IT COST ONLY 104M FOR 1952 POLLS

With the sevenphase Lok Sabha elections all set kick off on April 11, here are some interesting facts about the general elections

>>The first Lok Sabha elections in 1952 cost around rs104.5

million, while the 2014 general elections cost almost Rs38.70 billion

>> 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 total number

of voters for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections has gone up by 84.3 million since the 2014 polls

>> The new voters have taken the total number of voters to 900 million of which around 15 million are in the age group of 1819 years

>> a total of 1 million polling

stations would be set up this time as compared to around 900,000 in 2014

>> In a first, candidates with criminal antecedents will have to publish

information in this regard in newspapers and through TV channels on three occasions during the campaign period >> The electronic Voting machines (eVm) and postal ballot papers would for the first time carry the photograph of all 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, Voterverified 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.