THE TIMING OF VOTING: Deepak Budki (IPoS-Retd)

THE TIMING OF VOTING

Everybody is complaining about the timing of voting in the 2024 elections in India. On the one hand, the Election Commission of India wants maximum voter turnout while on the other hand, the temperature has been soaring beyond 45 degrees Celsius (feels like 55 degrees). 

A question arises whether this election could have been held a month or two earlier. A peep into the past shows that Narendra Modi took over the charge as PM of India on 26 May 2014 for the first time while the elections were held from 07 April to 12 May 2014, and on 30 May 2019 as 16th PM of India for the second time while the elections were held from 01 April to 19 May 2019 and the results declared on 23 May 2019. This necessitates that the next duly elected government must be ready to take over charge before 30 May 2024.

India is a vast country with approximately 140 crore population having about 70% population eligible for voting and comprises different topographic regions. The climate varies widely in these regions. The areas in the foothills of the Himalayas such as Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Darjeeling etc remain cool during the summers and become hotspots for tourists to visit and ward off the heat of the plains. The temperature on average remains between 25-30 degrees. Even Bengaluru in Karnataka remains cooler than adjoining areas. On the contrary, the mercury in the Indo-Gangetic plains and the Deccan plateau touches more than 40 degrees. The temperature in these areas starts rising in March end. Hence it would be better that elections in the latter areas should be held first and that in the former areas could be held later and preferably the process should be completed by April at the most. 

Now coming to the schedule of the elections held in 2024. The election was held in 7 phases spread over 3 months as follows: 19 April, 26 April, 07 May, 13 May, 20 May, 25 May and 01 June and the result is expected to be announced on 14 June 2024. Simultaneously the assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim have been held. The people whosoever voted braved the scorching sun overhead besides those who had to man the voting booths and the security personnel who were required to perform duties in the open and directly under the sun. While mass media have shown some enthusiastic people, old and young, coming out of their homes to cast their vote, the fact remains that the voting percentage remained around 60 per cent and 40 per cent of people did not come out to vote. Was it due to the general apathy towards the existing parliamentary system or due to the forbidding temperatures which did not permit them to come out of their cosy homes, no one can say with certainty. This is even though the Central Election Commission left no stone unturned to woo the voters to come out and vote besides providing extra facilities for old and handicapped personnel. Even the mass media and some private sector companies helped in this regard by regularly advertising on the TV and in newspapers enticing voters not to miss their right to vote.

In the background of what has been said I feel that the Election Commission and the Government were not sincere enough to mitigate the troubles of the people. There were two options for the aforesaid agencies. One was that the Government could have resigned a month earlier and continued holding charge till the next government was elected. One month would not have made the heavens fall. The other option was that the Election Commission could have spread the election schedule between March and April (say 04 Mar, 11 Mar, 18 Mar, 01 April, 12 April, 18 April, and 26 Apr with results on 30 April 2024). This would allow the next government to take over on 30 May 2024 as required or earlier if they so wished. The elections in the plains and Southern peninsula could have been held on earlier dates while those of the cooler areas as discussed earlier could have been conducted in later phases. As a result, the dependence on the climate would have been reduced if not eliminated. 

Anyway, I hope the Election Commission takes cognisance of the above suggestions for the future and keeps in mind the lives of the voters and the supplementary staff assisting in the polls.

 

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