Election facts

1. In the 2004 elections the oldest candidate was Mr. Ramachandra Veerappa in Bidar, Karnataka-94 years.

2. This time, a record number of 1000 unrecognized parties are registered with the election commission of India. Of them, more than 90 are based in Tamil Nadu and nearly 20 in Kerala. Karnataka has about 25 registered parties while Andhra Pradesh has more than 40.

3. For the first time, the country-barring Assam, Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir-will vote on the basis of photo electoral rolls (522 out of 543 Lok Sabha constituencies)

4. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have the highest number of state parties-four each.Gujarat,

Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattishgarh and Tripura besides a few union territories have none.

5. A total of 3, 89, 816 vials if indelible ink were used in the first general election in 1952.

6. In 2004, polling station no29 (Dharampur) in the Miao Assembly segment of Arunachal east parliamentary constituency had only one voter.

7. There will be a total 0f 8, 28,804 polling stations for the 2009 elections as against 6, 87,402 booths in 2004, an increase of 1, 41,402.

8. Modakurichi Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu had a record number of 1033 candidates in the 1996 Assembly elections.

9. The highest number of candidates an electronic voting machine can support is 64. If the number exceeds this, a manual ballot is used.

10. The total electorate in 2009 is 714 million, up by 43 million from 2004.

11. Electronic voting machines run on a 6-volt alkaline battery and can be used in areas with no power connections.

12. Electing to vote:_ voter turn out in Lok Sabha election
Year1952:- 61.22%
Year 2004:- 57.65%

13. The EVEM was first used in India in 1982 in a by-election at the Parur assembly constituency of Kerala and in only 50 polling stations.

14. An electronic voting machine can record a maximum number of 3,840 votes which far exceeds the number of voters(usually less than 1,400) assigned to a polling station.

15. The 2004 general elections were conducted totally by using 10.75 lakh (1.75million) electronic machines in the country.

16. The indelible ink used to mark voter’s finger nails is made by Mysore Paints and Varnishes Private Limited, the only company authorized to make the black ink.

17. The Congress Party got 44.99% of the total votes in the first general election of 1951, giving it a sweeping majority in parliament.

18. Independents polled 15.90% of the total votes cast in the first general election of 1951, which was second only to that of the congress

19. In 2004 general election, total seats: 543
Total candidates: 5,435
Women candidates: 355
Women elected: 45


20. Did you know that the use of electro voting machine or EVMs, results in saving of 10,000 tones of paper that in return preserves forests.