India Votes – Billion+ People, Election Festival 2014 – TamilNadu

Every election is considered the most important one in history. The elections in India across the country are held in 9 different phases from 7th April 2014 to 12th May 2014. The sixth phase of the elections was held today. Tamil Nadu was one of the States that voted and I am happy to be in Chennai during this time of the year to cast my vote.

Every government machinery or system needs refinement. However, use of technology for elections in India is considered one of the best in the world.Luring voters for cash is common in the rural parts of the country. The offices and establishments were closed (public holiday) in view of the elections. Folks traveled all the way to their native from the city to cast their vote.Here are some interesting observations during the 45 minutes I spent at the voting booth.

The list of candidates contesting the polls and their symbols were displayed prominently across the poll booth. NOTA was an option (None of the above). If you did not like any of the candidates contesting, you could choose NOTA.

People were eager to vote and you could see responsible citizens searching for their names with the poll booth agents.

During the time I voted it was interesting to see a contesting candidate in close proximity visiting the booth and interacting with voters.

There were different polling booths and each polling station was segregated by wards (streets). The queue was not long and average time spent to vote was about 30-45 minutes, dependent on the time of the day.

The name search inside the voting station (mostly schools) could be improved on. This will reduce the time spent in the booth to vote. It was great to see candidates and prominent leaders contesting in the elections across the city. You would not miss them during this festival. We only hope we get to see them more often, addressing the local, state & national issues post elections.

Problems are plenty, Opportunities are endless. I voted for a better India.