UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and PM Manmohan Singh after winning the elections

Defying all expectations and poll predictions, Congress and its allies performed much better than expectations getting a thumping mandate for the next five years, from nearly 57% [wiki] of electorates who voted. Manmohan Singh will be the next prime minister of the country in the 15th Lok Sabha. He is only the second PM after Pt. Jawahar Nehru to be elected to a second term in PMO after being in centre for full five years.

UPA (United Progressive Alliance) won about 260 seats (up by a whopping 79 seats when compared to 2004), just marginally short of the magic figure of 272. Congress itself secured 206 (+60) seats, a feat that it was not able to repeat since 1991. NDA failed miserably, managing only 157 seats, down by 14 seats as compared to 2004. BJP won mere 116 seats (-22).

Mamta Banerjee’s Trinmool Congress (TC) won 19 seats (2 in 2004), Jayalalitha’s AIADMK won 9 seats (0 last time), Left parties won only 20 seats (53 last time), Laloo’s RJD could manage only 4 seats against the 24 which they won in 2004. Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP was unable to open its account (they had 4 Mp’s in Lok Sabha last year).

Big guns who were able to secure their seats include:

Priya Dutt (Mumbai North-Central, Congress), Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram, Congress), Varun Gandhi (Pilibhit, BJP), LK Advani (Gandhinagar, BJP), Rajnath Singh (Ghaziabad, BJP), Congress’s chairperson Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareily, Congress), Rahul Gandhi (Amethi, Congress), Laloo Prasad Yadav (Saran, RJD, he lost from Patliputra though), ex PM H.D. Deve Gowda (Hassan, Janta Dal- secular), Sachin Pilot (Ajmer, Congress), P Chidambaram (Sivaganga, Congress, he lost initially and asked for a recount in which he won), Maneka Gandhi (Aaonla, BJP, she also lost in the first counting but was declared the winner after a recount), Navjot Singh Sidhu (Amritsar, BJP), Shatrughan Sinha (Patna Sahib, BJP), Chiranjeevi (Tirupati, PRP, he lost from Palacole though), Mulayam Singh Yadav (Mainpuri, SP), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna, Congress), Sushma Swaraj (Vidisha, BJP), Jaswant Singh (Darjeeling, BJP), Jayaprada (Rampur, SP), Murli Manohar Joshi (Varanasi, BJP), Mohd Azharuddin (Muradabad, Congress)

The list of notable heavy weights who lost is as follows:

Laloo Prasad yadav (Patliputra,RJD, he won from Saran though), Ram Vilas Paswan (Hajipur, LJP), Shekhar Suman (Patna Sahib, Congress), Chiranjeevi (Palacole, PRP, he won from Tirupati though), Renuka Chaudhary (Khammam, Congress), Ram Naik (Mumbai North, BJP), Vinod Khanna (Gurdaspur, BJP), Chetan Chauhan (East Delhi, BJP), Mani Shankar Aiyar (Mayiladuthuraj,) Nafisa Ali (Lucknow, SP), Margaret Alva (Uttara kannada, Congress).

From the state point of view, the biggest surprise for me was UP. Congress won 21 seats in the state, an increase of over 50 % as compared to last time’s 9! Even Congress leaders dint anticipate this resounding success in the important state of UP. BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) won only 20 seats, an improvement of just one seat from 2004. This broke the dream of the “sarvajan samaj” leader Mayawati’s hope of becoming the king maker and hopefully the next PM of the country. Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party suffered huge loss of 12 seats as they could only win on 23 constituencies.

Apart from UP, West Bengal sent major tremors down the political lanes. While Left parties suffered significant setback, winning only 11 (CPI+CPM) seats as compared to 29 (CPI+CPM) last time in a state which is considered their strong hold, Mamta’s Trinmool Congress emerged strong winning 19 seats, up by 18 in 2004.

In Tamil Nadu, AIADMK won 9 seats (+9) while DMK consolidated by 2 seats to take their tally to 18.

In Maharashtra, Congress added 4 seats as compared to 2004 to finish at 17, while BJP lost 4 seats and their final tally in the state was just 9!
Bihar was one state which brought wide smiles on face of NDA. BJP won 12 (+7) while JD-U won 20 (+14). Though other major parties in state, RJD (4,-18) and LJP (0,-4) were completely wiped out.

BJP also took blows in MP (16,-9), Rajasthan (4,-17). Congress improved by significant numbers in Kerala (13,+13), MP (12,+8), Rajasthan (20,+16)

Few things are very clear from the way India has voted:

• People of India have voted for stability. They want a government which can run and take strong decisions for five years (hence the mandate in favor of Congress and allies and against blakmailer parties like Left, BSP,SP etc. People have denied totally regional parties like RJD and are now turning towards national parties for better governance. Congress can work without the constant fear of its allies withdrawing support and we can expect a stronger coalition government and they can formulate their key policies with freedom and without much hassles.
• Advani, Modi are not the faces people of India want to see as their PM. People of India do not want their leaders or parties to be working on secular lines. Hate speeches by <sarcasm> honorable </sarcasm> Mr. Varun Gandhi dont seem to work outside Pilibhit either. People want real issues and not just issues which are made up just for the sake of it. BJP had much greater support when honorable Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji was in picture. It is not hard to believe that BJP needs a leader with a clean image like him to be able to challenge Congress in next elections in 2014. As Advani has already offered to quit, is Modi the natural choice for the next (dare I say) PM in waiting? If yes, god help BJP, because unless Congress does something terribly terribly wrong this time, I am afraid people are not ready to see and accept Mr Narendra Modi as the PM of the country.
• Rahul Gandhi is a force to reckon with. This election the battle was between youthful exuberance of 38 year old Rahul gandhi and the experience of 81 year old Lal Krishna Advani, and we know who prevailed. The fact that Congress won on more than 60 seats out of 126 (source: Aaj Tak) where Rahul Gandhi travelled shows the effect this young power house of Congress has on the common man of India. BJP needs a younger and dynamic face in their party to woo the younger voters. And no, Varun Gandhi is not a wise choice. They need someone who is more likable. Rahul Gandhi can also be the Congress’s PM candidate for the next elections.
• Start power does not guarantee you sucess, well almost. Defeats of many prominent personalities like Chetan Chauhan, Hans Raj Hans, Raj Babbar, Vinod Khanna, Jaspal Rana, Chiranjeevi, Shekhar Suman is a proof of that.

I am thankful for a few things.

• We can expect a stable and stronger government,
• People like Mayawati can only dream of becoming the PM of this great country.
• BJP must have learnt that India does not want to be divided on basis of religion. We (okay, most of us) do not ratify politics of hate. If you want to win, you need to bring better faces than Advani and Modi, someone like Sh AB Vajpayee.
• Small parties like RJD, BSP, SP, Left who thrive on the lack of a consensus amongst the Indian voters and hence get what they wanted just because they have the seats that the coalition government needs, need to re-think their agendas. People of India have clearly shown them the door and made it clear their is no room for parties who create instability in the government.
• I am happy that opportunistic politicians like Ram Vilas Paswan lost. Man, that guy is present in every party just because he has those few seats which the alliances need to form the government. Not surprisingly, he gets a portfolio too. And I am sure, he does not allign with the alliance likely to form government with just the motive of “actively” participating in the government and hence be able to serve the people of the country better.

Congress will be able to form the government with the support of just a few more small parties and independents, leaving no room for SP, BSP and the likes.

Thanks to the Election Commission Of India for conducting free and fair elections. Managing elections for over a month and that too in a country of over 700 million electorates is a tough job.

I hope to see a better working government this time. Winning the elections is just the beginning, the real work starts now, fulfilling the expectations and faith people have shown in you.

Good luck to Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Download the complete list of winning candidates of 2009 General Elections from
here. (PDF, 53 kb,from ECI website)

Disclaimer: Though I have taken utmost care in giving the correct stats, some errors still might have crept in. If you come across any, please notify me.

Data collected from various sources including IBNLive, image from BBC

I feel like killing myself for not writing this piece before 16 April (i.e. before the day elections started). I remember that I decided that I would run a campaign of sorts on all my blogs so as to create whatever awareness I could at my small level and encourage my fellow citizens to go out and cast their vote in the 2009 general elections. But I don’t know how I became so lazy that I could not find time to write this all important topic. And here I am, writing this post when two out of five phases of the elections have already passed and fates of candidates for more than half of the 543 Lok Sabha seats have already been sealed in the ballot boxes. But better late than never. (*promises to self to be more responsible in future*)

So India, the largest democracy in the world is currently voting to choose the representatives to 15th Lok Sabha to lead us, “hopefully”, for the next five years. This is the biggest  democratic event mankind has ever witnessed as more than 700 million (714,103070 to be exact) people lined up to cast their vote. Never before in history, man witnessed participation at this large scale.

What do these elections means for India?

India has been shining, and shining bright for the last decade or two. Our economy has been on steroids, clocking 6-8 pc GDP growth consistently for a few years now, our scientific achievements (Chandrayaan) have been a fairy tale, our military might (now don’t compare with US or China et al, peace) and what not. But I am sure most of us would agree with me here that if only we had good leaders who can think of nation above self, power, money and everything else, we would have been miles ahead of where we are now. Because we know that there is not any lack of brilliant and hard working brains here.

Indian politics is dirty. Period. But makes the politics dirty? Politicians. And who elects the politicians? We, the people. This is where I feel these elections can be different from all the previous ones. Of the 700 million people who will exercise their right to vote this year, a staggering 65% of them are below the age of 35. This the highest India has got so far in terms of young electors. Youth thinks differently, there is no one doubting that. They they don’t think orthodox, “most” can think above the lines of region, religion, caste, color and other such crap, or so I believe (I hope I am not wrong). Not that I am saying our parents grand parents are all fools and incapable of making wise decisions but when talking of majority and witnessing the politics we have in our country today, I am somewhat inclined to think that the youth can do a better job than those who previously elected leaders giving preference to religion, caste, region etc of the candidate.

That means more than 450 million young and ignited minds deciding the fate of the country for the next five years, now that’s unprecedented and revolutionary. All the major political parties realize the power of young voters in these elections. And that is why every one is trying to woo the young voter in as many ways as they can. Like BJP’s huge campaign online which has for sure ruined my (and probably your too) online experience since months. BJP’s ads can be seen many websites, I don’t know how much money they spent on online advertising. BJP and Congress has been actively engaging young voters on hugely popular sites like Facebook and  Twitter. Special campaigns have been designed for targeting the youth. Every one knows that youth holds the key in these elections. Do you?

Why should you vote?

This question is a no brainer actually. You are a citizen of this country and that is enough reason for you to vote. It is your country, if you do not care for it, no one else will. Your non-vote can even lead to election of a non-competent leader or someone whom you don’t want. Why let that happen? If you crave for the rights the democracy of this country has given you, you are expected to fulfill your duties towards it as well, that is cast your vote. If you think that one vote doesn’t make any difference, then remember the old saying, the droplets fill an ocean. If everyone were thinking like you, there would be no elections at all. If you start at your level, others will follow. At least you can be proud that you do something at your end and not like many many other who can only sit and whine about the endless this country faces while making no contribution or efforts in trying to get rid of the problems.

If you are young and you are think of what can be achieved if these (or most) 450 million vote. You are one of these 450 million. Would not you want to participate and cast your vote and make a statement?

Also I would like to quote here two great personalities:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy

Whom should you vote?

Now this is a tricky question. No matter what age group you belong to or what are your values you just can’t think of genuine politicians who are worthy of your vote. Though in the end decision is your to make but the problem lies in the fact that it is not easy to make even that decision because there are just no politicians whom you can vote on their merits. Indian elections have always been about choosing between the lesser of the two evils. Both the national parties, “Indian national Congress (INC)” and “Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)”, have their “cons”. Its really tough to choose between the two, not because the both have done exceptional work but because you have to actually look through the profiles to see which part has the candidates which have lesser criminal records against their names, which has criminals politicians who are not involved in any scam or forgery or any other mis-conduct. You don’t have the luxury of choosing that who amongst them has more nation loving,honest, strong leaders. This is the common dilemma shared by most of the voters, specially first timers in India.

Now that is what dis-heartens me. Can’t we find 543 worthy leaders for ourselves in a nation of 1 billion people? It actually discourages you to rather not vote as no good is going to come of it anyway. But this attitude is wrong. Still you have to choose, even if it means choosing between the two evils, because if you don’t, who knows, the greater of the evils is voted to power, and we don’t want that. Also, after elections if the greater evil is in power and it commits a blunder, you can’t blame anybody because did you do anything to keep them from power? No. So do vote, wisely.

But still if your self does not allow you to vote for any of the evils, because no matter even if you choose someone who is the lesser evil in your opinion, they will still bring you shame. They will still do acts which will make you think, “How could have I elected these people to power?” I was in a similar dilemma last year during Delhi legislative elections last year, when I could not think of who should get my vote? I could not decide on any party. Both had numerous negatives. Then finally, I voted for “no-one” using a special provision provided to us voters, under 49-O. It basically enables you to cast a “null vote” i.e. your vote is valid, but not in favor of any party or candidate. Mind that it is not a “negative vote”, meaning your vote will not affect the outcome of the elections if even 1 normal vote is cast. Though I am not sure what will happen if every elector decides to vote using 49-O. Here is what is written on NIC website about 49-O.

49-O. Elector deciding not to vote.-If an elector, after his

electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters

in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as

required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his

vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in

Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb

impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.

Read the full “THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS RULES, 1961? here on the NIC website.

This method is not very easy to use as there will be many obstacles in your way. Even the elections officer on duty are not aware of this provision. When I went to vote, they almost turned me down saying there is nothing like this. But I came to know later that there were others who also tried to cast their vote in this manner but were actually scolded and turned down by the authorities present on election duties at the polling station. So if you decide to vote using 49-O, go prepared with all the proofs.

Take print out of the text above (in quotes) and also the print out  of (scroll to point #11 on page 8 ) this PDF from Election Commission Of India’s (ECI) ECI_voters_guideline_2006. These two should be enough. This thing sure exists, I have myself used it. Authorities on paper there might not know it, its your job to convince them. (Don;t attempt any heroic or sensational act at the polling station, just be polite, I am sure the officers will reciprocate).

(Read more about my experience of voting using 49-O)

Please note that unlike the spam mail that is under circulation for years now, there is no clause suggesting cancellation or re-polling under any circumstances due to 49-O. Your vote will have NO effect on the outcome of the elections. Though I agree that whether you are actually contributing by voting using 49-O or not is debatable, but I tend to believe that it is a contribution in someway atleast. If you think same, you can also vote using 49-O if you can’t decide on any party or candidate.

There you go, the bottom line is you HAVE TO vote if you are a responsible citizen of this country. Even if you think no one is worthy, you have to elect because otherwise the greater of the two evils can come to power. Still if you think voting is useless, vote using 49-O, I have given you another option. If you still don’t vote, DIE!

Schedule of the General Elections 2009

Delhi went to legislative elections today. This was my first time to cast a vote and as I have keen interest in politics, I was naturally more than excited to cast my vote. But I was confused to whom I should give my vote to. In my opinion,none of the parties are real worthy of my vote. All are corrupt from head to toe, can care no less about their constituencies and its people and what not. On top of that most of them do not even have a clear image, many have criminal records against their name.

So what do we do? Can we only chose lesser of the two evil? Is that the only option left for us? Not voting or pressing two buttons on the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) was not an option as that would have meant wastage of my vote. Then when my friend told me about this post on his blog.

According to NIC website there is a provison given to electors in case they dissapprove the current system.

49-O. Elector deciding not to vote.-If an elector, after his

electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters

in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as

required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his

vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in

Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb

impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.

Read the full “THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS RULES, 1961″ here on the NIC website.

So I finally voted. Nope,im no more confused about what i did,and am very clear about what I will do in future elections (until there is a radical change).

I voted for no one!

Even after I read about this thing on Sai’s blog, I was not kind of sure about its authenticity as he mentioned there,he recieved it as an mail forward and email forwards are mostly very un-reliable.But when another person mentioned about this when I was discussing about this on a forum,I thought I will try it out (though i would have given it a try anyways).

So I got up early in the morning and was there at the  polling station even before the polling started. And delimitation of constituency has caused a few confusions here and there. And as always finding you name in the voter list is sometimes tricky,specially so if you are a fist time voter. I searched hard for my name but was unable to find it ( was wishing  I could press Ctrl + F so that i can find my name). Anyways after much work, I was able to find my name.

I went inside the polling booth, got that election ink on my right index finger, got my serial number and when I was allowed to proceed towards the EVM, I said, I do not want to cast my vote,what is the procedure to go about it. There were 4 lady officials on duty and 4 other people sitting there. They were like “Come again”! I told them again, there is a provison where by you can vote that you do not want to cast your vote in favour of any of the candidate. They were  like what do you mean by that? Clearly they dint knew about this. I think they dint get what I wanted to say because  they kept saying if you do not wanted to vote, why have you come here? Why have you got that ink mark on your finger and all that. You should have told us beforehand. I told them i was not wasting my vote. They said you should have not come at all, or press two buttons on the EVM. I told them that would be  equivalent to not voting at all, though they were not convinced . Again one lady said you should not have come,  then another one interrupted her by saying that “no what he is saying is that he want to vote but he does not want to vote to these candidates.Ask him to fill up a form and write a remark against his name that he “refused to vote”. They thought I was just a frustrated warm blooded youth who is just fed up with politics and so they even asked me if I was even aware of who all the candidates are contesting in the elections or i am here to just sound like a clever attention hungry fox. I told them the whole list and told I dont want to vote for them because I dont think they are worthy. When they found i can not be convinced ,then they called in their senior officer to see me. He said,”Son why do you want to create a mess for us? Running a country is a tough job,its not as easy as it looks to you,give your vote to someone (beta kyo hamara kaam bada raha hai,desh itti aasani se nahi chalta ,kisi ko bhi vote dede). But I said no,there is a provison and I do not want to give vote to anyone. He said then you will have to sit and wait here for 1 hour as he will ask higher authorities, I said no problem,I can wait. There was chaos all around that polling booth, and I feel sorry for those who got delayed because of me(I could here a few whining sounds of people standing behind me)

After much hustle, they finally put a remark against my name,got it signed by me @ two places,and the presiding officers present there also signed it. They also asked me to give an undertaking that I do not want to give my vote to anyone. Though they mentioned that I can be called again if there is any problem with my vote.

So this is just another option you have when you go to elect your leaders from next time. I could not get this out to more people as i was myself not sure about this,but now, after i have casted my vote in favour of “no one”, I will try to reach out to maximum people.

Thanks Sai and Udit.

Spread the word.

Update: From whatever I can gather from different sources, there is no provision for cancellation and then re-elections.  49-o only mentions the right to “not vote”. Though a few lawyers whom I asked about this said even this does not exist! I have the link and I will show it to them.I do not know how can they say that there is no such thing. Whom did I vote then? I am damn confused. What did they did to my vote?

Update 2: There have been instances before me who have casted their vote in favour of 49-o. Like this one.

Update 3: I have tried contacting a few “responsible” newspapers and news channels. But few of the mails are not getting delivered, probably because they are already flooded with feedback on Mumbai attacks.
So if anybody can provide me with direct contact details of some of their known personnels in any media organisation, I shall be grateful.
If you have any helpful contact,you can directly mail me at: mayanks[dot]098[at]gmail[dot]com

Update 4: Finally, another blogger, Danish spoke to EC office. All in all, it seems my vote was valid and I did actually vote for “no vote”. Thats a relief.

Here is an excerpt from Danish’s blog:

I called up Election Commissioner’s Office and spoke with Mr. C.P. Sharma who is PPS to Mr. Navin Chawla (Election Commissioner). Mr Sharma told me that this rule is valid, anyone can exercise it. One has to go to the polling booth, get their name marked, get their finger marked and infrom the Polling officer on duty about the decision of not voting. The Polling Officer might ask you to give a written undertaking stating the same. Through this process, the vote would be registered as ‘no-vote’ and will be counted under the same head at the time of final counting.

Read more on Danish’s blog

Conclusion is, that it does exist but there is noprovision of cancellation or re-election.

So it is valid, however, you see it as a valid way for opposing the system or not, is still upto you. For me, it is a way to protest as people and our politicians will come to know about the unrest even if their is no cancellation. Sometime, they are bound to take notice,may be out of fear,but they surely will.

[poll=8]

The stage was set. MP’s were giving their speeches on the confidence motion moved by the PM Dr. Manmohan Singh after Left paties withdrew their support on the issue of Indo-US nuclear deal. Suddenly, out of no where, three BJP MP’s, Ashok Argal, MP from Morena, Faggan Singh Kulaste, MP from Mandla, and Mahavir Bhagora, Mp from Salumber came in started taking out bundles and bundles of money right in the middle of the house, where proceedings were taking place. All this at 1604 Hrs, roughly 50 minutes before PM was to deliver his speech at 1700 Hrs. House was adjouned thereafter till 1800 HRS

The three MP’s alleges that Samajvadi Party’s senior member Mr Amar SIngh and Congress’s chairperson’s chief political advisor, Mr. Ahmed Patel bribed them Rs. 3 crore each for abstaining from the confidence motion polling. One crore was given in advance which they brought to the house.

The whole nation watched in a shock, finding it hard to believe and digest that these are same MP’s we voted for. Scenes like these were un precedented for the house.

That was the most disgusting,shameful piece of $hit that could have taken place. Its a wake up call for us.

UPA one the trust vote (but lost the trust of people) after that by a convincing margin of 19. 275 in favour and 256 against the motion with 10 absentees.

People still think its a victory for UPA govt. We can not forget and pardon the people who are involved in incident that happened @ 16:04 hrs, about 50 mins before when the PM was about to deliver his speech in LS.
I cant believe it to be untrue for the simple fact that BJP and LK Advani (dont think im a follower of Advani “ji”, i hate the guys ideology to the core), are not such dumb idiots to have “allowed” this drama to happen, knowing that how could this whole incident can almost nullify the whole party. Not to forget Advani is a senior politician, by that i mean he is a very typical dirty clever Indian politician who does things after weighing them properly. He is not such an jacka$$. HE is the PM in waiting!(God help us, if people like him are PM in waiting).I was following the drama from 12:00 pm to 10:30 PM at night,watched every single moment of it.(till electricity went at 10:30pm)
You should have seen comments of senior BJP leaders pouring in immediately after incident took place. Rajnath Singn, Advani, Sushma Swaraj all said we have all the proof on the CD. That means every one knew about what was going to happen. DO you think they could have gone so far if they knew they had no proof in hand. Mind you, they are too clever,dirty clever for that.

All,i mean all should be punished. Every single one of them is crap. We need a new system. WHat shame it has brought to the counrty, to its parliament.
Those who bribed and those who thought bringning all the 1 crore INR was the only way to stage the protest. Mr Advani, you are a senior leader, the PM in waiting, you dint think of the image of the country? Is it of secondary importance than gaining some cheap political advantage and thrill?
UPA and allies say they should have gone to court. Well i think if UPA were in NDA’s shoes they would not have done that either simplly because we have congress govt at both Delhi and centre.
But they could have brought it in light by holding a press conf outside the parliament. Why there? Where you cant present a piece of paper w/o speaker’s permission, they presented insane amout of money! Breach of code, if there is any for our great MP’s.
Both are inexcusable. The JMM-Rao case still has a black spot on the system of our country and now this!

Shame on you guys, all of you. Not one of you is worth one paisa.

I wish people like Kalaam jump in to politics and form a party to clean up this mess.

Black day in Indian democracy.