Lok Sabha Election 2019: 900 million eligible voters, Nearly 10 Lakh polling booths; 7 phase polls to be world’s largest democratic exercise.

The first phase or round of India’s general election has just started with a bang. Voting is already in process at 91 constituencies across 18 states and 2 Union Territories. Around 1,300 candidates are in the mix and more than 14 crore citizens are looking to cast their valuable votes at 170,000 polling stations today. The rest of India voting will be underway in six subsequent rounds starting from April 18, 2019, and the final verdict and will be finally declared on May 23,2019. India’s long-lasting stretched election battle is predicted to cost around $7 billion, making it one of the world’s costliest elections ever.

Lok Sabha polls 2019 LIVE Updates Phase 1: As couple of  Indian states will be contesting elections in simultaneous rounds, states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, and Odisha will going for elections in single individual phases. Out of the seven phases, the elections will cover 543 constituencies. The final results, or counting of votes, will take place on May 23, 2019.

“The consolidated US presidential and congressional elections in 2016 expense $6.5 billion. On the off chance that the 2014 Lok Sabha elections cost an expected $5 billion, there is little uncertainty the 2019 political decision will effectively outperform that creation India’s elections the world’s generally costly,” Milan Vaishnav, senior individual and director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think-tank disclosed to Press Trust of India.

In 2019, Lok Sabha elections will cost around 500 billion rupees($7 Billion) according to the NCR based Center for Media Studies. The election will be conducted for 545 seats and 8000 contestants. It includes advertisement cost, legal expenditure, dummy candidates, brand building, transportations and all the costs that you can imagine in the election.

Nizamabad may enter Guinness Book with record EVMs

The Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency, where polling is going on today along with 16 other constituencies of Telangana, will be eyeing to set a new record in this election. Nizamabad’s name may soon qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records for the use of maximum electronic voting machines (EVMs).

The majority of the farmers, out of 185 candidates, are in the fray. In this region, the Election Commission is using 12 Electronic Voting Machines in every polling station. However, the remaining constituencies in this constituency could began voting an hour after the voting process started. Voting began here at 8 am.

Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar said that the mock-polling in Nizamabad took two hours and hence he started voting from 8 am.

Rajat Kumar said that “the polling is going on properly and EVMs have been changed in the two-three places where there was trouble. 3.6 percent polling was recorded in the first hour.”

Election Commission puts hold on the release of Modi biopic Movie until Lok Sabha elections, 2019 are completed.

The Supreme Court recently had dismissed the petition in relation to the release of the film. The Election Commission has officially restricted the release of the biopic on the prime minister, PM Narendra Modi before the Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

The commission said in a statement that a couple of political parties had raised an objection about the biopic movie under the model code of conduct, which would influence the image of a politician or any political party.

The commission also further said it also involves films like NTR Lakshmi, PM Narendra Modi, and Udyama Singham.

However script of these movies is unique and creative, it may create misconceptions in the minds of voters about candidates and political parties, which would be a violation and breach of the code of conduct, the commission held.

Therefore, until the code of conduct is applicable, these films should not be exhibited in electronic media or cinema, the commission adjudged.

A Serious Threat to Rahul Gandhi’s life, claims Congress.

Writing a letter to Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress workers claimed a breach in Rahul Gandhi’s security during his Amethi visit. In the letter, the Congress claimed that a laser was pointed at Rahul Gandhi. The Home Ministry has said the laser was from the mobile phone of the cameraman.

Big numbers, and big issues in India & Politics

900 million eligible voters; One Crore and Ten Lakhs poll workers; 23 Lakhs electronic voting machines; Around two thousand political parties. The numbers alone are mind-boggling.

The nation is driven by partisan and complex caste divisions and faces high joblessness, economic and social distress among rural areas and rising tensions with its nuclear-capable neighbor, Pakistan. Ladies are predicted to come out in record numbers for voting, driven by issues of security, financial aspects, and freedom.

The biggest, most complicated, expensive, different, bulky, vivid, vociferously discussed and commended majority rule government on the planet. A multi-party law-based analysis to gain from, which emancipates 900 million individuals to settle on a decision.