Page 14 - NIS English 16-31 Jan, 2026

COVER STORY

National Voters’ Day Special

Democracy
n India, elections are not only confined to the political
process and government formation but are celebrat- Increasing Participation
ed as a grand festival of democracy, a true people’s of Women in Indian
celebration. India, the land of the world’s largest Democracy
Idemocracy – the mother of democracy – is celebrating
its 16th National Voters’ Day on January 25th this year. This Number of Female Voters (1952-2024)
year’s National Voters’ Day is special. India has assumed Year of Number of
the chairmanship of the Council of Member States of Election Female Voters
the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral 1952 -
Assistance (International IDEA). A special campaign for the
purification of the electoral rolls is underway in India after 1957 9.21+
two decades. A special discussion on electoral reforms was 1962 -
held in Parliament, the temple of democracy. Most impor- 1967 -
tantly, the country has embarked on the path to becoming 1971 13.06+
a Viksit Bharat by its 100th year of independence, and the
Election Commission of India is playing a crucial role in 1977 15.41+
enriching this journey of democracy. 1980 17.06+
Crores of people in the country exercise their electoral 1984-85 19.23+
suffrage to elect their representatives. This is the true spirit 1989 23.68+
of a democratic republic. This is the cornerstone upon
which the magnificent structure of Indian democracy is 1991-92 24.25+
built. After independence, India adopted parliamentary 1996 28.27+
democracy as its system of governance. In this system, 1998 28.91+
representatives are elected through universal adult suf- 1999 29.57+
frage. The framers of the Constitution attached a lot of im-
portance to the Election Commission, which is self-evident 2004 32.19+
in its establishment. The Constitution of India came into 2009 34.22+ (Voter figures in crore)
effect on January 26, 1950, and the Election Commission 2014 39.70+
came into existence a day earlier, on January 25, 1950. 2019 43.85+
The Election Commission was established a day before
the country became a republic because the framers of the 2024 47.63+
Constitution knew that a vibrant democracy is only pos-
sible with a fair and robust electoral system. There is no
doubt that the Election Commission was a very important
institution for the framers of the Constitution. Article 324
of the Constitution vests the Election Commission with the
power to conduct elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha,
State Legislative Assemblies, State Legislative Councils,
and for the offices of Vice-President and President. The
Election Commission, which has conducted 18 Lok Sabha
elections and more than 400 state assembly elections to
date, has proven its relevance since January 25, 1950. direct participation of the citizens in the formation
of a government. The international community now
A RICH TRADITION OF DEMOCRACY recognizes India as one of the world’s most robust
India is today a lodestar of global democracy. In any demo- democracies. The Election Commission of India, as
cratic country, the word ‘election’ symbolizes the active and an independent constitutional body, has played a

12 NEW INDIA SAMACHAR || January 16-31, 2026