Indian electorates in Assam waiting in line to cast their votes
A five-week National election process involving more than 814 million eligible voters kicked off in India, the world’s largest democracy, on Monday, April, 7th 2014.
The closely watched vote, in which the incumbent Congress Party is going head to head with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for control over India’s lower house of Parliament, takes place over the next five weeks in nine phases across the nation.
In the media, the race has shaped up to be a showdown between Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and BJP prime-ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
However, several other smaller parties, biggest amongst them, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), are likely to play a pivotal role in forming the next coalition and naming the next PM, if neither Congress nor the BJP wins a clear majority of seats in Lok Sabha, India’s lower house.
In all, Fifty-one (51) candidates from Congress, BJP and several other parties are vying for the state’s five seats in Lok Sabha.
Results of the polls are expected to be announced before Friday, May 16th, 2014.
Source: Arijit Sen, TIME.com
