POLLING FOR PHASE 1
| Thursday April 16 | Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Jammu & Kashmir | Kerala Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram | Nagaland Orissa Uttar Pradesh Chhattisgarh Jharkhand | Andaman & Nicobar Islands Chandigarh Lakshadweep |
POLLING FOR PHASE 2
| Thursday April 23 | Andhra Pradesh Assam Bihar Goa Jammu & Kashmir | Karnataka Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Orissa | Tripura Uttar Pradesh Jharkhand |
POLLING FOR PHASE 3
| Thursday April 30 | Bihar Gujarat Jammu & Kashmir Karnataka Madhya Pradesh Daman & Diu | Maharashtra Sikkim Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Dadra & Nagar Haveli |
POLLING FOR PHASE 4
| Thursday April 07 | Bihar Haryana Jammu & Kashmir Punjab Rajasthan | Uttar Pradesh West Bengal NCT of Delhi |
POLLING FOR PHASE 5
| Thursday April 13 | Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Punjab Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh | West Bengal Uttarakhand Pondicherry |
Election Basics: Dictionary of Governance
AERO
The Election Commission of India appoints one or more Assistant Electoral Registration Officers to assist the Electoral Registration Officer in the performance of his functions in the matter of preparation/revision of electoral rolls.
AFSO
The Assistant Food and Supplies officer is the head of the block and functions under the control of the District Food & Supplies Officer as well as the District Food & Supplies Controller.
Age proof
You are required to show proof of age the first time you register to vote. You have to produce any of the following documents as proof:
* Passport
* Birth certificate
* State board exam certificate
* Driving license
Amendment
Changes in the Constitution can be implemented through amendments. Article 368 of the Constitution provides that amendments to the Constitution can take place in three ways.
They are:
* By simple majority of the Parliament: Amendments in this category can be made by a simple majority of members present and voting, before sending them for the Presidents assent.
* By special majority of the Parliament: Amendments can be made in this category by a two-third majority of the total number of members present and voting, which should not be less than half of the total membership of the house.
* By special majority of the Parliament and ratification by at least half of the state legislatures by special majority. After this, it is sent to the President for his assent. Anything which you want to amend under Article 368 requires this kind of majority to be proved.
Article
Articles in the constitution of India will be referred to specific provisions one by one.
Assembly Constituency
A geographical area represented by a member of the Legislative Assembly. Each Parliamentary constituency is made up of an integral number of assembly constituencies.
Election Basics: Voting myths
1.I can vote only from my place of birth/permanent residence
2.I do not have sufficient proof of residence to register as a voter
3.Voter id card is essential for voting
4.Registering to vote is a very cumbersome process
5.The only 2 kinds of elections are parliamentry and assembly elections
1.I can vote only from my place of birth/permanent residence
Not true! You can register to vote from any place in India so long as you're an eligible voter i.e.
* You're an Indian citizen.
* You're 18 years of age or older.
* You've been an ordinary resident, which means that you've been staying at your current address for at least 6 months (not 5 years, another myth!).
* You're not registered elsewhere.
2. I do not have sufficient proof of residence to register as a voter
Are you sure? Most voters, who think they lack necessary documents, actually do have them. Did you know that the house lease agreement, mobile or landline bills or your driver's license are all accepted types of address proof documents? Moreover, this document is required only for the BLO (Booth Level Officer) to come and verify your residence status. It is therefore not essential for the address proof document to directly have your name, but needs to only have the address of the place where you are staying. You can use address proof document on the name of your parents, relatives, friends etc. with whom you are staying.
Students, who are eligible voters, can register even from their hostels by submitting the Student Declaration Form signed by their college dean/principal/registrar along with the voter registration form.
3. Voter id card is essential for voting
This is one of the most common voting myths! Though voter identification is required by most states during voting, Voter ID card is not the only form of identification that is accepted. The Election Commission of India accepts most of the common documents as identity proof such as PAN card, driving license, ration card, student's ID card, passport etc. In any case, it's a good idea to get your Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) since the Election Commission may make it mandatory in the future.
What is essential for voting however is that your name should be mentioned in the latest voters list of your constituency. How do you get to know that now? Simple, use our online voter search engine.
4. Registering to vote is a very cumbersome process
We would have agreed with you, but not anymore! Now you can easily register to vote on this website with the following steps:
* Fill out the online voter registration form on the Jaago Re! website (www.jaagore.com). It's easy and takes only 3 minutes!
* Take a printout of PDF form (4 pages) generated after you complete your online registration. Take the printout of the main voter registration form (2 pages) in back-to-back format and fill in other details (eg. name of family members already registered), if applicable
* Sign and submit this Form along with necessary address proof and identity proof document, at the office of your local Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). You will find this address and its location on your city map which you can see on the first page of the PDF form generated online. DO NOT forget to ask the receipt for your application.
* Confirm your form submission with Jaago Re! by messaging *"vote confirm" to 56767 from your mobile number, as registered under your profile.
Once your address verification is completed by a government official (BLO), your name will be included in the next revision of voter lists for your city. We will track and confirm your status of voter registration by email and SMS, as soon as your city voter lists get revised!
5. The only 2 kinds of elections are parliamentry and assembly elections
As a registered voter you can vote in more than 2 elections! Besides Parliamentary and Assembly elections, you can also vote in your Local Body Elections or Municipal Elections (as called in cities).
India has a 3 tier federal structure with governments at the union, state and local levels. In cities, the Municipal Corporation is your Local Body or Local Government, and you can vote in Municipal Elections once every 5 years to elect your Corporator or Councilor. They in turn elect the municipal council and the mayor, who take all major decisions affecting your city.
To learn more about how your city's governance works, please visit your respective CITY page on this website. In villages, the Gram Panchayat functions as the Local Government with elections once every 5 years.
Additionally, if you are residing at Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra or Uttar Pradesh and belong either to Teacher's Constituency or Graduate Constituency, you are also eligible to vote for Legislative Council elections, to elect your MLC.
Election Basics: Who does what
Ever wondered what are the different types of government and their fu nctions? Let's re-learn our basics.
To begin with, the Legislation of the government has the power to mak e laws upon a specific subject. And these powers are separated in India by means of three lis t's - the union list, the state list and the concurrent list. These powers are then divided o r rather shared between the central government, the parliament and the state government. The state government is also known as the state legislature (bet you didn't know that).
1. Functions of union government
2. Functions of state government
3. Importance of local government
4. What does local government do?
5. Type of local governments
6. Functions of urban local governments
7. Functions of village local governments
1. Functions of union government
* The subjects in this list includes subjects of national importance like defense, foreign affairs, atomic energy, banking, post, telegraph, custom duties, inter- state and national highways, railroads and taxation of income.
2. Functions of state government
* The state list contains 66 subjects of state importance on which the state governments can make laws.
* These subjects include police, local governments, trade, commerce and agriculture. In times of national and state emergency, the power to make laws on these subjects is transferred to the Parliament.
* The concurrent list contains 47 subjects on which both the Parliament and the state legislatures can make laws. It includes criminal and civil procedure, marriage and divorce, education, economic planning, labor welfare, social security and trade unions.
* However, in case of a conflict between a law made by the central government and a law made by the state legislatures, the law made by the central government will obviously prevail.
* The local governments allow further decentralization or distribution of power and allow people to participate in the functioning of the Government.
3. Importance of local government
* India is a vast country. It is not efficient to go to the Union or State government for every decision or issue. Therefore in addition to Union and State we have local governments that are closer to the people.
* The government at the Centre of the State may not understand the local problems. The local people.s leader best represent the people in the city or in the village.
* The residents of a city are better acquainted with and have easier access to their local representatives; this makes the leader more accountable.
* It is more economical to have decisions made locally to suit the local needs and conditions.
* In a sense, when you decentralize power you also decentralize corruption.
4. What does local government do?
* Local governments are institutions of self government.
* They have political, functional and economic power for good governance.
* They provide basic services and infrastructure that are indispensable to our well being.
5. Type of local governments
* The rural governments are Village Panchayats.
* The Urban local governments are either Municipal councils or Municipal Corporation.
6. Functions of urban local governments
* Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes
* Public health, sanitation and solid waste management
* Fire services
* Public amenities including streetlights, parking lots and bus stops
* Urban amenities and facilities such as parks, gardens and playgrounds
* Roads and bridges
* Slum improvement, urban poverty alleviation
* Maintenance of burial grounds
* Registration of births and deaths
* Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries
* Urban planning including town planning
* Regulation of land use and construction of buildings
7. Functions of village local governments
* Look after street lights, construction and repair work of the roads in the villages and also the village markets, fairs, festivals and celebrations.
* Keep a record of birth, deaths and marriages in the village.
* Look after public health and hygiene by providing facilities for sanitation and drinking water.
* Provide for education.
* Implement development schemes for agriculture and animal husbandry.
As urban citizens, we sometimes fail to recognize the crucial role the government plays in providing us a better quality of life. Compared to union or state elections, the local elections have the least voter turnout.
