1. This English word comes from the Latin root which means “white or pure”, and Romans seeking to be elected to the senate used to wear white robes signifying their 'honesty'. Till date our parliamentarians follow the same principle (of wearing white that is, not necessarily honesty). What word used in election terminology arises from the same?
2. The very first time Sikkim participated in a general election was in 1977. Chatra Bahadur Chhetri of the Indian National Congress was elected MP unopposed. Why was no election held till then?
3. The word 'cubicle' originally meant a room to lie down in Latin but now conjures up images of IT employees coding away. Cubicle shares the same Latin root “cumbere” (lie down) as this word, which keeps coming up during elections and usually signifies that the person in question is a little too comfortable with their position. What word?
4. The Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited [MPVL] was started in 1937 by the Maharaja of Mysore, for manufacturing paints and other related products and became a public sector company when India gained independence in 1947. More than 300 million in India and many more in Afghanistan and Cambodia have been recipients of their flagship product. Which is what?
5. This gentleman’s real name is not as famous as his wife’s and though he may be remembered for churning out detective novels and science fiction screenplays, he also played a very important role in the development of a certain now indispensible part of the Indian Election System. Who is this and what did he do?
6. Till date, which is the only national political party to have contested all the Indian general elections using the same electoral symbol?
7. This electoral option is available as standard in Greece, Ukraine, Spain, Colombia, the US state of Nevada and India. Russia abolished the option in 2006 and Pakistan had it for one year in 2013. Usually if this option does get chosen it means different processes for different countries, ranging from vacant positions to doing the whole thing again. But only in Nevada and India it means absolutely nothing. If this option gets chosen, then the next option automatically gets chosen. What is this option?
8. Which is the only American state that allows its citizens to be able to vote from outer space and why?
9. During the 1828 American Presidential campaign, followers of incumbent president John Quincy Adams called opposing candidate Andrew Jackson a “Jackass” because of his populist beliefs and slogan, “Let the people rule.” (Apparently sledging has been a tradition in US elections since long before the currently concluded one). What tradition was borne of this off-hand remark?
10. Parliamentary elections are held every five years in this country, but each district has only one candidate, and voters who wish to dissent must do so in public, using a special ballot box in front of electoral officers. This ensures nobody actually dissents. The elections are mostly held as a form of census taking, hence, voting is compulsory. Voting rolls are checked against village population lists, and citizens who don't appear on both are severely punished. The last election, in 2014, had 99.97% turnout—which was actually down from 99.98% in the 2009 election. Which country is this?
A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock ballad called ‘Coffee is a drink, kaapi is an emotion’.
