Election Campaign

The main purpose of elections is to give people a chance to choose the representatives, the government, and the policies they prefer. For this, free and open discussions happen during election campaigns. In India, some time is dedicated to the election campaigns that is between the announcement of the final list of candidates and the date of conducting a poll.

During this period, the competitors contact the people in their support, political pioneers address political race, gatherings, and ideological groups to prepare their allies. Election campaigns are not restricted to these fourteen days: As ideological groups begin, to get prepared for decisions months before they really occur.

Election laws

According to the election law of India, no political party or individual can: 

• Pay off or undermine electors
• Appeal to them for the sake of religion
• Use government resources for election campaigns
• Spend more than Rupees 25 lakh in a voting demographic for a Lok Sabha election race or Rupees 10 lakh in an electorate in an Assembly political race

If they do so, their victory will be nullified by the court even after they have been elected.

Model Code of Conduct: 

In addition to the laws, all the political parties in the country have to agree to a code of conduct for election campaigns. This code of conduct is prescribed by the Election Commission of India for the guidance of candidates and others concerned with the election. According to the code of conduct:

• A political party or an individual cannot utilise any spot of worship for political publicity
• A political party cannot use government vehicles, aircraft, and officials for elections
• The existing government cannot lay any grounds for projects or public initiatives once the model code of conducts comes into force . The ruling party leaders must also refrain from launching any welfare programs after the code of conduct comes into force
• The candidates contesting for elections must respect the home life of the rivals and must not hold demonstration in front of the rival houses

Polling and Counting of Votes

The last phase of a political race is the day when the electors cast or survey their votes. This day is generally called the final voting day. The booth agents of political parties are permitted to supervise the voting procedure and report any corrupt practices if found.

Voting procedure

• Earlier, the citizens used to demonstrate their interest in a candidate by putting a stamp on the voting form paper and the votes were counted manually
• These days electronic voting machines (EVM) are used to record votes. These EVMs display the names of the competitors and the party images on a button
• When the voting process finishes all the EVMs are collected and taken to a safe position so that no one tampers the machines. This is done to ensure the polling process is fair enough
• The agents of all candidates are present during the counting of votes to ensure that the counting is done properly
• The competitor who gets the highest number of votes from the public is chosen

Some Electoral malpractices

• Incorporation of bogus names in the elector’s list
• Abuse of government offices and authorities
• Inordinate utilisation of cash by rich politicians
• Threatening the voters on the day of polling

Conclusion

The election campaign is the way by which different political parties share their ideas and work done in the past to get the maximum no. of votes in the upcoming elections. In our country, it takes place for 2-3 weeks after the announcement of the final list of candidates and before the date of polling. During this time period, the candidates and political parties contact their voters, political leaders, address rallies and election meetings to mobilize their supporters. During the time of an election campaign, a candidate or a political party can neither use government resources for election campaigns nor use any spot of worship for political publicity.