

Indian general election, 2009
← 2004 16 April, 22/23 April, 30 April, 7 May and 13 May 2009 2014 →
All 543 seats in the Lok Sabha
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Manmohan Singh Lal Krishna Advani Prakash Karat
Party INC BJP CPI(M)
Alliance UPA NDA TF
Leader's seat Assam
(Rajya Sabha) 		Gandhinagar None
Seats won 262 159 79
Seat change +79 -17 -30
Percentage 30.25% 18.91% 12.34%
Swing +1.99% −3.32% -34.95%
Prime Minister before election

Manmohan Singh
UPA

Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh
UPA

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India held general elections—the largest democratic election in the world—to the 15th Lok Sabha in five phases on 16 April, 22/23 April, 30 April, 7 May and 13 May 2009. The results of the election were announced on 16 May 2009.[1]

According to the Indian Constitution, elections in India for the Lok Sabha (the lower house) must be held at least every five years under normal circumstances. With the last elections held in 2004, the term of the 14th Lok Sabha expires on 1 June 2009. Indian elections are conducted according to the first past the post (FPTP) system, similar to that of the United Kingdom and various other Commonwealth nations.

The election was conducted by the Election Commission of India, which estimates an electorate of 714 million voters, an increase of 43 million over the 2004 election. During the budget presented in February 2009, Rs.1,120 Crores (€176 million) was budgeted for election expenses.[2]

Three Indian states—Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim also conducted elections to their respective legislative assemblies.

Even though election turnout for all five phases were around 59.7%, India's electorate increased by 43 million from last year to 714 million voters. This electorate is larger than all 50 countries in Europe put together, all 54 countries in Africa, all 41 countries in North and South America, and the entire British Commonwealth minus India. Due to the staggering amount of people that could vote in this election, the election was set in five phases, even though many officials believe that it could have been done in one phase, if there were enough security personnel.[3]

On 16 May 2009, after poor showing in early trends that showed the Indian National Congress led United Progressive Alliance, with 250+ seats, Bharatiya Janata Party conceded defeat, and acknowledged that they could not be the single largest party or a single largest alliance.[4]

After a surprisingly strong showing in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, the UPA led by the Indian National Congress are set to form the government under the incumbent prime minister Manmohan Singh, who is the first Prime Minister of India since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 to win re-election after completing a full five-year term.[5][6]

The result not only meant defeat of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, but it also brought out one of the worst performances by the Left Front, who had been hoping to form a non-Congress, non-BJP government with the Third Front. This idea was put to rest due to the unexpected losses by the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and the TDP and other allies in Andhra Pradesh, a Congress sweep in Kerala and a big victory for Congress and its ally Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. As the final seat counts came in, it was evident that the Left Front along with the rest of the Third Front did not prove to be a competitor in this election.

Due to the surprising results, so much at odds with the polling done by all parties, questions are starting to be asked about the integrity of the electronic voting machines used during the election. [1] [2] This is especially the case given that what seems to be the final results for all candidates for all parties was found on the Election Commission of India's server days before final voting had even begun. These numbers disappeared the day before the final count. [3] As of yet the official vote count for candidates has yet to be released, making it impossible to compare the numbers found before the election with the actual tallies. [4]

The Indian National Congress was able to put together a comfortable majority of more than 322 members out of 543 with the help of its allies. This is short of 335 from last election, but due to the fact that UPA on its own was able to get over 260 seats, this government appears to be much more stable than the last government. The 322 members included both the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, as well as external support from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Janata Dal (Secular), Rashtriya Janata Dal and other minor parties.[7][8]

On May 22, 2009, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was sworn in as Prime Minister of India, in Asoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan, after he submitted his resignation, on May 18, 2009, as previous Prime Minister to President Pratibha Patil.[9][10]

Electoral constituencies

When announcing the elections on 2 March 2009, the Election Commission of India also announced that 499 out of the total 543 Parliamentary constituencies will see elections conducted on the basis of the newly delimited constituencies as determined by the Delimitation Commission set up under the Delimitation Act, 2002. This includes the NCT of Delhi, the Union Territory of Puducherry and all the states except Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland.[11]

Voting infrastructure

Electronic voting machines

The election was conducted using Electronic voting machines (EVM), as was done with the 2004 election. There were 1,368,430 voting machines available across the country.

The complete EVM consists mainly of two units – (a) Control Unit and (b) Balloting Unit with cable for connecting it with Control unit. A Balloting Unit caters to up to 16 candidates. Four Balloting Units linked together catering in all to 64 candidates can be used with one control unit. The control unit is kept with the Presiding Officer and the Balloting Unit is used by the voter for polling.

The Balloting Unit of EVM is a small box-like device, on top of which each candidate and his/her election symbol is listed like a big ballot paper. Against each candidate's name, a red LED and a blue button is provided. The voter polls his vote by pressing the blue button against the name of his desired candidate.

Polling stations

There were 828,804 polling stations in the country, a 20% increase over the 2004 election. This was done mainly to avoid vulnerability to threat and intimidation, geographical barriers and to reduce the distance travelled by voters.[11]

The CEC also announced that the polling station in Banej village in the Una segment of Junagadh Lok Sabha constituency, Gujarat had the unique claim to being the only polling station in the country that catered to a single elector – Guru Shree Bharatdasji Bapu, a priest of a Shiva temple in the middle of the Gir Forest.[12]

Electoral rolls

The electoral rolls had to be completely updated because of the delimitation that took effect from 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% (43 million) from 2004.

This election also saw almost the entire country (except Assam, Nagaland and Jammu & Kashmir) use photo electoral rolls. This meant that photos of the electors were printed on the electoral rolls which was intended to facilitate easy identification and prevent impersonation.

In addition to the photo electoral rolls, the electors also needed to provide separate photo identification. Those electors who had already been issued Electoral's Photo Identification Cards (EPIC) were only permitted to use the EPIC for identification at the polling station. According to the EC, 82% of the country's electors (except those in Assam) have been issued EPIC. [11]

Polling schedule

Wikinews has related news:

The following polling schedule for the 2009 General Elections was announced by the Chief Election Commissioner of India, N. Gopalaswami, on March 2, 2009:

16 April – Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep

22 April – Manipur

23 April – Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand

30 April – Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu

7 May – Bihar, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi

13 May – Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Puducherry

Background

N. Gopalaswami, had stated on December 28, 2008, that the elections were likely to be held between April and May 2009.[13] He attributed this schedule to the examination period from February to March, making polling places unavailable. [14]

On 31 January 2009, fractures within the Election Commission came to the fore when N. Gopalaswami recommended to the President of India Pratibha Patil that Election Commissioner Navin Chawla be sacked for behaving in a partisan manner. This recommendation in itself was controversial, as it was unclear if the Chief Election Commissioner has the legal and constitutional right to provide such a unilateral recommendation.[15] As expected, Chawla refused to resign as he was expected to take over the post of Chief Election Commissioner a few months later.[16]

The above controversy also resulted in speculation that the Election Commission was unable to agree on the polling dates, with the incumbent CEC Gopalaswami preferring that at least one phase of elections be held before his retirement on 20 April 2009. Navin Chawla, on the other hand, wanted the election to only start after Gopalaswami retired.[17]

Eventually, on 1 March 2009, President Patil, as was widely expected, rejected Gopalaswami's recommendation to sack Chawla after the Government advised her to do so.[18]

Soon after the above announcement by President Patil, the Election Commissioners put aside their differences and got together on March 2, 2009 to announce the details of the general election.

Subsequently, the President's House announced on 4 March 2009 that the incumbent CEC N. Gopalaswami would retire as scheduled on 20 April 2009 and Navin Chawla would take over as CEC starting 21 April 2009.[19] For the first time in the history of Indian politics, two different people will oversee different phases of the same election.[20]

Polling schedule for each state/UT

Polling schedule for each State/UT in 2009 General Elections
States/UTs Constituencies Phases Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5 Avg Turnout
16 Apr Turnout[21] 22/23 Apr Turnout[21] 30 Apr Turnout[22] 7 May Turnout[23] 13 May Turnout[24]
Andaman & Nicobar Islands 1 1 1 64.15% - - - - 64.15%
Andhra Pradesh 42 2 22 69.75% 20 75.50% - - - 72.40%
Arunachal Pradesh 2 1 2 65.00% - - - - 65.00%
Assam 14 2 3 67.61% 11 70.06% - - - 69.68%
Bihar 40 4 13 43.21% 13 45.83% 11 46.12% 3 37.00% - 44.27%
Chandigarh 1 1 - - - - 1 65.51% 65.51%
Chhattisgarh 11 1 11 58.19% - - - - 58.19%
Dadra & Nagar Haveli 1 1 - - 1 73.22% - - 73.22%
Daman & Diu 1 1 - - 1 71.85% - - 71.85%
Delhi 7 1 - - - 7 51.79% - 51.79%
Goa 2 1 - 2 55.42% - - - 55.42%
Gujarat 26 1 - - 26 47.92% - - 47.92%
Haryana 10 1 - - - 10 67.67% - 67.67%
Himachal Pradesh 4 1 - - - - 4 58.35% 58.35%
Jammu & Kashmir 6 5 1 49.68% 1 44.73% 1 26.43% 1 25.38% 2 45.63% 39.66%
Jharkhand 14 2 6 51.16% 8 48.86% - - - 49.77%
Karnataka 28 2 - 17 60.00% 11 58.48% - - 59.44%
Kerala 20 1 20 73.33% - - - - 73.33%
Lakshadweep 1 1 1 86.10% - - - - 86.10%
Madhya Pradesh 29 2 - 13 51.39% 16 51.22% - - 51.30%
Maharashtra 48 3 13 55.74% 25 49.18% 10 41.24% - - 49.17%
Manipur 2 2 1 83.70% 1 75.50% - - - 79.80%
Meghalaya 2 1 2 64.40% - - - - 64.40%
Mizoram 1 1 1 50.93% - - - - 50.93%
Nagaland 1 1 1 90.21% - - - - 90.21%
Orissa 21 2 10 64.90% 11 62.00% - - - 63.35%
Puducherry 1 1 - - - - 1 79.70% 79.70%
Punjab 13 2 - - - 4 72.78% 9 68.13% 69.58%
Rajasthan 25 1 - - - 25 48.50% - 48.50%
Sikkim 1 1 - - 1 82.00% - - 82.00%
Tamil Nadu 39 1 - - - - 39 72.46% 72.46%
Tripura 2 1 - 2 83.91% - - - 83.91%
Uttar Pradesh 80 5 16 45.37% 17 45.48% 15 46.12% 18 48.00% 14 47.55% 46.45%
Uttarakhand 5 1 - - - - 5 53.67% 53.67%
West Bengal 42 3 - - 14 80.71% 17 82.60% 11 76.30% 78.93%
Total Constituencies 543 124 59.07% 141 56.66% 107 52.12% 85 52.32% 86 65.74% 56.97%
Total States/UTs polling on this day 17 13 11 8 9
States/UTs Constituencies
Number of States & UTs polling in single phase 22 164
Number of States & UTs polling in two phases 8 163
Number of States & UTs polling in three phases 2 90
Number of States & UTs polling in four phases 1 40
Number of States & UTs polling in five phases 2 86
Total 35 543
Source: Election Commission of India[11]

Prime ministerial candidates

The two larger coalitions had clearly indicated their prime ministerial candidates during campaigning for the election.

United Progressive Alliance

Following the August 2008 confidence vote victory for the current government, a statement by Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi caused speculation that the UPA would project Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the next elections.[25] While DMK leader M. Karunanidhi supported Manmohan Singh as the PM candidate, NCP chief Sharad Pawar tried to project himself as a possible Prime Ministerial candidate as well.[26] On January 24, 2009, Manmohan Singh underwent cardiac bypass surgery at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.[27] Following the surgery, speculation of alternate PM candidates arose both within the Congress and amongst coalition partners. In an attempt to quell such speculations, Sonia Gandhi on February 6, 2009, wrote in the Congress party magazine Sandesh that Manmohan Singh would be the UPA coalition's Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2009 elections.[28]

National Democratic Alliance

The main opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its coalition partners in the National Democratic Alliance, announced on December 11, 2007, that their candidate for prime minister would be BJP party leader Lal Krishna Advani,[29] the Leader of the Opposition. On January 23, 2008, leaders from BJP and other NDA parties convened to officially elect him their candidate.[30]

Campaigning

United Progressive Alliance

The Congress party has bought the rights for the Oscar winning soundtrack Jai Ho from the movie Slumdog Millionaire and this song will be used as the official campaign tune by the party. The song title Jai Ho translates to Let there be victory, and the Congress hopes that this popular song will galvanise the masses during the almost one month long election season.[31]

On March 24, 2009, Congress President Sonia Gandhi released the party's manifesto for the 2009 election.[32] The party's slogan for the election is Aam Admi Ke Badthe Kadam, Har Kadam Par Bharat Buland which roughly translates to The common man moves forward, And with his every step India prospers. The manifesto highlights all the achievements of the UPA Government over the last five years in power and identifies improving various policies to favour more rural & under-privileged sections of the Indian society. The full text of the manifesto is available at the Congress website.[33]

National Democratic Alliance

To counter the Congress' selection of Jai Ho as their official anthem, the BJP coined the phrase Kushal Neta, Nirnayak Sarkaar which translates to Able leader, decisive government. The BJP hope to benefit from the fact that they have been consistently projecting one single leader, Advani, as the party's Prime Ministerial candidate for more than one year, while the Congress appears to have dual power centres (party President Sonia Gandhi and incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh). The BJP intends to use Advani's name & image as the main focus in these elections.[34]

On April 3, 2009, BJP released its election manifesto in New Delhi.[35] The party is taking on the incumbent UPA Government on the 3 fronts of Good Governance, Development and Security. The manifesto highlights all the different NDA policies that the UPA reversed over the last five years. The manifesto lays a lot of importance on requiring strong, POTA-like anti-terrorism laws and vows to make India a safer place if the BJP is elected. The full text of the manifesto is available at the BJP website.[36]

Third Front

The CPI(M) has created a campaign website hosting its campaign information to attract sympathisers among the netizen public to vote for the party.[37][38]. The CPI(M), along with the parties associated with the Left Front, formed a Third Front. The Third Front tried to contest the election, hoping to create a non-BJP, non-Congress government, by attracting many local and regional parties, that were once with the other two alliances. The Third Front came into the alliance with 83 MPs, and various polling conducted before the election projected the alliance of getting 100+ seats.

Campaign controversies

Indian National Congress

  • The Election Commission took exception to a full page advertisement on the 2010 Commonwealth Games taken out in major Delhi newspapers. The advertisement listed the infrastructural facilities that have come up in preparation for the 2010 event – including 24 flyovers, 75 aerobridge airport, 1,285 km of better roads, 5,000 low-floor buses, 80 new metro destinations, 11 world-class sports venues and thousands of job opportunities. The EC served notice to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Cabinet Secretary and the Chief Secretary of Delhi, stating that the advertisement is a clear violation of the model code of conduct since it enumerates the achievements of the UPA Government. The EC has also asked the violators to pay from their own pockets.[39][40]
  • Congress MP and Bollywood actor Govinda is being investigated by the Mumbai Suburban District Collector for giving money to supporters outside his Mumbai house on March 12, 2009.[41]
  • Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy is being investigated for addressing an election meeting within a Government school's premises during a Class 10 public examination in the school. His son-in-law Anil Kumar, an evangelist, has a case filed against him for distributing religious pamphlets promoting Government programs in a church. Three others were arrested in the case and Anil Kumar is expected to be arrested as well.[42][43]
  • Two Congress Lok Sabha candidates from Pilibhit and Shrawasti constituencies from Uttar Pradesh booked for violating the model code of conduct, the Congress nominee from Pilibhit B.M. Singh was registered for using as many as 98 four-wheelers in his procession, against the three authorized by the district authorities, whereas the party’s nominee from Shrawasti, V.K. Pandey, was booked for conducting a road show Tuesday without taking permission from the district authorities [44]

Janata Dal (United)

  • JD(U) leader Jeetan Ram Manjhi was booked by EC on March 9, 2009, for violating the model code of conduct which took effect from the day the election was announced by the EC. Manjhi attended an election meeting in Nalanda district using the official car made available to him for his position as the Social Welfare Minister in the Government of Bihar.[45]

Bharatiya Janata Party

  • An FIR was filed against BJP MP & spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy for holding a press conference at circuit house in Chapra on March 4, 2009 in violation of the model of conduct.[46]
  • The EC directed the District Magistrate of Pilibhit to lodge a criminal case against the BJP's candidate Varun Gandhi for his inflammatory speech against non-Hindus made on March 7, 2009.[47] This decision was taken after the EC had earlier issued a notice[48] to Varun Gandhi and the BJP. After reviewing the incident, the EC found Varun Gandhi guilty of violating the model code of conduct by creating feeling of enmity and hatred between different communities. However, since Varun has not been convicted by a court of law, the EC can not bar him from contesting the election. Instead, they have recommended to his party, the BJP, to drop him from their list of candidates.[49] The BJP have since come out in support of Varun and have refused to drop Varun as a candidate, saying that the EC has no right to provide such a recommendation.[50] Subsequently, Varun Gandhi was arrested and booked under India's strict National Security Act on charges of inciting communal tensions. This charge could see him kept under detention for up to one year.[51]
  • Senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister of India Jaswant Singh was caught on tape on March 31, 2009 distributing money during an election meeting in Gajaria village in Barmer. Singh's son Manvendra Singh is contesting the election on a BJP ticket from Barmer Lok Sabha constituency. The District Collector of Barmer collected and presented the facts of the incident to the EC. Jaswant Singh has denied the charges of violating the model code of conduct, instead saying that it was the party tradition to help the poor and needy.[52][53]
  • Former BJP Lok Sabha MP Ananth Kumar Hegde became the second BJP leader of this election to be reported for making a hate speech against a particular community. During an election rally at Karwar. Kumar allegedly threatened to prevent Muslims from celebrating religious festivals after cautioning the people against activities of Islamist terror groups. Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer has sent a report on this incident along with a CD of Kumar's speech to the CEC.[54]

Rashtriya Janata Dal

  • RJD's Lok Sabha MP, Pappu, and his wife have been charged with violating the model code of conduct for attending public receptions under Sadar, Khat and Kasba police stations without seeking prior permission from competent authorities.[46]
  • An FIR was filed against RJD MP Ramkripal Yadav, former RJD MLA Dharmendra Kumar and Masaurhi block RJD president Chandrashekhar Prasad Singh for holding a public meeting at Kharoch without permission.[55]

Samajwadi Party

  • SP's chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was issued a notice on March 12, 2009, by the EC for allegedly bribing voters during an election rally on March 11 in his native village of Safai in Etawah Lok Sabha constituency. The party workers were seen distributing Rs. 100 notes to all those who attended the rally. The party claims that the money was being given away as a gift to the people of the village and that the gathering was to celebrate the festival of Holi and was not a political rally.[56][57] On March 31, 2009, the EC decided not to proceed on this case and no action will be taken against either Mulayam Singh Yadav or the party.[58]
  • The EC on March 30, 2009 also served notice to Mulayam Singh Yadav for his alleged threats against Ministhy Dileep, the District Magistrate of Mainpuri. Mulayam is expected to contest the election from Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency.[59]
  • Jayaprada, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Rampur was issued a notice by the Election Commission on April 26, 2009, for violating the code of conduct by distributing bindis to women in Rampur's Swar locality.[60]

Coalition members

The 2009 general election had three main national pre-poll alliances. Given the volatile nature of coalition politics in India, the alliances may change over time – before and after the polls.

United Progressive Alliance

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was formed after the 2004 general election to bring together parties that either allied with the Congress in various states, or were willing to support a Congress-led national Government. Though the UPA never enjoyed a clear majority on its own, it has managed to complete its five-year term from 2004 to 2009 by securing outside support from the Left Front, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party at different times during this tenure.

Constituents

Before the election, the UPA comprised the following constituent parties:

Parties
Indian National Congress
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam[61]
Nationalist Congress Party[62]
Trinamool Congress[63][64]
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Indian Union Muslim League
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi
Kerala Congress (Mani)
Republican Party of India (Athvale)
Sikkim Democratic Front
Former Members
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (joined the NDA)
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (joined the Third Front)
Pattali Makkal Katchi (joined the Third Front)
People's Democratic Party
Samajwadi Party[65] (joined Fourth Front)
Rashtriya Janata Dal[65] (joined the Fourth Front)
Lok Janshakti Party[65] (joined the Fourth Front)

National Democratic Alliance

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was the first large national coalition formed by one national party supported by various regional parties. It was formed after the 1998 general election and the NDA formed the Government led by BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee. However, the Government collapsed a few months later. The NDA returned to power after the 1999 general election and this time the Vajpayee-led Government completed its full term from 1999 to 2004.

Constituents

Before the election, the NDA comprised the following constituent parties:

Parties
Bhartiya Janata Party
Shiv Sena
Janata Dal (United)
Shiromani Akali Dal
Indian National Lok Dal
Rashtriya Lok Dal
Asom Gana Parishad[66]
Nagaland People's Front
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha
Uttarakhand Kranti Dal
Kamtapur Progressive Party
Ladakh Union Territory Front
Mizo National Front
Telangana Rashtra Samithi[67]
Former Members (after 2004 election)
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (joined the Third Front)
Telugu Desam Party (joined the Third Front)
Trinamool Congress (joined the UPA)
Biju Janata Dal (joined the Third Front)
Indian Federal Democratic Party (merged with Kerala Congress)

Third Front

Constituents

Before the election, the Third Front comprised the following constituent parties:

Parties
Left Front
Bahujan Samaj Party
Biju Janata Dal[68]
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Telugu Desam Party
Janata Dal (Secular)
Pattali Makkal Katchi[69]
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Haryana Janhit Congress

Fourth Front

Parties that left the UPA, due to failed talks in either seat sharing or differences, decided not to join either the NDA or Third Front, and created a new front, hoping to be kingmakers, after the election. Before the election, the Fourth Front comprised the following constituent parties:

Parties
Samajwadi Party
Rashtriya Janata Dal
Lok Janshakti Party

Election days

Phase 1 – 16 April 2009

The first phase of the 2009 election took place on Thursday, 16 April with elections in 124 constituencies across 15 states and 2 union territories. There were incidents of violence in a few places in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra and between 17 to 19 people were killed in Naxal attacks.[70] The dead included five poll officials and 10 security personnel, whose families received a compensation of Rs 10 lakh.[71] Naxals set fire to voting machines, attacked voters, security personnel and polling workers, and destroyed vehicles.[72][73] According to one news source, "It was apparent that the Naxals had clearly planned to disrupt the polls."[72]

Despite these incidents, the ECI expressed satisfaction about the conduct of the polls due to peaceful polling in many other parts of the country. Initial reports from the ECI place the voter turnout for this phase at approximately 60 percent. This phase of the election was held in 1.85 lakh (185,000) polling stations, serving an electorate of over 14.31 crore (143,100,000) deciding the fate of 1,715 candidates.[74][75]

The ECI ordered repoll in 46 polling booths across 7 of the states where polling took place in the first phase. These include 29 polling booths in Andhra Pradesh, 5 each in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, 3 in Nagaland, 2 in Kerala and 1 each in Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. The repoll in all these polling booths were held on April 18, 2009.[76]

One of the positive stories emerging from this phase of election was from Kandhamal district, where refugees of the 2008 Kandhamal riots came out in huge numbers to exercise their franchise. It is estimated that there was a turnout of 90% amongst Kandhamal refugees and 50% across the entire district. The administration had earlier identified large parts of the area as naxal affected and vulnerable. Hence, the administration had deployed extra security in the area and the ECI has arranged for special transport to shuttle the refugees from the refugee camps to the polling booths. Both of these actions helped achieve the high turnout.[77]

Phase 2 – 22 April 2009 & 23 April 2009

The second phase of the 2009 election was spread across Wednesday, 22 April (Phase 2A) and Thursday, April 23 (Phase 2B). Phase 2A saw election in a single constituency in Manipur as it was a state holiday on April 23.[11]

According to the EC, the election in Manipur in Phase 2A was peaceful and witnessed a voter turnout of about 62%[78]. Following the election, though, the CPI and MPP have alleged vote rigging by Congress workers during the polls in Phase 2A.The MPP claimed that the Congress workers captured 11 booths in the Andro Assembly segment of Imphal East.[79]

Phase 2B saw polling in 12 states for 140 constituencies – the most in any phase of this election. This phase was largely peaceful and saw about 55% turnout. There were stray incidents of violence in areas with active Naxalite groups in Jharkhand and Bihar.[80] The poor turnout in this phase was blamed on a heat wave sweeping the country that took the noon-time temperature on election day up to between 42 and 46 degrees Celsius in various parts of the country.[81] Two polling officials even died due to sun stroke in Orissa.[82]

Phase 3 – 30 April 2009

The third phase of the 2009 election was held on Thursday, 30 April with elections in 107 constituencies spread across nine states and two union territories. The fate of 1,567 candidates was decided in this phase including those of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, BJP's Prime Minister candidate L.K. Advani and former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) President Deve Gowda.[83] This phase included voting in Mumbai where the turnout was relatively low. The voter turnout around the country was moderate and this was primarily blamed on the extreme heat on election day.[84] Voting was largely peaceful all across the country. However, Maoist guerrillas exploded a landmine in West Bengal's Purulia district, injuring a paramilitary trooper.

Phase 4 – 7 May 2009

The fourth phase of the election was held on Thursday, 7 May with elections for 85 seats across eight states involving 1,315 candidates. The phase's high-profile candidates included External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and former chief ministers Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rajnath Singh, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Farooq Abdullah. Apart from bomb attacks in West Bengal's Asansol and Murshidabad districts that killed one person each and some violence in Rajasthan, this phase was relatively peaceful.[85] This phase saw voting in the nation's capital Delhi where the voter turnout was around 53%, much higher than the previous 2 elections in Delhi.[86]

Phase 5 – 13 May 2009

The fifth and final phase of the 2009 election was held on Wednesday, 13 May with voting across seven states and two union territories for 86 constituencies. Overall the turnout was 62%. Numerous cases of voter omissions were reported in Tamil Nadu which had 39 seats up for grab. In Jammu & Kashmir, two polling stations could not be reached by the polling officials due to extreme snow which prevented their helicopters from landing at the site. The polling officials were forced to trek through deep snow to reach the polling stations and polls took place 2 days later on 15 May in these two stations.[87] A few cases of violence were also reported in this phase. One DMK official was stabbed to death in Tamil Nadu in a clash between the political parties and another person was killed in West Bengal in clashes between Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) party workers.[88]

Opinion polling

Most opinion polls conducted by major agencies till date are giving the UPA an edge over the NDA, but none are predicting either to come close to the requisite figure for a majority, while reckoning other regional parties could play an important role by winning a substantial number of seats. In results where the "Fourth Front" is indicated, the SP, RJD and LJP are not being counted in the UPA figure.

Pre-poll surveys

Agency Dates Results
CNN-IBN–CSDS 8 Jan to 15/09 UPA 215–235, NDA 165–185, Others 125–155 [89]
Star–Nielsen 5 Mar to 17 Mar 2009 UPA 257 (Congress 144), NDA 184 (BJP 137), Others 96 [90]
Star–Nielsen 26 Mar – 3 Apr 2009 UPA 203 (Congress 155), NDA 191 (BJP 147), Third Front 104, Fourth Front 39 [91]
Outlook India–The Week March – April 2009 UPA 234 (Congress 144), NDA 186 (BJP 140), Third Front 112 [92]
Times of India March 2009 UPA 201 (Congress 146), NDA 195 (BJP 138), Others 147 [93]

Exit polls

In February 2009, the ECI banned the publishing of all exit polls starting 48 hours before Phase 1 of the election until the end of Phase 5. This was intended to prevent exit polls from earlier phases affecting voter decision in later phases.[94] The ban ended with the close of Phase 5 voting at 5:00 pm IST on May 13.

Agency Publish Date Predictions
CNN-IBN – Dainik Bhaskar May 13, 2009 UPA 185–205, NDA 165–185, Third Front 110–130, Fourth Front 25–35 [95]
Star-Nielsen May 13, 2009 UPA 199, NDA 196, Third Front 100, Fourth Front 36 [95]
India TV – CVOTER May 13, 2009 UPA 189–201, NDA 183–195, Third Front 105–121 [95]

Counting

The counting of votes from all the phases started on 16th May 2009 at 08:00 hrs. The EVMs were localized to 1,080 centers across the country. The UPA took early lead and maintained it to emerge victorious. BJP leader Rajnath Singh said that "The BJP's performance in the results is very unexpected. The success for the NDA that we had hoped for has not materialised. The reasons for this will be discussed later".[96] The CPM led third front later said it is ready to sit in the opposition.

Controversies

Due to the completely unexpected nature of the results, questions are being asked about the integrity of the electronic voting used during the election. [5] [6] Of added concern is that what seems to be the final results for all candidates for all parties were found on an Excel file on the Election Commission of India's server days before final voting had even begun. These numbers disappeared from the file on the server the day before the final count. [7] As of yet, the official vote count for candidates has yet to be released, making it impossible to compare the numbers found before the election with the actual tallies. [8]

Indian election at a glance

  • Eligible voters: 714 million voters
  • Polling centres: 828,804
  • Voting days: 16, 23, 30 April; 7, 13 May
  • Vote counting: 16 May[97]

Results

Results by pre-poll alliance

Template:Indian general elections results by alliance 2009

Source: Election Commission of India

Results by party

Template:Indian general election results by party 2009

Results by states and territories

Source: Election Commission of India[98]

State
(# of seats) 		Party Seats won % of votes Alliance
Andhra Pradesh
(42) 		Indian National Congress 33 38.95% United Progressive Alliance
Telugu Desam Party 6 24.93% Third Front
Telangana Rashtra Samithi 2 National Democratic Alliance
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen 1 United Progressive Alliance
Arunachal Pradesh
(2) 		Indian National Congress 2 51.11% United Progressive Alliance
Arunachal Congress 0 National Democratic Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 0 37.17% National Democratic Alliance
Assam
(14) 		Indian National Congress 7 33.91% United Progressive Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 4 17.21% National Democratic Alliance
Assam United Democratic Front 1 17.10% None
Asom Gana Parishad 1 12.61% National Democratic Alliance
Bodaland Peoples Front 1 None
Bihar
(40) 		Janata Dal (United) 20 National Democratic Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 12 National Democratic Alliance
Rashtriya Janata Dal 4 Fourth Front
Indian National Congress 2 United Progressive Alliance
Independent 2 None
Chhattisgarh
(11) 		Bharatiya Janata Party 10 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 1 United Progressive Alliance
Goa
(2) 		Bharatiya Janata Party 1 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 1 United Progressive Alliance
Gujarat
(26) 		Bharatiya Janata Party 15 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 11 United Progressive Alliance
Haryana
(10) 		Indian National Congress 9 United Progressive Alliance
Haryana Janhit Congress 1 Third Front
Himachal Pradesh
(4) 		Bharatiya Janata Party 3 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 1 United Progressive Alliance
Jammu & Kashmir
(6) 		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference 3 United Progressive Alliance
Indian National Congress 2 United Progressive Alliance
Independent 1 None
Jharkhand
(14) 		Bharatiya Janata Party 8 National Democratic Alliance
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 2 United Progressive Alliance
Indian National Congress 1 United Progressive Alliance
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) 1 None
Independent 2 None
Karnataka
(28) 		Bharatiya Janata Party 19 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 6 United Progressive Alliance
Janata Dal (Secular) 3 Third Front
Kerala
(20) 		Indian National Congress 13 United Progressive Alliance
Left Democratic Front 4 Third Front
Indian Union Muslim League 2 United Progressive Alliance
Kerala Congress (M) 1 United Progressive Alliance (1)
Madhya Pradesh
(29) 		Bharatiya Janata Party 16 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 12 United Progressive Alliance
Bahujan Samaj Party 1 Third Front
Maharashtra
(48) 		Indian National Congress 17 United Progressive Alliance
Shiv Sena 11 National Democratic Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 9 National Democratic Alliance
Nationalist Congress Party 8 United Progressive Alliance
Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi 1 None
Swabhimani Paksha 1 None
Independent 1 None
Manipur
(2) 		Indian National Congress 2 United Progressive Alliance
Meghalaya
(2) 		Indian National Congress 1 United Progressive Alliance
Nationalist Congress Party 1 United Progressive Alliance
Mizoram
(1) 		Indian National Congress 1 United Progressive Alliance
Nagaland
(1) 		Nagaland People's Front 1 None
Orissa
(21) 		Biju Janata Dal 14 Third Front
Indian National Congress 6 United Progressive Alliance
Communist Party of India 1 Third Front
Bharatiya Janata Party 0 National Democratic Alliance
Punjab
(13) 		Indian National Congress 8 United Progressive Alliance
Shiromani Akali Dal 4 National Democratic Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 1 National Democratic Alliance
Rajasthan
(25) 		Indian National Congress 20 United Progressive Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 4 National Democratic Alliance
Independent 1 None
Sikkim
(1) 		Sikkim Democratic Front 1 None
Tamil Nadu
(39) 		Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 18 United Progressive Alliance
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 9 Third Front
Indian National Congress 8 United Progressive Alliance
Communist Party of India 1 Third Front
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 1 Third Front
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 1 Third Front
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi 1 United Progressive Alliance
Pattali Makkal Katchi 0 Third Front
Bharatiya Janata Party 0 National Democratic Alliance
Tripura
(2) 		Communist Party of India (Marxist) 2 Third Front
Indian National Congress 0 United Progressive Alliance
Uttar Pradesh
(80) 		Samajwadi Party 23 Fourth Front
Indian National Congress 21 United Progressive Alliance
Bahujan Samaj Party 20 Third Front
Bharatiya Janata Party 10 National Democratic Alliance
Rashtriya Lok Dal 5 National Democratic Alliance
Independent 1 None
Uttarakhand
(5) 		Indian National Congress 5 United Progressive Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 0 National Democratic Alliance
West Bengal
(42) 		All India Trinamool Congress 19 United Progressive Alliance
Left Front 15 Third Front
Indian National Congress 6 United Progressive Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 1 National Democratic Alliance
Socialist Unity Centre of India 1 United Progressive Alliance
Territory
(# of seats) 		Party Seats won % of Votes Alliance
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
(1) 		Bharatiya Janata Party 1 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 0 United Progressive Alliance
Chandigarh
(1) 		Indian National Congress 1 United Progressive Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 0 National Democratic Alliance
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
(1) 		Bharatiya Janata Party 1 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 0 United Progressive Alliance
Daman & Diu
(1) 		Bharatiya Janata Party 1 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 0 United Progressive Alliance
Delhi
(7) 		Indian National Congress 7 United Progressive Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 0 National Democratic Alliance
Lakshadweep
(1) 		Indian National Congress 1 United Progressive Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 0 National Democratic Alliance
Puducherry
(1) 		Indian National Congress 1 United Progressive Alliance
Pattali Makkal Katchi 0 Third Front

MPs with pending criminal charges

The 15th Lok Sabha saw many MPs with pending criminal charges. At least 150 MPs have criminal cases against them, with 73 serious cases ranging from rape to murder.[99] While BJP has 42 MPs with criminal charges, Congress has 41. From UP, out of 80 seats, 31 have criminal cases.[100] The previous Lok Sabha had 128 MPs with criminal cases.

Formation of the government

Support for the United Progressive Alliance government in the 15th Lok Sabha [101][102]
Party/Alliance Seats won
United Progressive Alliance
262
Janata Dal (Secular) 3
Independents and other parties 9
Outside support
Samajwadi Party 23
Bahujan Samaj Party 21
Rashtriya Janata Dal 4
Total 322

The President, Pratibha Patil dissolved the 14th Lok Sabha with immediate effect on May 18.[103] Prime Minister Manmohan Singh submitted the resignation of his Council of Ministers to the President, for him to be re-elected as the Prime Minister as well as for a new Council of Ministers to be elected.[103] On May 19, Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi were re-elected as Party leader and Chairperson respectively of the Congress Parliamentary Party. This effectively makes him the Prime Minister-elect of the new government.[104] Finally, the President invited Dr. Singh to form the new government on May 20.[102] The new government is to be sworn in on May 22.

Support for formation of UPA Government

Due to the fact that UPA was able to get 262 seats — just short of 10 seats for a majority — all the external support came from parties who gave unconditional support to Manmohan Singh and the UPA. The Janata Dal (Secular), the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party all decided to do so to keep out any possibility of a BJP government in the next 5 years.[105]. Nagaland Peoples Front, Sikkim Democratic Front, and Bodaland Peoples Front, each with an MP, decided to join and support the UPA government. The three independent candidates to extend support for UPA were all from Maharastra, and they were Sadashiv Mandlik, from Kolhapur constituency, Raju Shetty, from the political party Swabhimani Paksha, who won from Hatkandagle and Baliram Jadhav from Bahujan Vikas Aghadi party who won the Palghar constituency.[101].

On May 21, it was announced that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had decided to give outside support to the UPA government, due to failed talks between the Congress and the DMK on cabinet positions.[106]. After many deliberations between DMK and Congress, the DMK agreed to 3 cabinet ministers and 4 ministers of state. Kanimozhi, daughter of the DMK leader M. Karunanidhi, decided not to join the new government cabinet, instead she wanted to focus on improving the parties image. The two incumbent cabinet ministers from DMK, Dayanidhi Maran and A. Raja joined the cabinet, but due to concerns raised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on T.R. Baalu, he was dropped from the cabinet, and Karunanidhi's son M.K. Azhagiri, replaced him as part of a compromise.[107][108]. On May 25, 2009, DMK decided to join the UPA government, reversing the decision made in prior days to extend outside support.

15th Lok Sabha

Template:Infobox MSingh cabinet 15th LS

Main article: 15th Lok Sabha

Due to the victory of Congress and allies, a UPA-led government was formed under Manmohan Singh, and led to a new Lok Sabha.

Cabinet

See also: Council of Ministers of the Republic of India

UPA Cabinet by Party

Source: Various news organizations[109][110][111][112]
The new UPA included 79 members, 78 members in the cabinet plus Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The first 20 cabinet ministers including Manmohan Singh, swore in on May 22, 2009, while the other 59 cabinet members swore in on May 27, 2009. The 6 non-Congress cabinet ministers, include A. Raja, Dayanidhi Maran, and M.K. Azhagiri from the DMK. Mamta Banerjee from Trinamool Congress, Sharad Pawar from Nationalist Congress Party and Farooq Abdullah from National Conference represent the other non-Congress cabinet ministers.

Party Cabinet Ministers Ministers of State Total
Indian National Congress 27 32 59
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 3 4 7
Trinamool Congress 1 6 7
Nationalist Congress Party 1 2 3
Jammu and Kashmir National Conference 1 0 1
Muslim League 0 1 1
Total 33 45 78

UPA Cabinet by States

Source: Hindu[113][114]

State Cabinet Ministers Ministers of State (I) Ministers of State Total
Tamil Nadu 5 0 4 9
West Bengal 1 — — 9
Kerala 2 0 4 6
Andhra Pradesh 1 1 4 6
Madhya Pradesh — — — 4
Karnataka 3 0 1 4
Bihar — — — 3
Himachal Pradesh — — — 2
Meghalaya — — — 2
Jharkhand — — — 1
  • MoS (I) - Ministers of State with Independent charge

See also

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  94. ^ "No opinion polls 48 hours before voting begins: EC". CNN-IBN. February 17, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
  95. ^ a b c "Exit polls, survey give Congress, allies a slender edge". The Hindu. May 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
  96. ^ BJP's performance very unexpected: Rajnath Singh- Hindustan Times
  97. ^ BBC NEWS | South Asia | India's marathon poll concludes
  98. ^ http://eciresults.nic.in/ Election Commission of India
  99. ^ http://ibnlive.in.com/news/150-new-lawmakers-accused-of-breaking-law/92826-37.html
  100. ^ "UP keeps its shame record: 31 MPs accused of crimes". CNN-IBN. May 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  101. ^ a b "Smooth sailing for UPA, parties scramble to support". CNN-IBN. May 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  102. ^ a b "Manmohan gets presidential invite to form govt". NDTV. May 20, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  103. ^ a b "President dissolves 14th LS with immediate effect". NDTV. May 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  104. ^ "Manmohan Singh re-elected Cong Parliamentary Party leader". The Indian Express. May 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  105. ^ "Scramble by rivals to support victorious UPA". The Hindu. May 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  106. ^ "DMK leaves UPA, gives outside support". BBC. 21 May, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  107. ^ http://ibnlive.in.com/news/dmk-wooed-likely-to-join-govt-on-tuesday/93249-37.html DMK joins cabinet
  108. ^ http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/kanimozhi-opts-out-of-cabinet-race-dmk-likely-to-join-upa-by-monday_100196443.html Kanimozhi opts out from joining the cabinet
  109. ^ http://news.oneindia.in/2009/05/27/manmohan-list-78-member-council-of-ministers-upa.html
  110. ^ http://www.groundreport.com/World/59-new-ministers-inducted-in-Manmohan-s-cabinet-go_3
  111. ^ http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1480123.php/59_ministers_sworn_in_to_complete_Indias_new_government
  112. ^ http://www.breakingnewsonline.net/2009/05/14-cabinet-ministers-7-mos-independent.html
  113. ^ http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/29/stories/2009052955061100.htm
  114. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Naveen-ups-the-ante-over-states-share-in-PM-team/articleshow/4590533.cms
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