India, which proudly calls itself the world’s largest democracy, goes to the polls in phases. Today was the 4th in a series of 5 phases. To get a sense of the enormity of this election, 95 million voters, 130,000 polling stations, 1,315 candidates and 600,000 poll workers were involved in phase 4.
Rajasthan was one of the states that participated in Phase 4 of the elections. Unlike some states which fall under multiple phases, all of Rajasthan fell into Phase 4. Since Rajasthan is one of the two Indian states where IFES provides support to local organizations in implementing programs on women’s empowerment, Dr. Meeta Singh [IFES India team member] and I travelled around Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan to hear from IFES’ partner organizations about their views on the elections and the state of democracy in general. The following observations are not intended to be, in any way, representative of the electorate. They are simply a reflection of the results of the women’s rights civic action groups formed under the IFES program.
While participation in the electoral cycle was not a focus of IFES programs in India, based on the conversations with our partner organizations, it seems that the programs have resulted in a more informed, opinionated and vocal electorate. The fact that these women are voting is not exceptional. They have done so for decades. India is used to voter turnout in large percentages. National elections voter turnout is around 60%, state-level elections have a turnout of 70% and village council elections see a turnout of upwards of 80%. There has been widespread coverage in the media that this parliamentary election so far seems to have the lowest voter turnouts in recent memory. In spite of this, the turnout is not what is interesting. What is noteworthy is that they have engaged in the electoral process differently after becoming involved in the IFES program.
The groups we visited are part of the Muslim Women’s Initiative component of the IFES program which aims to inform Indian Muslims [both women and men] about women’s rights in the Qur’an and the Indian Constitution. Minority voting and representation in Parliament has been a hotly debated subject in India. Minorities are often seen as vote banks—it is assumed they favor parties/candidates en masse.
Our interactions with the civic action group members showed us that the reality is different in the case of these women. While the majority of the women who interacted with the groups tended to favor parties that have minority rights and issues in their manifestos, they were aware that the candidates had to be held accountable to their promises. Clean water, sanitation, schools, roads, electricity, income generation schemes are important to these groups. They would not shortchange them for traditional party allegiance.
“In the past we would vote for whoever our families told us to vote for,” one woman said. “Now we ask our community women to think for themselves, discuss issues, and decide whom to vote for.”
Another woman added, “The candidates come to us with folded hands before the elections and disappear when they are elected. Now we will not allow that. We know what we want in the community and we will ensure that these services are provided by the candidate. We will make him keep his promise.”
Low voter turnout was feared due to increasing apathy, the searing heat in northern India where temperatures frequently soar to 110 degrees, and the arrival of the astrologically auspicious wedding season. At the polling stations I visited in Jaipur in the Idgah and Bhatta Basti areas, the voter turnout mid-day hovered around 30% according to some officials. This is still lower than normal but there was confidence that it will pick up. We did not see any signs of apathy in these women. They were encouraging their neighbors and friends to vote through visiting their homes, calling them and through sending text messages.
“Vote for anyone you want,” one woman said. “But don’t let your vote go to waste by not going to the polls.”
The polls themselves also showed great proficiency. The electronic voting machines, the rigorous ID checks with more than 16 forms of permitted IDs, arrangement for drinking water to counteract the heat, the ease of flow in and out of the polling station, ramps for disabled persons, and the competence of the poll workers all spoke of a well-planned and well-executed election. There was even a help desk in a cluster of polling booths.
At one of the polling stations, we saw a first time voter whose name appeared on the list incorrectly. Her name was missing the letter ‘a’ at the end which made it a male name and gender was listed as male. The polling official refused to let her vote. The young woman and her mother approached the help desk officials who were able to sort out the issue by cross referencing with other identification documents. The woman was thus able to vote.
Everyone we spoke to said that they were confident in the electoral process and proud of their democracy. Their confidence in their politicians was much less unequivocal. “But, we will make them do their job,” they said. We sure hope so, for the sake of the billion plus citizens of India.
As Dr. Singh and I left they were getting ready to go out again in the heat and mobilize more women to come out and vote. The vibrancy of the Indian democracy was palpable at least in the beaming faces of these women.
For images of this election, please visit this photo gallery