Main article: Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body established by the Constitution of India empowered to conduct free and fair elections in India. The Election commission is headed by a Chief Election Commissioner and consists of two other Election Commissioners.

At the states and union territories, the Election Commission is assisted by the Chief Electoral Officer of the state or union territory (CEO), who leads the election machinery in the states and union territories. At the district and constituency levels, the District Magistrates/District Collectors (in their capacity as District Election Officers), Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers perform election work.

The Election Commission operates under the powers granted by Article 324 of the Constitution and subsequently enacted Representation of the People Act. The state election commissions are responsible for conducting local body elections in the respective states. The election commission decides the dates for the filing of nominations, voting, counting and announcement of results.

A law for the registration process for political parties was enacted in 1989. The registration ensures that the political parties are recognized as national, state and regional parties. The election commission has the right to allot symbols to the political parties depending on the status. The same symbol cannot be allocated to two political parties even if they do not contest in the region.

The commission prepares electoral rolls and updates the voter list. To prevent electoral fraud, Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) were introduced in 1993. However certain legal documents such as ration cards have been allowed for voting in certain situations.

"One Nation, One Election" is an initiative proposed in India to synchronize the schedules of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and state legislative assembly elections. The concept aims to conduct simultaneous elections for both central and state governments, a practice that was prevalent until 1967. Advocates argue that this approach would significantly reduce the burden on the public exchequer, minimize the disruption caused by frequent elections, and ensure more consistent policy implementation. However, it faces challenges, such as the logistical complexities of conducting elections on such a large scale and concerns over the potential impact on the federal structure of governance. The proposal continues to spark significant debate among political parties, constitutional experts, and the general public in India.^[14][15]

Simultaneous elections were common in India until 1967, but the practice ended due to the premature dissolution of some state assemblies and the Lok Sabha in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The idea has been periodically revisited, with significant push in recent years from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

For other political parties, see List of political parties in India. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in India.

Political Parties in India

[edit]

When compared to other democracies, India has had a large number of political parties during its history under democratic governance. It has been estimated that over 200 parties were formed after India became independent in 1947.As per latest publications dated 23 March 2024 from Election Commission of India, and subsequent notifications, there are 6 national parties, 57 state parties, and 2,764 registered unrecognized parties. All registered parties contesting elections need to choose a symbol from a list of available symbols offered by the EC.

Types of political parties

[edit]

Main article: List of political parties in India

Every political party in India, whether a national or regional/state party, must have a symbol and must be registered with the Election Commission of India. Symbols are used in the Indian political system to identify political parties in part so that illiterate people can vote by recognizing the party symbols.^[16]

In the current amendment to the Symbols Order, the commission has asserted the following five principles:^[17]

1. A party, national or state, must have a legislative presence.
2. A national party's legislative presence must be in the Lok Sabha. A state party's legislative presence must be in the State Assembly.
3. A party can set up a candidate only from amongst its own members.
4. A party that loses its recognition shall not lose its symbol immediately but shall be allowed to use that symbol for some time to try and retrieve its status. However, the grant of such facility to the party will not mean the extension of other facilities to it, as are available to recognized parties, such as free time on Doordarshan or AIR, free supply of copies of electoral rolls, etc.
5. Recognition should be given to a party only on the basis of its own performance in elections and not because it is a splinter group of some other recognized party

A political party shall be eligible to be recognized as a national party if:^[17]

1. it secures at least six percent (6%) of the valid votes polled in any four or more states, at a general election to the Lok Sabha or, to the State Legislative Assembly; and .
2. in addition, it wins at least four seats in the House of the People from any State or States.
3. or it wins at least two percent (2%) seats in the House of the People (i.e. 11 seats in the existing House having 543 members), and these members are elected from at least three different states.

Six national political parties are - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of lndia (Marxist) (CPI-M), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and National People's Party (NPP).