The first vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be cast less than 20 days from today and 968 million people will participate in this exercise, which is more than double the population of United States of America.
Out of these, 18 million are first time voters in the age group of 18 to 19 years. These elections are far from a contest between even-stevens and cynics speak with certitude that the results are a foregone conclusion.
But even among such claims, there are several uncertainties that we will take a closer look at. Will the BJP really cross the 370 mark that it has set for itself? How will the Congress fare in the Hindi heartland where it is on a decline? Can the BJP allies really deliver their part of the bargain? And what about the complicated maths of Maharashtra?
At the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, the INDIA bloc leaders raised questions on fairness of the electoral process. Can democracy survive when such questions are being raised? The questions are endless, and we’ll try to answer some of them.
But in this first episode of our new election special, Election360, we will take you to Tamil Nadu and specifically to the battle of Coimbatore. The BJP has named its dynamic State president Annamalai as its candidate and it is one of the intriguing battles to watch out for.
We will be joined by our senior deputy editor KV Prasad, the Coimbatore’s bureau chief.
Script and presentation: Sobhana K. Nair
Production: Shikha Kumari
