Indian General Election 2009

Incumbent Prime MinisterManmohan SinghUPA

Prime Minister-designateManmohan Singh

UPA

‹ 2004 2014 ›

Indian general election, 2009All 543 seats in the Lok Sabha

April 16, April 22/23, April 30, May 7 and May 13, 2009First party Second party

Leader Manmohan Singh Lal Krishna AdvaniParty UPA NDALeader's seat Assam

(Rajya Sabha)Gandhinagar

Seats won 261 158Seat change 43 -23Percentage 48.06% 29.09%Swing +12.66% -4.21%

India

This article is part of the series:Politics and government of

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Constitution of IndiaFundamental Rights

Indian general election, 2009From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

India held general elections—the largestdemocratic election in the world—to the 15th LokSabha in five phases on April 16, April 22/23, April30, May 7 and May 13, 2009. The results of theelection were announced on May 16, 2009.[1]

According to the Indian Constitution, elections inIndia for the Lok Sabha (the lower house) must beheld at least every five years under normalcircumstances. With the last elections held in 2004,the term of the 14th Lok Sabha expires on June 1,2009.

The election was conducted by the ElectionCommission of India, which estimates an electorateof 714 million voters, an increase of 43 million overthe 2004 election. During the budget presented inFebruary 2009, Rs.1,120 Crores (€176 million) wasbudgeted for election expenses.[2]

Three Indian states—Andhra Pradesh, Orissa andSikkim also conducted elections to their respectivelegislative assemblies.

On May 16, 2009, after poor showing in earlytrends that showed Indian National Congress andthe United Progressive Alliance, with 250+ seats,Bharatiya Janata Party conceded defeat, andacknowledged that they could not be the singlelargest party or a single largest alliance.[3]

After a surprising showing in Uttar Pradesh, WestBengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, theUPA was given a mandate, and the Indian National Congress are set to form thegovernment under the incumbent prime minister candidate Manmohan Singh, whois the first Prime Minister of India since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 to win re-electionafter serving a full five-year term.[4][5]

The results not only showed defeat of the National Democratic Alliance, led by theBJP, but it also showed one of the worst performance from the Left Front, whowere hoping to create a non-Congress, non-BJP government through the ThirdFront. Due to the unexpected losses from the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, and theTDP and allies in Andhra Pradesh, and a sweep from Congress in Kerala and a bigvictory for Congress and its ally Trinamool Congress, in West Bengal, the ThirdFront along with the Left Front did not prove to be a factor in this election.

Contents

1 Results

Union Government

Indian general election, 2009 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_general_election,_2009

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ExecutivePresident

Vice PresidentPrime Minister

The Cabinet

ParliamentRajya Sabha

The Chairman Lok Sabha

The Speaker

JudiciarySupreme Court of India

Chief Justice of IndiaHigh Courts

District Courts

Election CommissionChief Election Commissioner

National PartiesState Parties

National CoalitionsLeft Front

National Democratic AllianceUnited Progressive Alliance

GovernorState Legislature

Vidhan SabhaVidhan Parishad

Panchayat

Other countries · Politics PortalGovernment of India Portal

1.1 Indian election at a glance1.2 Results by alliance1.3 Results by states and territories

2 2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence3 Electoral Constituencies4 Voting infrastructure

4.1 Electronic voting machines4.2 Polling stations4.3 Electoral rolls

5 Polling schedule5.1 Background5.2 Detailed polling schedule for each Phase5.3 Polling schedule for each state/UT

6 Election Day6.1 Phase 1 – April 16, 20096.2 Phase 2 – April 22, 2009 & April 23, 2009

7 Prime ministerial candidates7.1 United Progressive Alliance7.2 National Democratic Alliance

8 Campaigning8.1 United Progressive Alliance8.2 National Democratic Alliance8.3 Communist Party of India (Marxist)8.4 Campaign controversies

8.4.1 Indian National Congress8.4.2 Janata Dal (United)8.4.3 Bharatiya Janata Party8.4.4 Rashtriya Janata Dal8.4.5 Samajwadi Party

9 Coalition members9.1 United Progressive Alliance

9.1.1 Constituents

9.2 National Democratic Alliance9.2.1 Constituents9.2.2 Constituents

9.3 Others

10 Opinion polling10.1 Pre-poll surveys10.2 Exit polls

11 The Counting Day12 The Final Result13 References14 External links

Results

Indian election at a glance

Eligible voters: 714 million votersPolling centres: 828,804Voting days: 16, 23, 30 April; 7, 13 MayVote counting: 16 May[6]

Elections

Political Parties

Local & State Govt.


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Results by alliance

Summary of the 20/26 April and 5/10 May Lok Sabha of India election resultsAnnounced results: 541/543 Pending: 2/543

As of May 17, 2009 5:00PM ISTSources: [2] (http://eciresults.nic.in/PartyWiseSeats.pdf) [3] (http://ibnlive.in.com/politics

/loksabhafinal/plist.php)

Alliances Party Seats won Change

United Progressive AllianceSeats: 260Seat Change: +79

Indian National Congress 205 +60

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 18 +2

Nationalist Congress Party 9 -

All India Trinamool Congress 19 +17

National Conference 3 +1

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 2 -3

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen 1 -

Republican Party of India (Athvale) - -

Indian Union Muslim League 2 +1

Kerala Congress (Mani) 1 +1

National Democratic AllianceSeats: 159Seat Change: -17

Bharatiya Janata Party 116 -22

Janata Dal (United) 20 +12

Shiv Sena 11 -1

Rashtriya Lok Dal 5 +2

Shiromani Akali Dal 4 -4

Asom Gana Parishad 1 -1

Indian National Lok Dal - -

Telangana Rashtra Samithi 2 -3

Third FrontSeats: 78Seat Change: -27

Left Front 24 -29

Bahujan Samaj Party 21 +2

Biju Janata Dal 14 +3

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 9 +9

Telugu Desam Party 6 +1

Janata Dal (Secular) 3 -

Haryana Janhit Congress 1 +1

Pattali Makkal Katchi - -

Fourth FrontSeats: 26Seat Change: -38

Samajwadi Party 22 -14

Rashtriya Janata Dal 4 -20

Lok Janshakti Party 0 -4

Other PartiesSeats: 18 18 -

Source: Election Commission of India

Results by states and territories


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State(# of seats) Party Seats

won% ofvotes Alliance

Andhra Pradesh(42)

Indian National Congress 34 United ProgressiveAlliance

Telugu Desam Party 6 Third Front

Telangana Rashtra Samithi 1 National DemocraticAlliance

All India Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen 1 United Progressive

Alliance

Others 0 None

Arunachal Pradesh(2)


Arunachal Congress 0 National DemocraticAlliance

Bharatiya Janata Party 0 National DemocraticAlliance

Assam(14)



Assam United Democratic Front 1 None

Asom Gana Parishad 1 National DemocraticAlliance

Others 1 None

Bihar(40)

Janata Dal (United) 20 National DemocraticAlliance


Rashtriya Janata Dal 4 Fourth Front


Others 2 None

Chhattisgarh(11)



Others 0 None

Goa(2)



Others 0 None

Gujarat(26)



Others 0 None


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Haryana(10)


Haryana Janhit Congress 1 Third Front

Others 0 National DemocraticAlliance

Himachal Pradesh(4)



Others 0 NoneJammu & Kashmir

(6)Jammu & Kashmir NationalConference 3 United Progressive

Alliance


Independent 1 None

Others 0 National DemocraticAlliance

Jharkhand(14)


Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 2 United ProgressiveAlliance


Others 3 None

Karnataka(28)



Janata Dal (Secular) 3 Third FrontOthers 0 None

Kerala(20)


Left Front 4 Third Front

Indian Union Muslim League 2 United ProgressiveAlliance

Others 1 United ProgressiveAlliance (1)

Madhya Pradesh(29)



Bahujan Samaj Party 1 Third Front

Others 0 None

Maharashtra(48)


Shiv Sena 11 National DemocraticAlliance


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Nationalist Congress Party 8 United ProgressiveAlliance

Others 3 None

Manipur(2)


Others 0 None

Meghalaya(2)


Nationalist Congress Party 1 United ProgressiveAlliance

Others 0 None

Mizoram(1)


Others 0 None

Nagaland(1)

Nagaland People's Front 1 NoneOthers 0 None

Orissa(21)

Biju Janata Dal 14 Third Front


Communist Party of India 1 Third Front


Others 0 None

Punjab(13)


Shiromani Akali Dal 4 National DemocraticAlliance


Others 0 None

Rajasthan(25)



Others 1 None

Sikkim(1)

Sikkim Democratic Front 1 NoneOthers 0 None

Tamil Nadu(39)

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 18 United ProgressiveAlliance

All India Anna Dravida MunnetraKazhagam 9 Third Front



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Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi 2 United ProgressiveAlliance

Marumalarchi Dravida MunnetraKazhagam 1 None (ally of AIADMK+)

Left Front 1 Third FrontPattali Makkal Katchi 0 Third Front


Others 0 None

Tripura(2)

Communist Party of India(Marxist) 2 Third Front


Others 0 None

Uttar Pradesh(80)

Samajwadi Party 23 Fourth Front


Bahujan Samaj Party 20 Third Front


Rashtriya Lok Dal 5 National DemocraticAlliance

Others 1 None

Uttarakhand(5)



Others 0 None

West Bengal(42)

All India Trinamool Congress 19 United ProgressiveAlliance

Left Front 15 Third Front



Socialist Unity Centre of India 1 United ProgressiveAlliance

Territory(# of seats) Party Seats

won% ofVotes Alliance

Andaman & NicobarIslands

(1)



Others 0 None

Chandigarh Indian National Congress 1 United ProgressiveAlliance


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(1) Bharatiya Janata Party 0 National DemocraticAlliance

Others 0 None

Dadra & Nagar Haveli(1)



Others 0 None

Daman & Diu(1)



Others 0 None

Delhi(7)



Others 0 None

Lakshadweep(1)



Others 0 None

Puducherry(1)


Pattali Makkal Katchi 0 Third FrontOthers 0 None

2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence

The UPA faced its first confidence vote in the Lok Sabha on 22 July 2008 after the CPI (M)-led Left Front withdrewsupport over India's approaching the IAEA for the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement. In the 543-member LokSabha, the UPA needed 272 votes for the government to enjoy a simple majority. The UPA won the confidence votewith 275 votes to the opposition's 256 (10 members abstained from the vote) to record a 19-vote victory. Thegovernment's winning the vote of confidence proved crucial, since this allowed Manmohan Singh to finish his fullterm.

Electoral Constituencies

When announcing the elections on March 2, 2009, the Election Commission of India also announced that 499 out ofthe total 543 Parliamentary constituencies will see elections conducted on the basis of the newly delimitedconstituencies as determined by the Delimitation Commission set up under the Delimitation Act, 2002. This includesthe NCT of Delhi, the Union Territory of Puducherry and all the states except Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu &Kashmir, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland.[7]

Voting infrastructure

Electronic voting machines


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The election was conducted using Electronic voting machines (EVM), as was done with the 2004 election. Therewere 1,368,430 voting machines available across the country.

The complete EVM consists mainly of two units – (a) Control Unit and (b) Balloting Unit with cable for connecting itwith Control unit. A Balloting Unit caters to up to 16 candidates. Four Balloting Units linked together catering in allto 64 candidates can be used with one control unit. The control unit is kept with the Presiding Officer and theBalloting Unit is used by the voter for polling.

The Balloting Unit of EVM is a small box-like device, on top of which each candidate and his/her election symbol islisted like a big ballot paper. Against each candidate's name, a red LED and a blue button is provided. The voter pollshis vote by pressing the blue button against the name of his desired candidate.

Polling stations

There were 828,804 polling stations in the country, a 20% increase over the 2004 election. This was done mainly toavoid vulnerability to threat and intimidation, geographical barriers and to reduce the distance travelled by voters.[7]

The CEC also announced that the polling station in Banej village in the Una segment of Junagadh Lok Sabhaconstituency, Gujarat had the unique claim to being the only polling station in the country that catered to a singleelector – Guru Shree Bharatdasji Bapu, a priest of a Shiva temple in the middle of the Gir Forest.[8]

Electoral rolls

The electoral rolls had to be completely updated because of the delimitation that took effect from 2008. The processof updating the electoral rolls continued until the last date of filing nominations. 714 million people were eligible tovote in 2009, up 6.4% (43 million) from 2004.

This election also saw almost the entire country (except Assam, Nagaland and Jammu & Kashmir) use photo electoralrolls. This meant that photos of the electors were printed on the electoral rolls which was intended to facilitate easyidentification and prevent impersonation.

In addition to the photo electoral rolls, the electors also needed to provide separate photo identification. Thoseelectors who had already been issued Electoral's Photo Identification Cards (EPIC) were only permitted to use theEPIC for identification at the polling station. According to the EC, 82% of the country's electors (except those inAssam) have been issued EPIC. [7]

Polling schedule


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got together on March 2, 2009 to announce the details of the general election.

Subsequently, the President's House announced on March 4, 2009 that the incumbent CEC N. Gopalaswami wouldretire as scheduled on April 20, 2009 and Navin Chawla would take over as CEC starting April 21, 2009.[15] For thefirst time in the history of Indian politics, two different people will oversee different phases of the same election.[16]

Detailed polling schedule for each Phase

Detailed Schedule for 2009 General Elections

Poll Event

PhasesPhase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5

Phase2A

Phase2B

Phase3A

Phase3B

Phase3C

Phase5A

Phase5B

Announcement & Issuesof Press Notes Mon, 02 Mar

Issue of Notification Mon, 23Mar Sat, 28 Mar Thu, 02 Apr Sat, 11

Apr Fri, 17 Apr

Last Date for filingNominations

Mon, 30Mar Sat, 04 Apr Thu, 09 Apr Sat, 18

Apr Fri, 24 Apr

Scrutiny of Nominations Tue, 31Mar Mon, 06 Apr Sat, 11

Apr Fri, 10 Apr Mon, 20Apr Sat, 25 Apr

Last Date for Withdrawalof Candidature

Thu, 02Apr Wed, 08 Apr Mon, 13

AprWed, 15

AprMon, 13

AprWed, 22

AprMon, 27

AprTue, 28

Apr

Date of Poll Thu, 16Apr

Wed, 22Apr

Thu, 23Apr Thu, 30 Apr Thu, 7

May Wed, 13 May

Counting of Votes Sat, 16 MayDate before whichelection shall beCompleted

Thu, 28 May

Number of States & UTs 17 1 12 6 1 4 8 8 1Number of

ParliamentaryConstituencies

124 1 140 77 1 29 85 72 14

Source: [7]

Polling schedule for each state/UT


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Polling schedule for each State/UT in 2009 General Elections

States/UTs Constituencies Phases

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4

16Apr Turnout[17] 22/23

Apr Turnout[17] 30Apr Turnout[18] 7

May Turnout[19

Andaman &NicobarIslands

1 1 1 64.15% - - -

AndhraPradesh 42 2 22 69.75% 20 75.50% - -

ArunachalPradesh 2 1 2 65.00% - - -

Assam 14 2 3 67.61% 11 70.06% - -Bihar 40 4 13 43.21% 13 45.83% 11 46.12% 3 37.00%Chandigarh 1 1 - - - -

Chhattisgarh 11 1 11 58.19% - - -Dadra & NagarHaveli 1 1 - - 1 73.22% -

Daman & Diu 1 1 - - 1 71.85% -Delhi 7 1 - - - 7 51.79%

Goa 2 1 - 2 55.42% - -Gujarat 26 1 - - 26 47.92% -Haryana 10 1 - - - 10 67.67%

HimachalPradesh 4 1 - - - -

Jammu &Kashmir 6 5 1 49.68% 1 44.73% 1 26.43% 1 25.38%

Jharkhand 14 2 6 51.16% 8 48.86% - -Karnataka 28 2 - 17 60.00% 11 58.48% -

Kerala 20 1 20 73.33% - - -Lakshadweep 1 1 1 86.10% - - -

MadhyaPradesh 29 2 - 13 51.39% 16 51.22% -

Maharashtra 48 3 13 55.74% 25 49.18% 10 41.24% -Manipur 2 2 1 83.70% 1 75.50% - -

Meghalaya 2 1 2 64.40% - - -Mizoram 1 1 1 50.93% - - -

Nagaland 1 1 1 90.21% - - -Orissa 21 2 10 64.90% 11 62.00% - -

Puducherry 1 1 - - - -Punjab 13 2 - - - 4 72.78%Rajasthan 25 1 - - - 25 48.50%

Sikkim 1 1 - - 1 82.00% -Tamil Nadu 39 1 - - - -

Tripura 2 1 - 2 83.91% - -


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Uttar Pradesh 80 5 16 45.37% 17 45.48% 15 46.12% 18 48.00%Uttarakhand 5 1 - - - -

West Bengal 42 3 - - 14 80.71% 17 82.60%Total

Constituencies 543 12459.07%

14156.66%

10752.12%

8552.32%

Total States/UTs polling on this day 17 13 11 8States/UTs Constituencies

Number of States & UTs polling in singlephase 22 164

Number of States & UTs polling in twophases 8 163

Number of States & UTs polling in threephases 2 90

Number of States & UTs polling in fourphases 1 40

Number of States & UTs polling in fivephases 2 86

Total 35 543

Source: [7]

Election Day

Phase 1 – April 16, 2009

The first phase of the 2009 election took place on Thursday, April 16 with elections in 124 constituencies across 15states and 2 union territories. There were incidents of violence in a few places in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar,Jharkhand and Maharashtra and between 17 to 19 people were killed in Naxal attacks.[21] The dead included fivepoll officials and 10 security personnel, whose families received a compensation of Rs 10 lakh.[22] Naxals set fire tovoting machines, attacked voters, security personnel and polling workers, and destroyed vehicles.[23][24] Accordingto one news source, "It was apparent that the Naxals had clearly planned to disrupt the polls."[23]

Despite these incidents, the ECI expressed satisfaction about the conduct of the polls due to peaceful polling in manyother parts of the country. Initial reports from the ECI place the voter turnout for this phase at approximately60 percent. This phase of the election was held in 1.85 lakh (185,000) polling stations, serving an electorate of over14.31 crore (143,100,000) deciding the fate of 1,715 candidates.[25][26]

The ECI ordered repoll in 46 polling booths across 7 of the states where polling took place in the first phase. Theseinclude 29 polling booths in Andhra Pradesh, 5 each in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, 3 in Nagaland, 2 in Kerala and1 each in Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. The repoll in all these polling booths were held on April 18, 2009.[27]

One of the positive stories emerging from this phase of election was from Kandhamal district, where refugees of the2008 Kandhamal riots came out in huge numbers to exercise their franchise. It is estimated that there was a turnout of90% amongst Kandhamal refugees and 50% across the entire district. The administration had earlier identified largeparts of the area as naxal affected and vulnerable. Hence, the administration had deployed extra security in the areaand the ECI has arranged for special transport to shuttle the refugees from the refugee camps to the polling booths.Both of these actions helped achieve the high turnout.[28]

Phase 2 – April 22, 2009 & April 23, 2009

The second phase of the 2009 election was spread across Wednesday, April 22 (Phase 2A) and Thursday, April 23


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(Phase 2B). Phase 2A saw election in a single constituency in Manipur as it was a state holiday on April 23.[7]

According to the EC, the election in Manipur in Phase 2A was peaceful and witnessed a voter turnout of about62%[29]. Following the election, though, the CPI and MPP have alleged vote rigging by Congress workers during thepolls in Phase 2A.The MPP claimed that the Congress workers captured 11 booths in the Andro Assembly segment ofImphal East.[30]

Phase 2B saw polling in 12 states for 140 constituencies – the most in any phase of this election. This phase waslargely peaceful and saw about 55% turnout. There were stray incidents of violence in areas with active Naxalitegroups in Jharkhand and Bihar.[31] The poor turnout in this phase was blamed on a heat wave sweeping the countrythat took the noon-time temperature on election day up to between 42 and 46 degrees Celsius in various parts of thecountry.[32] Two polling officials even died due to sun stroke in Orissa.[33]

Prime ministerial candidates

Each of the party coalitions has indicated their choice for prime minister, should they win a majority to form agovernment.

United Progressive Alliance

Following the August 2008 confidence vote victory for the current government, a statement by Indian NationalCongress President Sonia Gandhi has caused speculation that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be projected asthe Prime Ministerial candidate in the next elections.[34] Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar hasindicated that he is also a possible Prime Ministerial candidate post elections.[35] On January 24, 2009, ManmohanSingh underwent cardiac bypass surgery at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.[36] Following thesurgery, speculation of alternate PM candidates arose both within the Congress and amongst coalition partners. In anattempt to quell such speculations, Sonia Gandhi on February 6, 2009, wrote in the Congress party magazine Sandeshthat Manmohan Singh is the UPA coalition's Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2009 elections.[37]

National Democratic Alliance

The main opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its coalition partners in the National Democratic Alliance,announced on December 11, 2007, that their candidate for prime minister would be BJP party leader Lal KrishnaAdvani,[38] the Leader of the Opposition. On January 23, 2008, leaders from BJP and other NDA parties convened toofficially elect him their candidate.[39] No other party or alliance has announced a prime ministerial candidate.

Campaigning


The Congress party has bought the rights for the Oscar winning soundtrack Jai Ho from the movie SlumdogMillionaire and this song will be used as the official campaign tune by the party. The song title Jai Ho translates toLet there be victory, and the Congress hopes that this popular song will galvanise the masses during the almost onemonth long election season.[40]

On March 24, 2009, Congress President Sonia Gandhi released the party's manifesto for the 2009 election.[41] Theparty's slogan for the election is Aam Admi Ke Badthe Kadam, Har Kadam Par Bharat Buland which roughlytranslates to The common man moves forward, And with his every step India prospers. The manifesto highlights allthe achievements of the UPA Government over the last five years in power and identifies improving various policiesto favour more rural & under-privileged sections of the Indian society. The full text of the manifesto is available atthe Congress website.[42]



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To counter the Congress' selection of Jai Ho as their official anthem, the BJP coined the phrase Kushal Neta,Nirnayak Sarkaar which translates to Able leader, decisive government. The BJP hope to benefit from the fact thatthey have been consistently projecting one single leader, Advani, as the party's Prime Ministerial candidate for morethan one year, while the Congress appears to have dual power centres (party President Sonia Gandhi and incumbentPrime Minister Manmohan Singh). The BJP intends to use Advani's name & image as the main focus in theseelections.[43]

On April 3, 2009, BJP released its election manifesto in New Delhi.[44] The party is taking on the incumbent UPAGovernment on the 3 fronts of Good Governance, Development and Security. The manifesto highlights all thedifferent NDA policies that the UPA reversed over the last five years. The manifesto lays a lot of importance onrequiring strong, POTA-like anti-terrorism laws and vows to make India a safer place if the BJP is elected. The fulltext of the manifesto is available at the BJP website.[45]

Communist Party of India (Marxist)

The CPI(M) has created a campaign website hosting its campaign information to attract sympathisers among thenetizen public to vote for the party.[46][47]

Campaign controversies

Indian National Congress

The Election Commission took exception to a full page advertisement on the 2010 Commonwealth Gamestaken out in major Delhi newspapers. The advertisement listed the infrastructural facilities that have come up inpreparation for the 2010 event – including 24 flyovers, 75 aerobridge airport, 1,285 km of better roads, 5,000low-floor buses, 80 new metro destinations, 11 world-class sports venues and thousands of job opportunities.The EC served notice to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Cabinet Secretary and the ChiefSecretary of Delhi, stating that the advertisement is a clear violation of the model code of conduct since itenumerates the achievements of the UPA Government. The EC has also asked the violators to pay from theirown pockets.[48][49]

Congress MP and Bollywood actor Govinda is being investigated by the Mumbai Suburban District Collectorfor giving money to supporters outside his Mumbai house on March 12, 2009.[50]

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy is being investigated for addressing an electionmeeting within a Government school's premises during a Class 10 public examination in the school. Hisson-in-law Anil Kumar, an evangelist, has a case filed against him for distributing religious pamphletspromoting Government programs in a church. Three others were arrested in the case and Anil Kumar isexpected to be arrested as well.[51][52]

Two Congress Lok Sabha candidates from Pilibhit and Shrawasti constituencies from Uttar Pradesh booked forviolating the model code of conduct, the Congress nominee from Pilibhit B.M. Singh was registered for using asmany as 98 four-wheelers in his procession, against the three authorized by the district authorities, whereas theparty’s nominee from Shrawasti, V.K. Pandey, was booked for conducting a road show Tuesday without takingpermission from the district authorities [53]

Janata Dal (United)

JD(U) leader Jeetan Ram Manjhi was booked by EC on March 9, 2009, for violating the model code of conductwhich took effect from the day the election was announced by the EC. Manjhi attended an election meeting inNalanda district using the official car made available to him for his position as the Social Welfare Minister inthe Government of Bihar.[54]

Bharatiya Janata Party

An FIR was filed against BJP MP & spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy for holding a press conference at circuithouse in Chapra on March 4, 2009 in violation of the model of conduct.[55]

The EC directed the District Magistrate of Pilibhit to lodge a criminal case against the BJP's candidate VarunGandhi for his inflammatory speech against non-Hindus made on March 7, 2009.[56] This decision was taken


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after the EC had earlier issued a notice[57] to Varun Gandhi and the BJP. After reviewing the incident, the ECfound Varun Gandhi guilty of violating the model code of conduct by creating feeling of enmity and hatredbetween different communities. However, since Varun has not been convicted by a court of law, the EC cannot bar him from contesting the election. Instead, they have recommended to his party, the BJP, to drop himfrom their list of candidates.[58] The BJP have since come out in support of Varun and have refused to dropVarun as a candidate, saying that the EC has no right to provide such a recommendation.[59] Subsequently,Varun Gandhi was arrested and booked under India's strict National Security Act on charges of incitingcommunal tensions. This charge could see him kept under detention for up to one year.[60]

Senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister of India Jaswant Singh was caught on tape on March 31, 2009distributing money during an election meeting in Gajaria village in Barmer. Singh's son Manvendra Singh iscontesting the election on a BJP ticket from Barmer Lok Sabha constituency. The District Collector of Barmercollected and presented the facts of the incident to the EC. Jaswant Singh has denied the charges of violatingthe model code of conduct, instead saying that it was the party tradition to help the poor and needy.[61][62]

Former BJP Lok Sabha MP Ananth Kumar Hegde became the second BJP leader of this election to be reportedfor making a hate speech against a particular community. During an election rally at Karwar. Kumar allegedlythreatened to prevent Muslims from celebrating religious festivals after cautioning the people against activitiesof Islamist terror groups. Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer has sent a report on this incident along with a CDof Kumar's speech to the CEC.[63]

Rashtriya Janata Dal

RJD's Lok Sabha MP, Pappu, and his wife have been charged with violating the model code of conduct forattending public receptions under Sadar, Khat and Kasba police stations without seeking prior permission fromcompetent authorities.[64]

An FIR was filed against RJD MP Ramkripal Yadav, former RJD MLA Dharmendra Kumar and Masaurhiblock RJD president Chandrashekhar Prasad Singh for holding a public meeting at Kharoch withoutpermission.[65]

Samajwadi Party

SP's chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was issued a notice on March 12, 2009, by the EC for allegedly bribing votersduring an election rally on March 11 in his native village of Safai in Etawah Lok Sabha constituency. The partyworkers were seen distributing Rs. 100 notes to all those who attended the rally. The party claims that themoney was being given away as a gift to the people of the village and that the gathering was to celebrate thefestival of Holi and was not a political rally.[66][67] On March 31, 2009, the EC decided not to proceed on thiscase and no action will be taken against either Mulayam Singh Yadav or the party.[68]

The EC on March 30, 2009 also served notice to Mulayam Singh Yadav for his alleged threats against MinisthyDileep, the District Magistrate of Mainpuri. Mulayam is expected to contest the election from Mainpuri LokSabha constituency.[69]

Jayaprada, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Rampur was issued a notice by the Election Commission on April26, 2009, for violating the code of conduct by distributing bindis to women in Rampur's Swar locality.[70]

Coalition members

The 2009 general election will see three main national pre-poll alliances take on each other. Given the volatile natureof coalition politics in India, the alliances may change over time – before and after the polls.


The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was formed after the 2004 general election to bring together parties thateither allied with the Congress in various states, or were willing to support a Congress-led national Government.Though the UPA never enjoyed a clear majority on its own, it has managed to complete its five-year term from 2004to 2009 by securing outside support from the Left Front, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party at different timesduring this tenure.


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Constituents

The UPA comprises the following constituent parties: Indian National Congress, Samajwadi Party[71], RashtriyaJanata Dal[71], Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam[72], Nationalist Congress Party[73], Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, LokJanshakti Party[71],Trinamool Congress[74][75], Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, Indian Union MuslimLeague, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Republican Party of India (Athvale), Sikkim Democratic Frontamong others.


The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was the first large national coalition formed by one national partysupported by various regional parties. It was formed after the 1998 general election and the NDA formed theGovernment led by BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee. However, the Government collapsed a few months later. The NDAreturned to power after the 1999 general election and this time the Vajpayee-led Government completed its full termfrom 1999 to 2004.

Constituents

The NDA comprises the following constituent parties: Bhartiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, Janata Dal (United),Shiromani Akali Dal, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Asom Gana Parishad[76], Indian National Lok Dal, Mizo National Frontamongst others.

Constituents

The Third Front comprises the following constituent parties: Communist Party of India (Marxist), Biju Janata Dal[77],Communist Party of India, Telugu Desam Party,Janata Dal (Secular), Revolutionary Socialist Party, All IndiaForward Bloc, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ,[78],Pattali Makkal Katchi[79] among others.

Others

Some parties have either not yet announced the coalition they support or have decided to fight the election on theirown. This list is likely to change as we near election dates. Parties that remain un-allied even after the election, couldplay the role of king-maker in determining who will form the next Government. Many of these parties are regionalparties who have limited presence outside their home states.

These include Bahujan Samaj Party[80][81], Nagaland People's Front[82], National Loktantrik Party[83], KeralaCongress[84], Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party[85][86], Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam[87], PrajaRajyam[88] among others.

Opinion polling

Most opinion polls conducted by major agencies till date are giving the UPA an edge over the NDA, but none arepredicting either to come close to the requisite figure for a majority, while reckoning other regional parties could playan important role by winning a substantial number of seats. In results where the "Fourth Front" is indicated, the SP,RJD and LJP are not being counted in the UPA figure.

Pre-poll surveys

Agency Dates Results

CNN-IBN–CSDS 8 Jan to 15/09 UPA 215–235, NDA 165–185, Others 125–155 [89]


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Star–Nielsen 5 Mar to 17 Mar2009 UPA 257 (Congress 144), NDA 184 (BJP 137), Others 96 [90]

Star–Nielsen 26 Mar – 3 Apr2009

UPA 203 (Congress 155), NDA 191 (BJP 147), Third Front 104,Fourth Front 39 [91]

Outlook India–TheWeek

March – April2009 UPA 234 (Congress 144), NDA 186 (BJP 140), Third Front 112 [92]

Times of India March 2009 UPA 201 (Congress 146), NDA 195 (BJP 138), Others 147 [93]

Exit polls

In February 2009, the ECI banned the publishing of all exit polls starting 48 hours before Phase 1 of the election untilthe end of Phase 5. This was intended to prevent exit polls from earlier phases affecting voter decision in laterphases.[94] The ban ended with the close of Phase 5 voting at 5:00 pm IST on May 13.

Agency PublishDate Predictions

CNN-IBN – DainikBhaskar

May 13,2009

UPA 185–205, NDA 165–185, Third Front 110–130, Fourth Front25–35 [95]

Star-Nielsen May 13,2009 UPA 199, NDA 196, Third Front 100, Fourth Front 36 [95]

India TV – CVOTER May 13,2009 UPA 189–201, NDA 183–195, Third Front 105–121 [95]

The Counting Day

The counting of votes of all the phases was started on 16th May 2009 at 08 hrs. The EVMs were localized to 1080centers across the country. The UPA took early lead and maintained it and evolved victorious. The BJP leaderRajnath Singh said tha "The BJP's performance in the results is very unexpected. The success for the NDA that wehad hoped for has not materialised. The reasons for this will be discussed later".[96]The CPM led third front later saidit is ready to sit in the opposition.

The Final Result

The Congress led UPA swept 261 seats up from 218 last election. This huge increase is achieved despite thewithdrawal of left parties, MDMK, TRS, BSP, PDP and PMK. The BJP led NDA stood with 158 down 181. TheCPM led Third front made only 68. The communist parties could make up only few seats in West Bengal and Kerala,which is considered as a major setback.

Party WonUPA 261NDA 158Third Front 68

Fourth Front 27Others 29

With more number of seats, the Congress led UPA is all set to back in power with Dr. Manmohan Singh as Prime


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Indian General Election 2009

Documents

Transcript of Indian General Election 2009