Indian General Election 2009

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Indian general election, 2009 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

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Indian general election, 2009 All 543 seats in the Lok Sabha

April 16, April 22/23, April 30, May 7 and May 13, 2009 First party Second party

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 June 1, 2009. 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. On May 16, 2009, after poor showing in early trends that showed Indian National Congress and the 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.[3]

Leader Party Leader's seat

Manmohan Singh UPA Assam (Rajya Sabha)

Seats won Seat change Percentage Swing

261 43 48.06% +12.66%

Incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh UPA

After a surprising showing in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, the UPA was given a mandate, and the Indian National Congress are set to form the government under the incumbent prime minister candidate Manmohan Singh, who is the first Prime Minister of India since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 to win re-election after serving a full five-year term.[4][5] The results not only showed defeat of the National Democratic Alliance, led by the BJP, but it also showed one of the worst performance from the Left Front, who were hoping to create a non-Congress, non-BJP government through the Third Front. Due to the unexpected losses from the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, and the TDP and allies in Andhra Pradesh, and a sweep from Congress in Kerala and a big victory for Congress and its ally Trinamool Congress, in West Bengal, the Third Front along with the Left Front did not prove to be a factor in this election.

Contents

Lal Krishna Advani NDA Gandhinagar 158 -23 29.09% -4.21% Prime Minister-designate Manmohan Singh UPA

India

This article is part of the series:

Politics and government of India Union Government Constitution of India Fundamental Rights

1 Results

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1.1 Indian election at a glance 1.2 Results by alliance 1.3 Results by states and territories 2 2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence 3 Electoral Constituencies 4 Voting infrastructure 4.1 Electronic voting machines 4.2 Polling stations 4.3 Electoral rolls 5 Polling schedule 5.1 Background 5.2 Detailed polling schedule for each Phase 5.3 Polling schedule for each state/UT 6 Election Day 6.1 Phase 1 – April 16, 2009 6.2 Phase 2 – April 22, 2009 & April 23, 2009 7 Prime ministerial candidates 7.1 United Progressive Alliance 7.2 National Democratic Alliance 8 Campaigning 8.1 United Progressive Alliance 8.2 National Democratic Alliance 8.3 Communist Party of India (Marxist) 8.4 Campaign controversies 8.4.1 Indian National Congress 8.4.2 Janata Dal (United) 8.4.3 Bharatiya Janata Party 8.4.4 Rashtriya Janata Dal 8.4.5 Samajwadi Party 9 Coalition members 9.1 United Progressive Alliance 9.1.1 Constituents

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_general_election,_2009

Executive President Prime Minister Vice President The Cabinet

Parliament Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha The Chairman The Speaker

Judiciary Supreme Court of India Chief Justice of India High Courts District Courts Elections Election Commission Chief Election Commissioner Political Parties National Parties State Parties National Coalitions Left Front National Democratic Alliance United Progressive Alliance Local & State Govt. Governor State Legislature Vidhan Sabha Vidhan Parishad Panchayat Other countries · Politics Portal Government of India Portal

9.2 National Democratic Alliance 9.2.1 Constituents 9.2.2 Constituents 9.3 Others 10 Opinion polling 10.1 Pre-poll surveys 10.2 Exit polls 11 The Counting Day 12 The Final Result 13 References 14 External links

Results 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[6]

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Results by alliance Summary of the 20/26 April and 5/10 May Lok Sabha of India election results Announced results: 541/543 Pending: 2/543 As of May 17, 2009 5:00PM IST Sources: [2] (http://eciresults.nic.in/PartyWiseSeats.pdf) [3] (http://ibnlive.in.com/politics /loksabhafinal/plist.php) Alliances

Party

United Progressive Alliance Seats: 260 Seat Change: +79

Indian National Congress

205

+60

18

+2

9

-

19

+17

National Conference

3

+1

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha

2

-3

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen

1

-

Republican Party of India (Athvale)

-

-

Indian Union Muslim League

2

+1

Kerala Congress (Mani)

1

+1

116

-22

20

+12

11

-1

Rashtriya Lok Dal

5

+2

Shiromani Akali Dal

4

-4

Asom Gana Parishad

1

-1

Indian National Lok Dal

-

-

Telangana Rashtra Samithi

2

-3

Left Front

24

-29

Bahujan Samaj Party

21

+2

Biju Janata Dal

14

+3

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

9

+9

Telugu Desam Party

6

+1

Janata Dal (Secular)

3

-

Haryana Janhit Congress

1

+1

Pattali Makkal Katchi

-

-

22

-14

Rashtriya Janata Dal

4

-20

Lok Janshakti Party

0

-4

18

-

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Nationalist Congress Party All India Trinamool Congress

National Democratic Alliance Bharatiya Janata Party Seats: 159 Janata Dal (United) Seat Change: -17 Shiv Sena

Third Front Seats: 78 Seat Change: -27

Fourth Front Seats: 26 Seat Change: -38

Seats won Change

Samajwadi Party

Other Parties Seats: 18

Source: Election Commission of India

Results by states and territories

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State (# of seats)

Andhra Pradesh (42)

Arunachal Pradesh (2)

Assam (14)

Bihar (40)

Chhattisgarh (11)

Goa (2)

Gujarat (26)

Party

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_general_election,_2009

Seats won

% of votes

Alliance

Indian National Congress

34

United Progressive Alliance

Telugu Desam Party

6

Third Front

Telangana Rashtra Samithi

1

National Democratic Alliance

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen

1

United Progressive Alliance

Others

0

None

Indian National Congress

2

United Progressive Alliance

Arunachal Congress

0

National Democratic Alliance

Bharatiya Janata Party

0

National Democratic Alliance

Indian National Congress

7

United Progressive Alliance

Bharatiya Janata Party

4

National Democratic Alliance

Assam United Democratic Front

1

None

Asom Gana Parishad

1

National Democratic Alliance

Others

1

None

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

Others

2

None

Bharatiya Janata Party

10

National Democratic Alliance

Indian National Congress

1

United Progressive Alliance

Others

0

None

Bharatiya Janata Party

1

National Democratic Alliance

Indian National Congress

1

United Progressive Alliance

Others

0

None

Bharatiya Janata Party

15

National Democratic Alliance

Indian National Congress

11

United Progressive Alliance

Others

0

None

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Haryana (10)

Himachal Pradesh (4)

Jammu & Kashmir (6)

Jharkhand (14)

Karnataka (28)

Kerala (20)

Madhya Pradesh (29)

Maharashtra (48)

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Indian National Congress

9

United Progressive Alliance

Haryana Janhit Congress

1

Third Front

Others

0

National Democratic Alliance

Bharatiya Janata Party

3

National Democratic Alliance

Indian National Congress

1

United Progressive Alliance

Others

0

None

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference

3

United Progressive Alliance

Indian National Congress

2

United Progressive Alliance

Independent

1

None

Others

0

National Democratic Alliance

Bharatiya Janata Party

8

National Democratic Alliance

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha

2

United Progressive Alliance

Indian National Congress

1

United Progressive Alliance

Others

3

None

Bharatiya Janata Party

19

National Democratic Alliance

Indian National Congress

6

United Progressive Alliance

Janata Dal (Secular)

3

Third Front

Others

0

None

Indian National Congress

13

United Progressive Alliance

Left Front

4

Third Front

Indian Union Muslim League

2

United Progressive Alliance

Others

1

United Progressive Alliance (1)

Bharatiya Janata Party

16

National Democratic Alliance

Indian National Congress

12

United Progressive Alliance

Bahujan Samaj Party

1

Third Front

Others

0

None

Indian National Congress

17

United Progressive Alliance

Shiv Sena

11

National Democratic Alliance

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Bharatiya Janata Party

9

National Democratic Alliance

Nationalist Congress Party

8

United Progressive Alliance

Others

3

None

Indian National Congress

2

United Progressive Alliance

Others

0

None

Indian National Congress

1

United Progressive Alliance

Nationalist Congress Party

1

United Progressive Alliance

Others

0

None

Mizoram (1)

Indian National Congress

1

United Progressive Alliance

Others

0

None

Nagaland (1)

Nagaland People's Front

1

None

Others

0

None

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

Others

0

None

Indian National Congress

8

United Progressive Alliance

Shiromani Akali Dal

4

National Democratic Alliance

Bharatiya Janata Party

1

National Democratic Alliance

Others

0

None

Indian National Congress

20

United Progressive Alliance

Bharatiya Janata Party

4

National Democratic Alliance

Others

1

None

Sikkim Democratic Front

1

None

Others

0

None

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

18

United Progressive Alliance

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

9

Third Front

Indian National Congress

8

United Progressive Alliance

Manipur (2)

Meghalaya (2)

Orissa (21)

Punjab (13)

Rajasthan (25)

Sikkim (1)

Tamil Nadu (39)

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Tripura (2)

Uttar Pradesh (80)

Uttarakhand (5)

West Bengal (42)

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi

2

United Progressive Alliance

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

1

None (ally of AIADMK+)

Left Front

1

Third Front

Pattali Makkal Katchi

0

Third Front

Bharatiya Janata Party

0

National Democratic Alliance

Others

0

None

Communist Party of India (Marxist)

2

Third Front

Indian National Congress

0

United Progressive Alliance

Others

0

None

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

Others

1

None

Indian National Congress

5

United Progressive Alliance

Bharatiya Janata Party

0

National Democratic Alliance

Others

0

None

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) Andaman & Nicobar Islands (1) Chandigarh

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Party

Seats won

% of Votes

Alliance

Bharatiya Janata Party

1

National Democratic Alliance

Indian National Congress

0

United Progressive Alliance

Others

0

None

Indian National Congress

1

United Progressive Alliance

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Bharatiya Janata Party

0

National Democratic Alliance

Others

0

None

Bharatiya Janata Party

1

National Democratic Alliance

Dadra & Nagar Haveli Indian National Congress (1)

0

United Progressive Alliance

Others

0

None

Bharatiya Janata Party

1

National Democratic Alliance

Indian National Congress

0

United Progressive Alliance

Others

0

None

Indian National Congress

7

United Progressive Alliance

Bharatiya Janata Party

0

National Democratic Alliance

Others

0

None

Indian National Congress

1

United Progressive Alliance

Bharatiya Janata Party

0

National Democratic Alliance

Others

0

None

Indian National Congress

1

United Progressive Alliance

Pattali Makkal Katchi

0

Third Front

Others

0

None

(1)

Daman & Diu (1)

Delhi (7)

Lakshadweep (1)

Puducherry (1)

2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence The UPA faced its first confidence vote in the Lok Sabha on 22 July 2008 after the CPI (M)-led Left Front withdrew support over India's approaching the IAEA for the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement. In the 543-member Lok Sabha, the UPA needed 272 votes for the government to enjoy a simple majority. The UPA won the confidence vote with 275 votes to the opposition's 256 (10 members abstained from the vote) to record a 19-vote victory. The government's winning the vote of confidence proved crucial, since this allowed Manmohan Singh to finish his full term.

Electoral Constituencies When announcing the elections on March 2, 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.[7]

Voting infrastructure Electronic voting machines

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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.[7] 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.[8]

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. [7]

Polling schedule

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got together on March 2, 2009 to announce the details of the general election. Subsequently, the President's House announced on March 4, 2009 that the incumbent CEC N. Gopalaswami would retire as scheduled on April 20, 2009 and Navin Chawla would take over as CEC starting April 21, 2009.[15] For the first time in the history of Indian politics, two different people will oversee different phases of the same election.[16]

Detailed polling schedule for each Phase Detailed Schedule for 2009 General Elections Phases Phase 1

Phase 2 Phase 2A

Poll Event

Phase 3

Phase 2B

Phase 3A

Announcement & Issues of Press Notes

Phase 3B

Phase 4 Phase 3C

Phase 5 Phase 5A

Phase 5B

Mon, 02 Mar

Issue of Notification

Mon, 23 Mar

Sat, 28 Mar

Thu, 02 Apr

Sat, 11 Apr

Fri, 17 Apr

Last Date for filing Nominations

Mon, 30 Mar

Sat, 04 Apr

Thu, 09 Apr

Sat, 18 Apr

Fri, 24 Apr

Scrutiny of Nominations

Tue, 31 Mar

Mon, 06 Apr

Mon, 20 Apr

Sat, 25 Apr

Last Date for Withdrawal of Candidature

Thu, 02 Apr

Wed, 08 Apr

Date of Poll

Thu, 16 Wed, 22 Thu, 23 Apr Apr Apr

Sat, 11 Apr

Fri, 10 Apr

Mon, 13 Wed, 15 Mon, 13 Wed, 22 Mon, 27 Tue, 28 Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Thu, 7 May

Thu, 30 Apr

Counting of Votes

Sat, 16 May

Date before which election shall be Completed

Thu, 28 May

Wed, 13 May

Number of States & UTs

17

1

12

6

1

4

8

8

1

Number of Parliamentary Constituencies

124

1

140

77

1

29

85

72

14

Source: [7]

Polling schedule for each state/UT

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Polling schedule for each State/UT in 2009 General Elections Phase 1 States/UTs

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 4

16 [17] 22/23 [17] 30 [18] 7 [19 Constituencies Phases Apr Turnout Apr Turnout Apr Turnout May Turnout

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

1

1

1

64.15%

Andhra Pradesh

42

2

22

69.75%

Arunachal Pradesh

2

1

2

65.00%

Assam

14

2

3

67.61%

Bihar

40

4

13

43.21%

Chandigarh

1

1

Chhattisgarh

11

1

Dadra & Nagar Haveli

1

Daman & Diu

-

-

-

75.50%

-

-

-

-

-

11

70.06%

-

-

13

45.83%

20

11

46.12%

3

37.00%

-

-

-

-

58.19%

-

-

-

1

-

-

1

73.22%

-

1

1

-

-

1

71.85%

-

Delhi

7

1

-

-

-

Goa

2

1

-

55.42%

-

-

Gujarat

26

1

-

-

47.92%

-

Haryana

10

1

-

-

-

Himachal Pradesh

4

1

-

-

-

Jammu & Kashmir

6

5

1

49.68%

1

44.73%

Jharkhand

14

2

6

51.16%

8

48.86%

Karnataka

28

2

-

17

60.00%

Kerala

20

1

20

73.33%

Lakshadweep

1

1

1

86.10%

Madhya Pradesh

29

2

Maharashtra

48

3

Manipur

2

Meghalaya

11

2

26

1

26.43%

7

10

51.79%

67.67% -

1

25.38%

-

-

58.48%

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

11

-

13

51.39%

16

51.22%

-

13

55.74%

25

49.18%

10

41.24%

-

2

1

83.70%

1

75.50%

-

-

2

1

2

64.40%

-

-

-

Mizoram

1

1

1

50.93%

-

-

-

Nagaland

1

1

1

90.21%

-

-

-

Orissa

21

2

10

64.90%

62.00%

-

-

Puducherry

1

1

-

-

-

-

Punjab

13

2

-

-

-

4

72.78%

Rajasthan

25

1

-

-

-

25

48.50%

Sikkim

1

1

-

-

Tamil Nadu

39

1

-

Tripura

2

1

-

11

2

1

82.00%

-

-

-

-

83.91%

-

-

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Uttar Pradesh

80

5

Uttarakhand

5

1

-

-

West Bengal

42

3

-

-

Total Constituencies

543

Total States/UTs polling on this day

16

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124

45.37%

59.07%

17

17

141

45.48%

15

18

14

56.66%

13

107 11

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

35

543

Total

46.12% 80.71% 52.12%

48.00% -

17 85

82.60% 52.32%

8

Source: [7]

Election Day Phase 1 – April 16, 2009 The first phase of the 2009 election took place on Thursday, April 16 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.[21] The dead included five poll officials and 10 security personnel, whose families received a compensation of Rs 10 lakh.[22] Naxals set fire to voting machines, attacked voters, security personnel and polling workers, and destroyed vehicles.[23][24] According to one news source, "It was apparent that the Naxals had clearly planned to disrupt the polls."[23] 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.[25][26] 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.[27] 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.[28]

Phase 2 – April 22, 2009 & April 23, 2009 The second phase of the 2009 election was spread across Wednesday, April 22 (Phase 2A) and Thursday, April 23

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(Phase 2B). Phase 2A saw election in a single constituency in Manipur as it was a state holiday on April 23.[7] According to the EC, the election in Manipur in Phase 2A was peaceful and witnessed a voter turnout of about 62%[29]. 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.[30] 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.[31] 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.[32] Two polling officials even died due to sun stroke in Orissa.[33]

Prime ministerial candidates Each of the party coalitions has indicated their choice for prime minister, should they win a majority to form a government.

United Progressive Alliance Following the August 2008 confidence vote victory for the current government, a statement by Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi has caused speculation that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the next elections.[34] Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar has indicated that he is also a possible Prime Ministerial candidate post elections.[35] On January 24, 2009, Manmohan Singh underwent cardiac bypass surgery at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.[36] 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 is the UPA coalition's Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2009 elections.[37]

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,[38] the Leader of the Opposition. On January 23, 2008, leaders from BJP and other NDA parties convened to officially elect him their candidate.[39] No other party or alliance has announced a prime ministerial candidate.

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.[40] On March 24, 2009, Congress President Sonia Gandhi released the party's manifesto for the 2009 election.[41] 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.[42]

National Democratic Alliance

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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.[43] On April 3, 2009, BJP released its election manifesto in New Delhi.[44] 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.[45]

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The CPI(M) has created a campaign website hosting its campaign information to attract sympathisers among the netizen public to vote for the party.[46][47]

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.[48][49] 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.[50] 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.[51][52] 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 [53] 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.[54] 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.[55] 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.[56] This decision was taken

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after the EC had earlier issued a notice[57] 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.[58] 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.[59] 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.[60] 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.[61][62] 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.[63] 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.[64] 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.[65] 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.[66][67] 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.[68] 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.[69] 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.[70]

Coalition members The 2009 general election will see three main national pre-poll alliances take on each other. 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.

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Constituents The UPA comprises the following constituent parties: Indian National Congress, Samajwadi Party[71], Rashtriya Janata Dal[71], Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam[72], Nationalist Congress Party[73], Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Lok Janshakti Party[71],Trinamool Congress[74][75], Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, Indian Union Muslim League, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Republican Party of India (Athvale), Sikkim Democratic Front among others.

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 The NDA comprises the following constituent parties: Bhartiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, Janata Dal (United), Shiromani Akali Dal, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Asom Gana Parishad[76], Indian National Lok Dal, Mizo National Front amongst others. Constituents The Third Front comprises the following constituent parties: Communist Party of India (Marxist), Biju Janata Dal[77], Communist Party of India, Telugu Desam Party,Janata Dal (Secular), Revolutionary Socialist Party, All India Forward Bloc, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ,[78], Pattali Makkal Katchi[79] among others.

Others Some parties have either not yet announced the coalition they support or have decided to fight the election on their own. This list is likely to change as we near election dates. Parties that remain un-allied even after the election, could play the role of king-maker in determining who will form the next Government. Many of these parties are regional parties who have limited presence outside their home states. These include Bahujan Samaj Party[80][81], Nagaland People's Front[82], National Loktantrik Party[83], Kerala Congress[84], Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party[85][86], Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam[87], Praja Rajyam[88] among others.

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 CNN-IBN–CSDS

Dates 8 Jan to 15/09

Results UPA 215–235, NDA 165–185, Others 125–155 [89]

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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.

Publish Date

Agency

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]

The Counting Day The counting of votes of all the phases was started on 16th May 2009 at 08 hrs. The EVMs were localized to 1080 centers across the country. The UPA took early lead and maintained it and evolved victorious. The BJP leader Rajnath Singh said tha "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.

The Final Result The Congress led UPA swept 261 seats up from 218 last election. This huge increase is achieved despite the withdrawal of left parties, MDMK, TRS, BSP, PDP and PMK. The BJP led NDA stood with 158 down 181. The CPM led Third front made only 68. The communist parties could make up only few seats in West Bengal and Kerala, which is considered as a major setback.

Party

Won

UPA

261

NDA

158

Third Front 68 Fourth Front 27 Others

29

With more number of seats, the Congress led UPA is all set to back in power with Dr. Manmohan Singh as Prime

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