The General
Elections of 2009 was the world’s largest democratic exercise so far. More than
8.3 lakh polling stations, one crore personnel on poll duty (including police
personnel), 46.9 lakh polling staff and 20.9 lakh electronic voting machines
were deployed to enable more than 71.7 crore registered electors to elect 543
representatives from among 8,070 candidates belonging to 363 political parties
at a cost of 846.6 crore rupees to the central Government. These statistics
will increase further in the 2014 General Elections, with more than 81.4 crore
registered electors, 9.19 lakh polling stations and 35.98 lakh electronic
voting machines.
No doubt that
these figures inspire awe and wonder about the phenomenon and conduct of
parliamentary elections of India. But they do not reveal the magnitude of the
efforts undertaken by the election machinery to ensure free, fair and peaceful
conduct of polls in every nook and corner of the vast country that is India, a
country that is marked by huge geographic, climatic as well as demographic
diversity. With the Election Commission required to have a polling station
within 2 km of every voter, polling party consisting of at least five election
workers must traverse jungles, deserts, glaciers and sea to fulfil their
mandate. Further, in some polling stations, these efforts are undertaken to
serve relatively few number of electors.
A case in
point is Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh. In nine polling
stations in this district, polling parties walk between 10 kms and 46 kms on
foot to conduct polls.
|
S. No.
|
Name of Polling Station
|
Total No. of Electors
|
Distance travelled by the
Polling Party
on foot (in kilometres,
2-way)
|
No. of days taken by
Polling parties to
reach PS from HQ
|
Person-kilometres (2-way)
|
Person-kilometres per elector
(2-way)
|
|
1
|
Eyanli
|
67
|
20
|
1
|
100
|
1.5
|
|
2
|
New Aloni
|
51
|
24
|
1
|
120
|
2.4
|
|
3
|
Desali
|
238
|
66
|
2
|
330
|
1.4
|
|
4
|
Churoni
|
26
|
46
|
2
|
230
|
8.8
|
|
5
|
Jambupani
|
32
|
30
|
2
|
150
|
4.7
|
|
6
|
Hukani
|
22
|
44
|
2
|
220
|
10.0
|
|
7
|
Donli
|
100
|
80
|
3
|
400
|
4.0
|
|
8
|
Mitaka
|
33
|
88
|
3
|
440
|
13.3
|
|
9
|
Dopowa
|
18
|
92
|
3
|
460
|
25.6
|
Thus, polling
personnel expend the effort of travelling up to 25.6 person-kilometres for one
elector in Dopowa polling station. Such is the effort put in by the
administration to enable every eligible elector to exercise his/her democratic
right to vote.
RM