Trained Elected Woman Representative Emphasizes Importance of Educating Girls | The Hunger Project

Trained Elected Woman Representative Emphasizes Importance of Educating Girls | The Hunger Project

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Section 49 (O) and Election

Here is the fake email that has been doing rounds and providing incorrect information about Section 49-O of the Conduct of Election Rules:

Did you know that there is a system in our constitution, as per the 1969 act, in section "49-O" that a person can go to the polling booth, confirm his identity, get his finger marked and convey the presiding election officer that he doesn't want to vote anyone!

Yes such a feature is available, but obviously these seemingly notorious leaders have never disclosed it. This is called "49-O". Why should you go and say "I VOTE NOBODY"… because, in a ward, if a candidate wins, say by 123 votes, and that Particular ward has received "49-O" votes more than 123, then that polling will be cancelled and will have to be re-polled. Not only that, but the candidature of the contestants will be removed and they cannot contest the re-polling, since people had already expressed their decision on them. This would bring fear into parties and hence look for genuine candidates for their parties for election. This would change the way; of our whole political system… it is seemingly surprising why the election commission has not revealed such a feature to the public.

The Truth about 49-O:

If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.
This Infers that in no case will there be a re polling in the said constituency, however the negative/neutral vote is registered and counted so as to cross check on the total number of votes polled. VoteIndia.in encourages Voters to cast a protest vote incase they feel there is no right candidate to vote for.

Here is what the Election Commission has to say on NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL VOTING:

The Commission has received proposals from a very large number of individuals and organizations that there should be a provision enabling a voter to reject all the candidates in the constituency if he does not find them suitable. In the voting using the conventional ballot paper and ballot boxes, an elector can drop the ballot paper without marking his vote against any of the candidates, if he chooses so. However, in the voting using the Electronic Voting Machines, such a facility is not available to the voter. Although, Rule 49 O of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 provides that an elector may refuse to vote after he has been identified and necessary entries made in the Register of Electors and the marked copy of the electoral roll, the secrecy of voting is not protected here inasmuch as the polling officials and the polling agents in the polling station get to know about the decision of such a voter.

The Commission recommends that the law should be amended to specifically provide for negative / neutral voting. For this purpose, Rules 22 and 49B of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 may be suitably amended adding a provision that in the ballot paper and the particulars on the ballot unit, in the column relating to names of candidates, after the entry relating to the last candidate, there shall be a column ìNone of the above, to enable a voter to reject all the candidates, if he chooses so. Such a proposal was earlier made by the Commission in 2001 (vide letter dated 10.12.2001).

(A petition by the People ís Union for Civil Liberties seeking such a provision filed at the time of the recent general elections is pending before the Honíble Supreme Court)

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I found this useful information in www.indian-election.com India Election Statistics India: The world's seventh largest country in area, India occupies more than 3 million sq km (1 million sq miles) Total Area 3,287,590 sq km Land: 2,973,190 sq km Water: 314,400 sq km ( comparatively slightly more than one-third the size of the US ) International Boundaries India consists geographically of the entire Indian Peninsula and portions of the Asian mainland. The length of India from north to south is 3,050 km (1,900 mi); from east to west it is 2,950 km (1,830 mi). India also has two island chains, each forming its own union territory. The Andaman and Nicobar island chain lies east of the mainland between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Its southernmost island is only 200 km (120 mi) from the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The Lakshadweep island group is located off India's southwest coast. Land boundaries: Total: 14,103 km Border Countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km Coastline: 7,000 km Elevation extremes Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m Highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m Population With more than 1 billion inhabitants, India ranks second only to China among the world's most populous countries. Its people are culturally diverse, and religion plays an important role in the life of the country. About 80.5% of the Indians practice Hinduism, a religion that originated in India. Another 13.4% of the population is Muslims. This makes India home to the third-largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan. India also contains the majority of the world's Christians (2.3%), Sikhs (2%), Buddhists (0.8%), Jains (0.4%) and Jews. Eighteen major languages and more than 1,000 minor languages and dialects are spoken in India. Religious majorities vary greatly in different states. Jammu and Kashmir and Lakshadweep are Muslim majority states; Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram are Christian majority; Punjab is mostly dominated by Sikhs; Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim states mainly have Buddhists. Total Population 1,147,995,904 (2008 est) Age structure: 0-14 years: 31.5% (male 189,238,487/female 172,168,306)(2008 est) 15-64 years: 63.3% (male 374,157,581/female 352,868,003) (2008 est) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 28,285,796/female 31,277,725) (2008 est) Median age: total: 24.1 years male: 24.1 years female: 24.2 years (2002) Sex Ratio At birth: 1.12 male(s)/female (2008) Under 15: 1.10 male(s)/female (2008) 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female (2008) Population growth rate: 1.578% (2008 est) Birth rate: 22.22 births/1,000 population (2008 est) Death rate: 6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est) Area wise bottom 5 parliament constituencies STATE / UT NAME PC NAME AREA (sq. km) JAMMU & KASHMIR Ladakh 173266.37 RAJASTHAN Barmer 71601.24 GUJARAT Kutch 41644.55 ARUNACHAL PRADESH Arunachal West 40572.29 ARUNACHAL PRADESH Arunachal East 39749.64 Area wise Top 5 parliament constituencies STATE / UT NAME PC NAME AREA (sq. km) NCT OF DELHI Delhi Sadar 28.09 MAHARASHTRA Mumbai South Central 18.31 MAHARASHTRA Mumbai South 13.73 WEST BENGAL Calcutta North West 13.23 NCT OF DELHI Chandni Chowk 10.59 Number of Polling Stations Presently there are 8,28,804 polling stations in the country. In 2004 lok sabha elections, there were 6,87,402 polling stations. This shows an increase of 1,41,402 polling stations. The main reason for this increase is largely due to rationalization of polling stations, which the Commission undertook during 2008 and 2009. Around 12,901 new polling stations have been setup in villages having less than 300 electors. This is to address concerns of threat and intimidation to voters. The Election Commission has undertaken an exercise of 'Vulnerability Mapping' in all Constituencies so that it can identify areas and voter segments vulnerable to threat and intimidation. The commission has endeavored to provide polling stations in the vulnerable localities. Other reasons for making new polling stations include the following: Need to reduce the distance required to be traveled by voters. Geographical barriers such as rivers and hills etc. This exercise has been done in all the districts after consulting with political parties. Sl. No State / Union Territory Number of Polling Station During 1999 Number of Existing Polling Stations 1 Andhra Pradesh 60,960 56,311 2 Arunachal Pradesh 1,741 1,734 3 Assam 17,653 17,654 4 Bihar 83,170 49,427 5 Chhattisgarh* 0* 15,671 6 Goa 1,135 1,003 7 Gujarat 35,053 36,684 8 Haryana 15,449 12,553 9 Himachal Pradesh 6,230 6,230 10 Jammu & Kashmir 6,513 6,511 11 Jharkhand* 0* 17,247 12 Karnataka 44,497 39,686 13 Kerala 23,007 20,332 14 Madhya Pradesh 56,455 42,276 15 Maharashtra 74,111 73,938 16 Manipur 2,001 2,001 17 Meghalaya 1,576 1,569 18 Mizoram 782 789 19 Nagaland 1,581 1,573 20 Orissa 30,015 26,250 21 Punjab 18,220 15,623 22 Rajasthan 40,869 35,689 23 Sikkim 336 343 24 Tamil Nadu 54,847 47,977 25 Tripura 2,367 2,367 26 Uttar Pradesh 123,862 101,678 27 Uttaranchal* 0* 7,653 28 West Bengal 61,514 48,747 29 A & N Islands 370 327 30 Chandigarh 645 405 31 D & N Haveli 123 128 32 Daman & Diu 82 82 33 Lakshadweep 43 40 34 NCT of Delhi 8,666 9,008 35 Pondicherry 778 615 Total: 774,651 700,121 Note: * States were not formed. They were part of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh respectively. Seats in Lok Sabha Sl. No State / Union Territory Type of Constituencies TOTAL GEN SC ST 1 Andhra Pradesh 34 6 2 42 2 Arunachal Pradesh 2 - - 2 3 Assam 11 1 2 14 4 Bihar 33 7 - 40 5 Jharkhand 8 1 5 14 6 Goa 2 - - 2 7 Gujarat 20 2 4 26 8 Haryana 8 2 - 10 9 Himachal Pradesh 3 1 - 4 10 Jammu & Kashmir 6 - - 6 11 Karnataka 24 4 - 28 12 Kerala 18 2 - 20 13 Madhya Pradesh 20 4 5 29 14 Chhattisgarh* 5 2 4 11 15 Maharashtra 41 3 4 48 16 Manipur 1 - 1 2 17 Meghalaya 2 - - 2 18 Mizoram - - 1 1 19 Nagaland 1 - - 1 20 Orissa 13 3 5 21 21 Punjab 10 3 - 13 22 Rajasthan 18 4 3 25 23 Sikkim 1 - - 1 24 Tamil Nadu 32 7 - 39 25 Tripura 1 - 1 2 26 Uttar Pradesh 63 17 - 80 27 Uttaranchal* 4 1 - 5 28 West Bengal 32 8 2 42 29 A & N Islands 1 - - 1 30 Chandigarh 1 - - 1 31 D & N Haveli - - 1 1 32 Daman & Diu 1 - - 1 33 Delhi 6 1 - 7 34 Lakshadweep - - 1 1 35 Pondicherry 1 - - 1 Total: 423 79 41 543 Election Statistics - Voting percentage in Lok Sabha Elections General Election Year Male Female Total 1st 1952 - - 61.2 2nd 1957 - - 62.2 3rd 1962 63.31 46.63 55.42 4th 1967 66.73 55.48 61.33 5th 1971 60.90 49.11 55.29 6th 1977 65.63 54.91 60.49 7th 1980 62.16 51.22 56.92 8th 1984 68.18 58.60 63.56 9th 1989 66.13 57.32 61.95 10th 1991 61.58 51.35 56.93 11th 1996 62.06 53.41 57.94 12th 1998 1998 57.88 61.97 13th 1999 63.97 55.64 59.99 14th 2004 52.65 44.65 48.74