Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2023

Article 324 in the Constitution specifies that the superintendence, direction and control of elections and preparation of electoral rolls shall be entrusted to the Election Commission.

January 25 has been celebrated as National Voters' Day since 2011 to mark the foundation of the Election Commission of India, which was formed on January 25, 1950. It is celebrated in a bid to encourage the youth to participate in the electoral process.

The Election Commission was established on January 25, 1950. Until 1989, it had only one member - the chief election commissioner.

The Election Commission is responsible for conducting elections in a "free and fair manner" to the state legislatures and Parliament. Elections in panchayats and municipalities are conducted by state election commissions.

The election process is a lengthy affair in India. It starts with the Election Commission announcing the schedule for the polls, including dates for filing of nominations by candidates, withdrawal, scrutiny of nomination papers and counting date. The Model Code of Conduct, which is a set of guidelines to be abided by parties and candidates, comes into force from the day the poll schedule is announced.

Members of the Legislative Assembly are representatives of the people of the states as they are directly elected by citizens above 18 years of age. After the polls, the party with the maximum number of MLAs stakes claimed to form the government.

The Model Code of Conduct comes into force as soon as the election dates are announced by the Election Commission and remains in place until the election process is completed.

The Model Code of Conduct, which was first introduced in 1960, is a set of guidelines on manifestos, processions and general conduct that have to be adhered to by political parties and their candidates in the run-up to elections.

Between 1919 and 1929, all British provinces, as well as most of the princely states, gave women the right to vote and, in some cases, allowed them to contest local elections.

Shyam Saran Negi, a retired school teacher from Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh, was the first to vote in the first general election of independent India in 1951.

The first general elections were held in 1951-1952, second in 1957, third in 1962, the fourth in 1967, fifth in 1971, sixth in 1977, seventh in 1980, eighth in 1984-85, ninth in 1989, tenth in 1991, eleventh in 1996, twelfth in 1998, thirteenth in 1999, fourteenth in 2004, fifteenth in 2009, sixteenth in 2014 and seventeenth in 2019. The 2024 polls will be the 18th Lok Sabha election.