The general elections 2014 were statistically by far the first in many aspects, the highest-ever turnout of 66.4 per cent, however, takes precedence over others.
This could not be achieved without the Election Commission’s dedicated task for almost 18 months in advance, ensuring that the huge workforce of men and machines are well-oiled to deliver the results efficiently and effectively.
To start with, the Commission introduced a nationwide voter awareness programme ‘SVEEP’ and roped in former President APJ Abdul Kalam, leading actors and cricketers as brand ambassadors to attract the young voters.
The concerted efforts saw women voters jump from 55 per cent in 2009 to 65 per cent this year, which has been instrumental in achieving the highest-ever turnout. The participation of urban voters also increased significantly by 13 per cent and 20 per cent in mega cities and urban centres.
Another factor that contributed to the record turnout was the initiative of the Commission to introduce a special campaign for registration of voters on election-eve. Considering the sheer size of the Indian electorate — 830.5 million voters, 9,00,000 polling stations, 8,000 candidates across 543 lok Sabha constituencies, the Commission ensured that a camp was set up in each polling booth where last minute additions, corrections to the voter list was undertaken in record time.
The task required deployment of 6,69,000 poll officials drawn from the Central and State bureaucracy. This time, by rotating forces across multiple phases, the Commission optimised services of over 8,00,000 paramilitary personnel. Over 21,000 teams were deployed amounting to 40 flying squads in each parliamentary constituency.
This enabled seizures of cash of Rs 313 crore, 2.2 lakh litres of liquor valued at Rs 1,000 crore and 1.85 lakh kg of drugs. For the first time in the lok Sabha polls, the Commission operated an expenditure monitoring division headed by a senior officer of Income-Tax Department. Helplines were set up at the constituency level, State level and at Delhi headquarters to immediately organise raids and seize cash. A record 667 expenditure observers, more than one in some constituencies, were deployed in this election to monitor expenditure of candidates.