Navigating the World's Largest Democratic Exercise: India's 2024 General Election

Abstract

The general election in India in 2024 will be an enormous democratic challenge, requiring the mobilization of enormous human and material resources nationwide to manage an electorate of around 1 billion people and overcome several logistical obstacles. The 2024 elections are expected to surpass all previous records in terms of voter turnout and expenditure, involving an estimated 673 political parties, 1 million polling stations, over 15 million election officials, 5 million voting machines, and lasting 44 days. From the massive numbers of individuals eligible to vote and the number of political parties involved to the specifics of the voting process, the associated expenses, and the possible consequences, this article covers it all. More than 968 million people are entitled to vote, which is over 150 million more than in the 2019 elections. 543 people will be chosen to serve in the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of parliament. Due to the large number of eligible voters, the voting process takes place in seven stages spread out over 28 states and 8 territories, with some areas having to set up remote booths in inaccessible areas including offshore islands, deserts, mountains, and forests. Electronic voting devices were first used in the 1980s and allow voters to record their preferences. The 15 million election authorities in charge of the election in India must meticulously organize the deployment of this technology across the country's varied landscape. As an example of India's dedication to facilitating democratic engagement, they spend days traversing marshes and thick jungles to establish voting stations for as little as a single voter. Voter turnout in the 2024 election is expected to surpass the 67% peak in 2019, indicating a widespread enthusiasm for the political process. But it costs a pretty penny to organize elections for more than 17% of the world's population; estimates for this election cycle put the price tag somewhere between $10 billion and $15 billion. Present prime minister will become the third longest serving leader in India if his Bharatiya Janata Party wins a third consecutive term in office. Given that around 20% of the world's population is of voting age, the result is highly consequential. This study sheds light on the intricate mechanisms that enable the world's largest electorate to exercise their democracy by exploring the various aspects of India's election, such as the number of voters who are 100 years old or the days it took officials to set up remote polling sites. The 2024 general election in India will be an unprecedentedly large-scale and locally consequential event that, if held and concluded well, will demonstrate the power of democratic principles and citizen engagement.