Indian General election will see the use of the Internet

Taking cue from Gujarat BJP's use of internet to get their message out to the citizens which helped it win the assembly election. Now there is a video on youtube exhorting all to vote for BJP.

Booth capturing

I thought booth capturing was a international phenomenon in almost all democracies but was shocked to read the wikipedia article that says it is mainly prevalent in India.
Booth capturing is a type of election fraud ,found primarily in India, in which party loyalists "capture" a polling booth and vote in place of legitimate voters to ensure that their candidate wins. Though it is a kind of Voter suppression, unlike other forms of voting fraud, booth-capturing is a malpractice witnessed mainly in India and the least subtle of all.

The modus operandi of such booth capturing operations was facilitated by poor communication, long distances, and inadequate policing. By the 90s it had become a common and unsightly occurrence wherever elections were held. Sometimes two rival party thugs would descend on the same polling station, resulting in violent clashes with injuries and even deaths on both sides.

In 1989 the Representation of the People Act, 1951 was modified to include booth capturing as an offence punishable by law and countermanding or adjourning any poll that was booth captured. The development of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) was also intended to make it harder for booth captures to stuff the ballot boxes with their votes by enabling a 5 minute delay between each vote entered as against hundreds of votes in the same time using ballot papers (stamped by a group of 3-4). The EVMs also possess a "close" button which can be used by the polling officer to deactivate the machines. Despite this, booth capturing continues to happen, albeit at a much reduced rate and many candidates who lose elections in India regularly complain that their opponents indulged in booth capturing to win.

Other types of election malpractices are:

• Gerrymandering
• Intimidation by-
  

1. Violence or threat of violence
2. Attacks on Polling station
3. Legal Threats
4. Economic Threats

• Vote Buying
• Misinformation
• Physical Tampering
• Social Engineering

Why Narendra Modi re-election will humiliate USA.

Today is the D-day for Narendra Modi. Counting in Gujarat which is called as the political lab of BJP has begun. Exit polls show that it is going to be the closest election in decades. But Narendra Modi remaining in power would change the power equation in the central government. It would humiliate The US government as they had refused visa to him on pretext of the riots disregarding the fact that he was the democratically elected Chief Minister of Gujarat. It is as good as denying visa to a governor . US which is the ideal democracy denies public mandate is not a good sign as it is trying hard to preach democracy in several region.

Maya shifts 12 officers, suspends 3

Mayawati wielded the axe with breakneck speed immediately after being sworn in as the new Chief Minister on Sunday as she transferred 12 officers and suspended two others.


Beginning her new stint in her trademark style, Mayawati also effecting a major administrative reshuffling in her secretariat. Into her fourth term as CM, the BSP leader also created the post of a Cabinet Secretary and appointed her principal secretaries.


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