Interesting facts to know about India’s Lok Sabha elections
New Delhi, April 5 (IANS) With the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections all set kick off on April 11, we has compiled some interesting facts about India's general elections.
* The first Lok Sabha elections in 1952 cost around Rs 10.45 crore, while the 2014 general elections cost almost Rs 3,870.3 crore.
* The first Lok Sabha elections were contested for 489 seats. The number of constituencies was increased to 543 in 1977.
* A total of 53 parties and 533 Independents contested for the 489 seats in the 1952 elections. In 2014, 464 political parties and 3,234 candidates contested for the 543 seats.
* The Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and postal ballot papers would for the first time carry the photograph of all the candidates to help voters identify the political leaders in the fray.
* The cost of the Lok Sabha elections is borne by the Government of India. Only the honorariums of the poll observers are paid by the Election Commission.
* When general elections are held simultaneously with Assembly polls, the cost is shared by the Centre and the respective state governments on a 50:50 basis.
* In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Voter-verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) were used in eight constituencies. This time, VVPATs will be used in all the constituencies.
* In Lok Sabha elections, the None of the Above or NOTA option was first used in 2014.