Key Points
As India heads to the 18th Lok Sabha elections after 76 years of Independence, Anubhuti Vishnoi looks back at the electoral journey travelled by the largest democracy..
It is one marked with many milestones -- the largest electorate in the world at over 900 million; women voters who closed the gender gap in voter turnout in 2019 and outdid men; and the only country to transition to paperless ballot through EVMs...
The ECI had to keep at it over the years, methodically addressing various barriers faced by women in participating in elections, from ensuring separate toilets to creche facilities, all-woman polling stations and women block-level polling registration staff..
From men, starting at a 16 percentage point edge over women in voter turnout in 1962, the figure was halved to 8.4 percentage points in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections and was down to 1.8 percentage point in 2014...
Similarly, while the Model Code of Conduct came into effect from the 1962 elections, it is found deficient in checking hate speech, bribing of voters and the influence of money power in elections...
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