The world's largest democratic event

[Statistikhengst]

I think it would be great if you use this thread to keep us up on how the elections are progressing. Most Americans don't even know that there are more than 170 differing dialects of Hindi, some of them so extremely different from each other that people cannot even understand each other - also an element in Indian electioneering that we Americans don't have to think about.

 

[Vikrant]

I think it would be great if you use this thread to keep us up on how the elections are progressing. Most Americans don't even know that there are more than 170 differing dialects of Hindi, some of them so extremely different from each other that people cannot even understand each other - also an element in Indian electioneering that we Americans don't have to think about.

The country is very diverse for sure. People look different in different corners of the country. The food varies so does clothing. Last but not least, various regional dialects. Yet, the country comes together.

 

[Statistikhengst]

[MENTION=43534]Vikrant[/MENTION] - do you have some links where the current election stats for India are being posted and updated, and also, are there any races that have had some real surprises yet?

 

[eagle1462010]

One citizen.............One vote...............

Voter I.D. card.................

Absolutely.

 

[Statistikhengst]

One citizen.............One vote...............

Voter I.D. card.................

Absolutely.

Yepp. 100% agreement.

 

[Vikrant]

[MENTION=46168]Statistikhengst[/MENTION],

This is the website of Election Commission of India. It is not a very navigation friendly website. It does have some past statistics but I could not find the statistics for current election there.

Election Commission of India

Two opinion polls showed BJP and its allies as the winner of the election. I think it is way too early to forecast the election but it seems like Narendra Modi is going to be the next Prime Minister and this will not come as a surprise because public opinion is strongly against the current administration.

India opposition could clinch election win: opinion polls | Reuters

Election has progressed half way through. Last Thursday was the biggest polling day when 200 million people from 12 states voted. One of the states that voted on Thursday, Karnataka will play key role in deciding the fate of the next Prime Minister, it seems.

BBC News - India election: Voting held on biggest polling day

 

[Vikrant]

For all its failings like poverty and inequality, India’s electoral democracy has stood the test of time and now, even the United Nations is looking to learn from it.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has signed an agreement with the Election Commission of India, allowing officials from 17 countries to visit India during the elections.

“The ultimate purpose is to learn how the election commission conducts free and fair polls using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs),” said a UN official, requesting anonymity.

Election tourism thrives as India votes - Features - Al Jazeera English

 

[Statistikhengst]

[MENTION=46168]Statistikhengst[/MENTION],

This is the website of Election Commission of India. It is not a very navigation friendly website. It does have some past statistics but I could not find the statistics for current election there.

Election Commission of India

Two opinion polls showed BJP and its allies as the winner of the election. I think it is way too early to forecast the election but it seems like Narendra Modi is going to be the next Prime Minister and this will not come as a surprise because public opinion is strongly against the current administration.

India opposition could clinch election win: opinion polls | Reuters

Election has progressed half way through. Last Thursday was the biggest polling day when 200 million people from 12 states voted. One of the states that voted on Thursday, Karnataka will play key role in deciding the fate of the next Prime Minister, it seems.

BBC News - India election: Voting held on biggest polling day

Thanks for the link, I will check it out. Best to you.

-Stat

 

[Vikrant]

[MENTION=46168]Statistikhengst[/MENTION],

This is the website of Election Commission of India. It is not a very navigation friendly website. It does have some past statistics but I could not find the statistics for current election there.

Election Commission of India

Two opinion polls showed BJP and its allies as the winner of the election. I think it is way too early to forecast the election but it seems like Narendra Modi is going to be the next Prime Minister and this will not come as a surprise because public opinion is strongly against the current administration.

India opposition could clinch election win: opinion polls | Reuters

Election has progressed half way through. Last Thursday was the biggest polling day when 200 million people from 12 states voted. One of the states that voted on Thursday, Karnataka will play key role in deciding the fate of the next Prime Minister, it seems.

BBC News - India election: Voting held on biggest polling day

Thanks for the link, I will check it out. Best to you.

-Stat

You are welcome! I will post new updates as soon I get a chance. Also, I need to give you some feedback on the fractal that you posted.

 

[Vikrant]

Tibetan Indians exercise their right to vote in Indian election.

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DHARAMSHALA: Beginning a new chapter in the country's poll history, Tibetan residents in this hill town participated in the democratic process for the first time on Wednesday to elect a member of parliament. As many as 217 Tibetans had enrolled themselves as voters for the Kangra parliamentary seat.

"I am happy to have voted in Indian general elections today. It was an opportunity as well as a learning experience for me. I will be among over 800 million people voting in India. It makes me feel that I have a voice in India now. However, my Tibetan roots and the quest for free Tibet will not change. My next target is to get an Indian passport. It shouldn't be hard now," said Lobsang Wangyal (44), a prominent Tibetan activist. "My voice will now have power and value."

Officials said 150 Tibetans voted at various polling stations. "Tibetans were very excited to have voted. There were 133 Tibetans at our booth who cast their votes by 3pm," said an official at a booth here. Sources said 1,200 people of Tibetan origin had initially registered to vote in Himachal Pradesh, but many failed to meet the conditions. However, after a change in rules, over 40,000 became eligible to vote. In February, the Election Commission had directed all states to include Tibetans in India in the electoral rolls. This followed a 2013 court order that granted Indian citizenship to Tibetan refugees born in India after January 26, 1950.

Over the last 55 years, Tibetans born in India were legally recognized as foreigners and needed permit renewal every year or every five years in some cases. They were not allowed to own land, have jobs and even faced imprisonment for participating in anti-China protests.

But the decision to grant voting rights has divided the exile community. While some have welcomed the move and registered to vote, many see it as a blow to their over 50-year struggle to return to their homeland.

Tibetan Settlement Officer Sonam Dorjee said lack of clarity about enrolling as a voter was mainly responsible for poor enrolment. "Moreover, our aim is not to settle here (in India) permanently. Ultimately, we have to go back to our homeland."

Dorjee said the voter card application process didn't clarify whether surrendering both registration certificate and identity certificate documents to the Indian authorities was necessary or not.

Central Tibetan Administration officials admit the longing to return to their homeland was the main reason discouraging them from enrolling as Indian voters. Tibetan prime minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay has clarified Tibetan in exile in India could apply for Indian citizenship.

Tibetans vote for first time - The Times of India

 

[Vikrant]

[MENTION=46168]Statistikhengst[/MENTION]

It looks like election in India finally concluded. It was a long haul process. Now as the votes are still being counted, the people who are in the business of predicting election results are making their predictions. As I stated earlier, it looks like Modi is going to be the new Prime Minister of India.

The State Department on Monday congratulated India for concluding what were generally seen as free, fair and peaceful elections, and pledged to work constructively with the winners. “The United States, like so many others around the world, has great admiration and respect for the vibrancy, diversity, and resilience of India's democracy,” said spokesperson Jen Psaki. “India continues to play a critical role in advancing prosperity, democracy and stability across the Indo-Pacific region.”

India election could bring inflection point for US, China | Fox News

 

[Vikrant]

Obama personally congratulates India.

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President Barack Obama is congratulating India on its national election and says that country has set an example for the rest of the world.

In a statement, Obama praises India for holding the largest democratic election in history. He's calling it "a vibrant demonstration of our shared values of diversity and freedom."

Obama says the U.S. looks forward to India's formation of a new government after election results come in. He says the U.S. will work closely with India's next government.

Millions of Indian voters are wrapping up a mammoth national election with the final day of polling in three states. With 814 million eligible voters, India has been voting in phases over six weeks, with results expected on Friday.

Obama Praises India for Holding National Election - ABC News

 

[Statistikhengst]

Obama personally congratulates India.

---

President Barack Obama is congratulating India on its national election and says that country has set an example for the rest of the world.

In a statement, Obama praises India for holding the largest democratic election in history. He's calling it "a vibrant demonstration of our shared values of diversity and freedom."

Obama says the U.S. looks forward to India's formation of a new government after election results come in. He says the U.S. will work closely with India's next government.

Millions of Indian voters are wrapping up a mammoth national election with the final day of polling in three states. With 814 million eligible voters, India has been voting in phases over six weeks, with results expected on Friday.

Obama Praises India for Holding National Election - ABC News

I look forward to reading those results.

 

[Vikrant]

[MENTION=46168]Statistikhengst[/MENTION]

Partial results are in. BJP lead National Democratic Alliance won overwhelming majority over Congress led United Progressive Alliance. This sort of clear mandate has not been seen in past four decades.

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The Gandhi dynasty that has dominated Indian politics for the past decade suffered a crushing blow on Friday. Corruption, misguided public policies and government paralysis caused Sonia Gandhi’s Indian National Congress (INC) party to lose more than 57% of its seats in the Parliament. Her son, the handsome jet setter Rahul Gandhi, appeared to be only minimally interested in assuming the reigns of power if Congress and its allies won. It was a long shot from the start. Instead, record voter turnout catapulted the 63 year old Narendra Modi and his BJP party to the helm of an India looking shed its image as a poor, crony capitalist country.

Out of the 543 seats in the lower house of Congress, BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance won 336 of them while Gandhi and her allies kept just 59, their worst electoral rout ever.

Modi, or NaMo as he is called in India, now has a clear mandate to govern. The anti-corruption, pro-development governor of Gujarat state on India’s West Coast is seen by voters and the market as the country’s much-needed change agent. Although he is not officially the Prime Minister, it is without a doubt that BJP will choose him now that they’ve won so many seats in the parliament.

Social media savvy Modi created a virtual “Victory Wall” Friday morning for voters to text, Tweet or post their well wishes on his Facebook page.

Modi seemed poised to win this election from the start, almost as if he was running against himself. From March 4 to the first of May, he racked up over 300,000 miles traveling throughout India while Rahul traveled less than 10,000 miles, according to media reports.

On Indian television, rallies were almost always pro-Modi. It was a wonder the incumbent party even showed up for a fight, because clearly this was no match. For BJP and Modi, it was a knock-out punch in the first round.


Indians are feeling celebratory.

“Dynastic rule ends and democracy prevails in India,” says Vinay Agarwal, 27, a Modi supporter from Hyderabad. ”The most deserved candidate takes the Prime Minister’s chair. He’s gone from tea seller to the PM…amazing,” Agarwal says of Modi’s younger days, when he helped his father and brother run a tea stand at a bus terminal in his home state of Gujarat.

The last three years has seen a marked downturn in India’s approval of Congress and its Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Friday’s election results were a resounding rejection of the way Singh and Gandhi co-managed the country. Even though Singh was highly qualified to run India’s economy, Gandhi was considered the true power behind the throne.

Singh is an economist — while Modi’s adult life has mainly been in politics. But Singh is seen as a failure in India, from an economic standpoint. Modi, on the other hand, is seen as the hero of Gujarat, a politician who helped build up a state devastated by an earthquake in January 2001. The state is now used as a development example.

And India needs development. It is the poorest of the big four emerging markets, with decrepit infrastructure, massive inequality, and a young demographic that wants to a shot at a better life. Modi played to that crowd, and the voters clearly believe him.

In Delhi, Singh and Gandhi were often at odds, which led to policy paralysis for years. Gandhi’s social programs helped alleviate pressure on India’s poor, but led to runaway inflation, especially on food prices. The 2G telecom scandal also hurt Congress, even though party members were not convicted of crimes associated with the national broadband spectrum bribery cases that totaled in the billions of dollars.


“All of this put a huge magnifying glass on the government. Crony capitalism hurt Congress,” says Shaili Chopra, a media personality in Mumbai.

The first order of business for Modi will be green lighting infrastructure projects and tackling corruption once his government is formed later next month.

“The people of India are fed up with the government and demand change,” says Anil Sardana, CEO of Tata Power in Mumbai. “BJP will have to move quickly on infrastructure…particularly when you have competition from China breathing down your neck.”

Investors are as pleased as ever with Modi’s win and his pending mandate in the Parliament. The Wisdom Tree India Earnings (EPI) exchange traded fund rose over 4% in the pre-market on Friday.

In India, Gandhi Dynasty Goes Out In Crushing Defeat - Forbes

 

[Vikrant]

Stocks of Indian companies go up as Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister - Elect.

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HONG KONG (AP) — Indian stocks jumped Friday as preliminary results from national elections indicated the pro-business opposition had won a landslide victory. Other global markets were subdued following lackluster economic indicators.
Indian stocks have been rising since voting in the world's most populous democracy got underway six weeks ago. Investors have been anticipating of a victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies.
Narendra Modi, the party's candidate for prime minister, has campaigned on a pledge to revive economic growth amid widespread dissatisfaction with the ruling Congress party after a decade in power. Full results are expected later Friday.
The Sensex stock index in Mumbai surged in early trading, jumping as much as 6.1 percent to touch an all-time high of 25,375.63, before paring gains. It was 1.3 percent higher at 24,192.77 in afternoon trading. India's currency also strengthened. The dollar fell to 59.05 Indian rupees from 59.46 rupees Thursday.
A Modi victory is "very important for Indian politics, in part because of the much needed reforms" he is expected to implement, said Desmond Chua, analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore.
Reforms would help to improve the business climate in India, where growth has faded because competition has been stifled by rising corruption and elite families control large chunks of the economy, he said.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry applauded Modi's victory. President Sidharth Birla said the business group "hopes that this mandate will help the leadership restore much needed investor confidence, attract higher investments and generate employment."
The world's other stock markets were more subdued, with most other Asian benchmarks finishing flat or lower following a Wall Street sell-off after a batch of mixed reports on the global economy.
European stocks were steady in early trading, with France's CAC 40 down less than 0.1 percent to 4,443.91. Germany's DAX slipped 0.1 percent to 8,648.03 while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.1 percent to 6,850.12.
Futures pointed to a slightly higher open for Wall Street. Dow futures crept up less than 0.1 percent to 16,422.00 and S&P 500 futures rose less than 0.1 percent to 1,867.70.
Japan's led the decline in Asia, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock shedding 1.4 percent to 14,096.59.
South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2 percent to 2,013.44 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.1 percent to 22,712.91. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1 percent to 2,026.50. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 retreated 0.6 percent to 5,479.00.
In currencies, the dollar rose to 101.57 Japanese yen from 101.54 in late trading Thursday. The euro edged lower to $1.3716 from $1.3717.
Oil prices were flat, with benchmark crude for June delivery unchanged at $101.50 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 87 cents to close at $101.50 on Thursday.

India stocks leap as vote count favors Modi win - News-Sentinel.com

 

[Statistikhengst]

Thanks for the helpful info, [MENTION=43534]Vikrant[/MENTION].

 

[Vikrant]

Thanks for the helpful info, [MENTION=43534]Vikrant[/MENTION].

You are welcome!

 

[Vikrant]

A comprehensive criticism of Hinduphobia that was propagated by many western news organizations to influence the election outcome.

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...

Young people in India today, growing up in a rapidly globalizing cultural environment, aspiring perhaps to study or work in other countries, generally disposed favorably towards the United States and the West, and also, for the most part, accustomed to diverse, multi-religious coexistence in India and therefore not inherently hateful to other communities, find a tremendous contradiction between how they see themselves and how they are represented in the global discourse. Young Hindus see themselves as part of a great civilizational heritage, and value it not just for its ancient glory, but also because they see its spirituality as being the core of their civilizational ethic of coexistence and respect for all religions. If Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and so many different kind of Hindus divided by language, custom, caste and history still share a land and history so deeply, they know it is not simply because of India's secular constitution, but because of Hinduism's ancient legacy of respecting all faiths.

...

India v. Hinduphobia: What Narendra Modi's Election as Prime Minister Really Means*|*Vamsee Juluri

 

[peach174]

Looks like Conservatism is on the rise.

India’s conservative opposition party won national elections in a landslide, results showed Friday.
India's Narendra Modi leads conservatives to election day victory - chicagotribune.com

Just like they did in Australia. Both won by a landslide.

Conservatives sweep to Australia election victory

 

[Vikrant]

Looks like Conservatism is on the rise.

India’s conservative opposition party won national elections in a landslide, results showed Friday.
India's Narendra Modi leads conservatives to election day victory - chicagotribune.com

Just like they did in Australia. Both won by a landslide.

Conservatives sweep to Australia election victory

New Australian government is pretty pragmatic. They have made some right foreign policy decisions.