Billed as the country’s biggest festival, the Lok Sabha election is an exercise of unmatched scale to elect India’s next government. It is without parallel for the sheer numbers involved: 900 million electors visiting over 10.35 lakh polling stations to exercise their cherished right to vote, across seven phases of voting in 2019. The Election Commission cannot afford to let anything go wrong, and each vote is sacrosanct. An army of officials drafted for the massive exercise must ensure that the electronic voting machines and the voter verified paper audit trail devices are all safely delivered to these polling stations and kept in working order. That can sometimes involve an uphill climb, animal transport or boat transfers across picturesque rivers to reach a couple of hundred voters in a remote segment.
The EC launched a GOTV — Get Out The Vote — blitz, splashing the message urging citizens to ensure a full turnout, on boats, railway compartments and posters in Metro rail coaches. Other campaigners had their own pitches, some adding a dash of ethnic colour. As things moved into high gear, it was not sunny days everywhere. Officials had to shield themselves with just a plastic wrap on a boat as they moved to their positions in rain. Elsewhere, their colleagues braved the scorching sun to reach the citizen. In the end, it was all about what Jawaharlal Nehru called the “reflection of the will of the people”, made possible by the universal vote to choose the rulers.
Text by G. Ananthakrishnan
Boundless energy: Echoes of the election bounce off the sea as fishermen of Pamban in Tamil Nadu deck their boats with awareness posters.
Train of thought: Folk artists stage a performance on election awareness as the Kerala Express halts at Vijayawada station.
Poll barge: Officials carry EVMs to a remote river island on the Brahmaputra on April 22, the eve of the third phase of election in Kamrup (Rural) district of Assam.
To the peak: Scaling the Jarugumalai hills in Salem district of Tamil Nadu with EVMs and other materials to a booth on April 17.
Mule train: Donkeys haul polling units to Kotturmalai in the Pennagaram constituency in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu on April 17. The hamlet, located 600 m above sea level, has 341 voters.
Come rain or shine: Security personnel on election duty shield themselves from rain as they cross the Brahmaputra off the Nimati ghat in Jorhat district of Assam.
Thinking caps: The caps, called jaapi, worn by women workers of tea plantations in Assam read, ‘18 April, the big festival of democracy in Hailakandi’.
Solo campaign: Social activist Anand Kumar on a voter awareness drive on Kasi Chetty Street in Chennai.