It matters because ...
The election will decide who will be India's next prime minister and the leader of the world's largest democracy.
It will help predict the future direction of Indian politics and foreign policy as the country seeks to play a more assertive role in world affairs.
Many also expect India to become the third-largest economy globally, which would further strengthen its influence and strategic role on the international stage.
The policies of a new Indian government will also be of significance to its neighbours, especially historical rivals China and Pakistan, who will watch for any changes that may threaten regional order or stability.
A polling officer marks the finger of Indian lambadi tribeswomen at a polling station at Pedda Shapur on the outskirts of Hyderabad April 11 2019. Source: Getty
At home, the election will determine the course of a wider national debate on how India wants to portray itself.
Some argue India has become intolerant of dissent since the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) came to power in 2014. The party has been attributed with mainstreaming and politicising right-wing ideology that seeks to establish Hindu primacy in several areas.
The public opinion remains sharply divided over the BJP-led government's ideology with clear lines largely drawn between right-wing and liberal narratives.
Supporters of Prime Minister Modi say India has become stronger and more assertive under his leadership, while opponents say criticism and freedom has been stifled.
The outcome of the election will test the stance of both pro and anti-Modi groups. It will also determine which ideological and economical direction India prefers for the next five years.
Voting process
Organising the world's largest election is not an easy task.
It involves overwhelming logistics and planning which is why voting in India does not take place on a single day and is instead spread over several weeks.
India is home to over 1.3 billion people out of which around 900 million are eligible to vote in this year's election.
Indians stand in a queues to cast their votes at a Polling booth for the first phase of general elections, near Ghaziabad. Source: AAP
This includes over 15 million first-time voters between the age group of 18-19 years, a significant per cent of the total electorate. Nearly two-thirds of Indians are under the age of 35.
Voting will take place across the country in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May. The results will be announced on 23 May.
Four states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Odisha, will also vote for new state governments along with the national election.
Source: BBC Monitoring
The Election Commission said that while national polls in Indian-administered Kashmir will go ahead, simultaneous state elections will not happen due to limited availability of security forces.
Over a million polling stations will be installed with electronic voting machines and a voter-verifiable paper audit trail.
Losing parties in the past have alleged that the machines can be hacked, claims dismissed by the country's Election Commission.
Key numbers
Voters will elect 543 members of the lower house of the parliament, locally known as the Lok Sabha. A party or a coalition needs to win at least 272 seats to form a government.
Nearly 2000 political parties are contesting the election, representing diverse political opinion from various social, religious and ethnic backgrounds.
But national politics is dominated by the BJP and the Congress while smaller, regional parties yield significant influence in forming coalitions.
India has 29 states and seven federally-administered union territories. Out of these, 10 states together account for 382 seats in the house of 543, thereby playing a significant role in shaping political representation in the parliament.
Campaigning is in full swing ahead of the election. Source: Getty Images
A total of 249 seats come from five large states, namely Uttar Pradesh, which sends the most number of MPs to the parliament (80), followed by Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu with 48, 42, 40 and 39 seats respectively.
Other key states include Madhya Pradesh (29), Karnataka (28), Gujarat (26), Andhra Pradesh (25), and Rajasthan (25), which together take 133 seats.
Any party or coalition hoping to form the government needs to perform well in these states.
Main political parties in Indian elections
RULING PARTY
The ruling BJP led by Prime Minister Modi is one of the main contenders in the election.
The Hindu nationalist party is looking to repeat its landmark success in the 2014 election when it alone won 282 of the 428 contested seats.
Source: AAP
Bharatiya Janata Party
It has continued to enjoy popular support since coming to power and has expanded its influence to state governments in the last five years.
The BJP won the 2017 election in the country's largest and most politically significant state of Uttar Pradesh in what many said was a precursor to the next general election.
The BJP has again put Prime Minister Modi at the heart of its 2019 election campaign, reinforcing his image as a pro-business leader who will go to any length to defend India.
MAIN OPPOSITION
Challenging Modi is Rahul Gandhi, who leads India's oldest and the main opposition Congress party.
Gandhi is the son, grandson and great-grandson of former Indian prime ministers and is often mocked by political rivals for his link to dynastic politics and lack of ministerial experience.
Rahul Gandhi is a stronger contender in this election than the previous one. Source: NurPhoto
Once described by media as "shy" and the "reluctant crown prince" of Indian politics, Gandhi over the years has emerged as an outspoken critic of the BJP.
Indian National Congress (INC)
The Congress is looking to regain power after its worst defeat ever in the 2014 election, when it won only 44 of the 543 seats.
The party continued to struggle for its political survival after consistently losing several state elections since 2014.
But in a reversal of fortune, the Congress saw its chances improved after it defeated the BJP in three significant state elections in December 2018.
While the party credits Gandhi's leadership for the win, some attribute it to anti-incumbency against the BJP.
Another harbinger of hope for the opposition party has been the formal entry into politics of Rahul Gandhi's younger sister Priyanka.
Until now she had been reluctant to take on a formal political role in the party although she has previously campaigned for her brother and mother Sonia Gandhi.
Priyanka Gandhi is known to be more popular than her brother. Source: AAP
She is married to businessman Robert Vadra who has been named in corruption cases, allegations that the family says are politically motivated.
Priyanka joined the election campaign in January. Interestingly, she has been named the Congress general secretary for the eastern part of politically significant Uttar Pradesh.
Some say the move may not just improve the party's electoral chances in the state but also prove to be a game changer across the country.
But sceptics say Priyanka's earlier campaigns did little to tilt the votes in Congress' favour and her formal entry into politics is a case of too little, too late.
REGIONAL PARTIES, KINGMAKERS
Both national parties, the BJP and the Congress, have also been in talks with allies who could emerge as possible kingmakers in absence of a clear majority by any one party.
The BJP already leads a coalition called the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) while the Congress is at the front of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
While some alliances ahead of the elections have been sealed, at the same time few regional players have chosen not to take sides in the largely bipolar contest between the BJP and the Congress.
For example, two arch rivals in Uttar Pradesh have decided to come together hoping to divide the BJP vote bank.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) said they will not compete against each other. Both are politically influential and are neither a part of the NDA nor the UPA alliance.
Mayawati, who leads the BSP and has been a four-time chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, in a shock announcement on 20 March said she will not run in the election and would instead focus on the alliance against the BJP.
Elsewhere, at least two states are set to see a tight contest between coalitions led by the BJP and the Congress.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati, (c), Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav, (r) and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Ajit Singh, April 7 2019. Source: AAP
The BJP with the support of its ally Shiv Sena is challenging the Congress and its supporter Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra while electoral battle lines have also been drawn in Bihar between the BJP, the Janata Dal (United), the Lok Janshakti Party and an opposition alliance that includes the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Election issues
Issues such as unemployment, corruption and healthcare that affect the daily lives of the people continue to resonate with Indian voters.
ECONOMY
Lack of jobs and a slow economy are major talking points in India where nearly two-thirds of the population is under the age of 35.
Unemployment has increased since Modi took over as prime minister on the back of an election promise that he would create 10 million jobs per year. There is a growing disappointment over how much he has delivered.
The government has been accused of hiding official economic statistics, including unfavourable jobs data, months before the general election.
Respected Indian daily Business Standard in January said an official report suppressed by the authorities showed that the unemployment rate in 2017-2018 was at its highest in 45 years.
Dismissing allegations that his government has not been able to create enough jobs, the prime minister in 2018 said "more than a lack of jobs, the issue is lack of data on jobs". He also said more than 7 million jobs were created in 2017-18.
Unemployment is a big issue in Asia's third-largest economy. Source: Getty
Global credit ratings firm Fitch has revised India's economic growth rate for this fiscal year to 6.8 per cent from its previous estimate of 7 per cent, citing slow momentum in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors.
The BJP-led government, however, maintains claims of unprecedented economic growth, saying investors' confidence in the Indian economy has grown and that the deeper issue of economic reforms is "work in progress".
The prime minister's popularity initially also suffered after a series of protests over controversial decisions, including a sudden ban on high-value currency notes in 2016 and his bold but chaotic implementation of a centralised tax system in 2017 that affected small and medium-size businesses.
These were followed by public rows over the surprise resignation of India's top central banker and disputes over federal investigation agency CBI, leading to concerns that state institutions were fighting to keep their independence while the state-owned banks were drowning in bad loans.
India's large cash economy was badly hit by the currency ban. Source: AAP
The opposition has been raising all these issue against the BJP-led government.
It has also particularly highlighted the plight of debt-ridden farmers who were amongst those heavily affected by the currency ban.
The government at the time justified the move as a bid to fight corruption and tax invasion in a country where most transactions are still carried out in cash.
POPULISM
It is against this backdrop that political parties are turning to populist schemes to convince voters, a significant percentage of whom lives in rural areas.
BJP-ruled states have announced direct cash transfers and loan waivers to farmers. The government has also promised job quotas aimed at pleasing the upper echelons of India's Hindu caste system, a core voter base for the party.
The Congress party, on the other hand, has promised to create "the world's largest minimum income scheme" that it says will guarantee an income for 50 million of India's poorest families.
Both parties are also competing in welfare schemes with healthcare as a serious election issue.
The BJP government announced an ambitious health insurance scheme in February when it presented an annual budget that many described as populist.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the "world's largest government-funded healthcare programme" would cover more than 100 million poor families and provide nearly 8000 US dollars in medical coverage for each family annually.
The Congress, in comparison, said if it comes to power, it will consider bringing in a Right to Healthcare Act, a proposed law that will guarantee certain minimum healthcare facilities to every Indian.
Gandhi has also promised to raise health spending to about 3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product and increase the number of healthcare professionals.
CORRUPTION
The BJP-led government continues to project Modi as a strong, anti-corruption leader while presenting itself as an alternative to former Congress-led administrations that were marred by corruption scandals.
The prime minister launched an election campaign in March called "MainBhiChowkidar" ("I too am a watchman"), urging Indians to serve as metaphorical guards against corruption.
He prefixed the word "chowkidar" to his name on Twitter, with other BJP ministers, officials and supporters following suit to promote the campaign.
The campaign was in response to the Congress' earlier slogan "chowkidar chor hai" ("watchman is the thief"), a reference to corruption allegations against the Modi-led government in a defence contract case.
INCREASING FOCUS ON WOMEN
Analysts predict that more women are likely to vote than men in the upcoming election, which is expected to have a considerable impact on the outcome.
The Election Commission says women make up nearly half of all voters in the country of 1.3 billion people.
Parties are trying to woo women voters by offering them representation in the Indian parliament, which is largely seen as a boys club.
Two regional parties, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), in a widely praised decision said they will field more women in the election, a move that local media say forced national parties to follow suit.
Naveen Patnaik, chief minister of the eastern Odisha state, on 10 March announced that the BJD will reserve seven out of 21 seats for women candidates in the national election.
Two days later, Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal state, said her TMC party will field 17 women candidates across 42 seats.
A young boy dressed as a policeman stands as Indians wait in a queue to cast their votes in village Sawaal near Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. Source: AAP
But some see politics at play.
"While the BJD and TMC deserve credit for pushing the cause of gender parity in electoral politics, observers say these parties might not have fielded more women candidates if there was no political dividend," respected local paper says in a report on its website.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi has also promised to reserve a third of federal government jobs for women if the party is voted to power while the BJP says it has worked for women empowerment through nationwide schemes.
NATIONALISM
While the opposition would much rather fight the election on economic grounds, the ruling party has driven the national security debate to the front.
The BJP in the last five years has amplified nationalist rhetoric, defending political Hinduism and advocating one-size-fits-all version of Indian identity.
This has emboldened extreme right-wing groups to act against those challenging the majority view as they label critics "anti-national".
Sporadic attacks on the minority Muslim community and intimidation of lower castes have been widely reported across the country under the BJP administration.
The narrative against the ruling party had appeared to weaken after the party lost the three state elections to the Congress in December.
But in February 2019, that narrative changed.
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers' family members hold candles as they pay tribute to the killed CRPF personnel of the Pulwama attack Source: AAP
A suicide attack in Indian-administered Kashmir and a subsequent military escalation with Pakistan that involved tit-for-tat air strikes altered the election conversation, with the BJP stirring the election focus towards national security.
Prime Minister Modi in election rallies has made it clear that the "new India" under him was not afraid to strike back if it is provoked or attacked by Pakistan or the militant groups based there.
The confrontation with Pakistan was seen as a victory in India which further strengthened the prime minister's strongman image, allowing the BJP to take back control of the narrative.
But this is election season, and the conversation keeps shifting.
Two days after the Congress announced its ambitious income scheme, the prime minister on 27 March made an unexpected address to the nation in which he said India had successfully shot down a low-orbit satellite in a missile test, demonstrating its space warfare capability.
It would "make India stronger, even more secure and will further peace and harmony," he added.
The timing of the announcement was criticised by the opposition which said the prime minister was dramatising and taking credit for Indian space scientists' work.
Media election coverage
OVERVIEW
If the Indian election is a contest of narratives, it is the media that is shaping the discourse.
Television remains the most popular source of news in the country while radio is also prevalent.
Many believe that the local media in the face of intimidation has been practicing increasing self-censorship in covering the prime minister and the government in the last five years.
"With Hindu nationalists trying to purge all manifestations of 'anti-national' thought from the national debate, self-censorship is growing in the mainstream media and journalists are increasingly the targets of online smear campaigns by the most radical nationalists, who vilify and even threaten physical reprisals," says a on India for 2018.
"Online and mobile harassment was especially prevalent… journalists were threatened with violence and, in the case of female journalists, rape," it adds.
'WHATSAPP ELECTIONS'
If 2014 was described as "India's first social media elections", 2019 is widely expected to be the "WhatsApp elections".
Social media made its presence felt in the last 2014 election when it successfully helped the BJP reach more number of young voters during the campaign.
But this time, it is setting the political agenda like never before as several parties since then have strengthened their outreach on platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in the backdrop of rapidly improving internet connectivity and rising smartphone use.
WhatsApp has been bursting with political and election-related content that is being widely circulated in its closed encrypted world.
WhatsApp is India's most popular messaging application. Source: Getty
With over 200 million users in India alone, WhatsApp is capable of creating a real impact on the election.
It was at the centre of controversy when its misuse was linked to earlier incidents of fake news, misinformation and rumours that incited public tensions, including mob lynchings.
Realising its widespread popularity, political parties, including the BJP and the Congress, are using WhatsApp as a key campaign tool as they continue to blame each other for propagating fake news.
A top executive for WhatsApp in February blamed Indian parties for "misusing" the app ahead of the election.
"We have seen a number of parties attempt to use Whatsapp in a way that was not intended and our firm message to them is using it in that way will result in bans of our service," local PTI news agency quoted WhatsApp Head of Communications Carl Woog as saying.
"We are trying to be very clear going into elections that there is abuse of WhatsApp and we are working very hard to identify and prevent it as soon as possible," he added.
CODE OF CONDUCT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
Concerns over social media misuse have prompted the authorities to come up with a specific code of conduct around online campaigning to ensure a level playing field for all those contesting the election.
The Election Commission has asked candidates to report their expenditures on social media.
It also requires them to seek approval for political advertisements on Google, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
It has further issued directives which prohibit campaigning two days before voting. The same rules apply to online campaigns and social media posts.
Candidates are also barred from displaying photographs of defence personnel for social media campaigning.
Meanwhile, platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google have promised to create a special monitoring mechanism to ensure a clean campaign.
How the poll body enforces the code of conduct on social media remains to be seen Source: (Facebook Twitter)
Interestingly, no specific guidelines related to WhatsApp have been observed.
THE BOLLYWOOD DEBATE
One influential medium that remains out of the election guidelines purview is India's famous Bollywood industry which has produced several political films recently.
Though this is not a new trend but the timing of their release in the run up to the election has raised concerns.
At least two mainstream Hindi films were released in January 2019 that appeared to reinforce the ruling BJP party's position on nationalism and criticism against the opposition Congress party.
The film Uri was based on India's alleged "surgical strike" on militant camps in Pakistan in 2016, an action widely celebrated by the ruling party as an example of Modi's decisive policies.
Another film "The Accidental Prime Minister", based on a book of the same name by author Sanjaya Baru, depicted the Congress-led tenure of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from 2004 to 2014.
The BJP widely promoted the trailer of the film buttressing its argument of Singh as a reluctant leader. The Congress has criticised the book, the movie and the BJP’s argument, saying it is a political stunt.
Two more biopics based on Prime Minister Modi (being promoted heavily at the time of the publication of this guide) and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi are scheduled to be released in April, when the first phase of polling begins.
Questions are being asked if specific election guidelines are needed against alleged propaganda disguised as films slotted for release in the thick of the election season.
