Jobs Indian National Congress - Fill 400,000 vacancies in various state organisations, the judiciary and parliament by 31 March 2020 - Angel taxes imposed on start-ups to be withdrawn immediately - Application fees for government examinations and government posts to be abolished. Bharatiya Janata Party - Increase public and private investment in infrastructure that will also lead to creation of a large number of jobs - Ensure 10% quota for economically weak sections of society in government jobs and higher education institutes Farmers Indian National Congress - Not allow criminal proceedings to be instituted against any farmer unable to repay debt - Present a separate “farmers budget” to ensure priority is given to agricultural issues - Redesign the current government’s crop insurance scheme which has not been beneficial to farmers Bharatiya Janata Party - Double farmers’ income by 2022 - A scheme to ensure financial support to small and medium farmers will be expanded to cover all farmers - Introduce a pension scheme for small farmers and traders Income Support Indian National Congress - Guarantee an income for 50 million of India's poorest families - A government programme that guarantees 100 days of paid work to every rural household will be increased to 150 days Bharatiya Janata Party - Bring down the percentage of families living below the poverty line to a single digit in the next five years - Ensure a permanent house for every family. - Give gas cylinder connections to all poor rural households Economy and Taxes Indian National Congress - Reform the Goods and Services Tax introduced by the government - Achieve a fiscal deficit target of 3% of GDP by 2020-21 - Enact the Direct Taxes Code within one year of government - Work with the central bank to simplify the procedures banks use to verify customers Bharatiya Janata Party - Simplify the Goods and Services Tax in consultation with all stakeholders - Make capital investment of Rs.100 lakh crore in the infrastructure sector - Launch a new scheme to provide collateral-free credit up to five million rupees for entrepreneurs. - Promote and encourage start-ups through creation of a ‘Seed Start-up Fund’ Education Indian National Congress - Pass a law to provide for quotas to disprivileged people in private higher education institutions - Primary and secondary education in public schools to be compulsory and free - Double the allocation for education to 6% of GDP - Introduce vocational training as a compulsory component of the syllabus Bharatiya Janata Party - Increase the number of admissions in central law, engineering, science and management institutions by at least 50%. - Set up a medical college in every district - Establish teacher training institutes Women Indian National Congress - Pass the Constitution (Amendment) Bill to provide for reservation of 33 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies in the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha and in the Rajya Sabha. - Every Special Economic Zone shall have working women’s hostels and safe transport facilities to increase the participation of women in the labour force. - Sufficient night shelters will be built for migrant women workers. Adequate number of safe and hygienic public toilets for women will be provided in towns and cities. Sanitary napkin vending machines will be installed in public spaces,schools and colleges. - Review the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplaces Act, 2013 and extend the Act to all workplaces. - Launch a programme to appoint an Adhikar Maitri in every Panchayat to serve as a paralegal to educate women on, and assist them in, their legal rights. Bharatiya Janata Party - Ensure justice for Muslim women by enacting a law against triple talaq (instant divorce) - Formulate a roadmap to increase female workforce participation. - Number of childcare facilities to be increased three fold by 2022. - Sanitary pads to be provided to all women and girls for just one rupee ($0.014) - Bring 33% reservation in parliament and state assemblies for women Health Indian National Congress -Guarantee every citizen the right to healthcare services - Double the total government expenditure on healthcare to 3% of GDP by 2023-24 - Ensure that mental healthcare professionals are appointed at all public district hospitals and that mental healthcare services are made freely available - Trauma and Emergency Centres to be established on all national and state highways Bharatiya Janata Party - Establish 150,000 new health and wellness centres - Increase the doctor-population ratio to 1:1,400 - Improve facilities at existing Health and Wellness Centres by 2022<doc-sep>The second “O” in the Google doodle today (April 11) has been replaced by the drawing of a hand with an outstretched, inked finger—a representation of someone who has voted in India. The doodle marks the beginning of India’s 2019 parliamentary elections, which will take place in seven phases starting today through late May. India’s election, which will be the biggest democratic contest in history, could see as many as 900 million eligible voters visit over a million polling booths, which will be manned by 11 million election personnel. Today, 91 constituencies across 20 states go to the polls. When clicked on, the Google doodle returns information from the Election Commission of India (ECI) about how the voting process works, including frequently asked questions such as how to check if your name appears on the electoral roll, how to check different candidate names, how to use electronic voting machines (EVM), and more. In 2014, on the counting day of the last parliamentary elections in India, Google’s doodle was very similar to the current one: a hand with an inked finger replacing the “L.” Electoral ink is a semi-permanent dye that is applied to the forefinger after voting in India, to prevent instances where people vote more than once. Besides India, the ink is used or has been used in around 30 countries across the world, including Afghanistan, Guatemala, the Philippines, and South Africa. Read Quartz’s coverage of the 2019 Indian general election here.<doc-sep>(CNN) — India is just weeks away from general elections, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party facing what looks like an increasingly close contest. Politicians of all stripes are already in campaign mode for what will be the world’s largest exercise in democracy – a mammoth undertaking that will take place over several weeks to ensure the voices of hundreds of millions of Indians across the country are heard. The Indian election will begin on April 11, the country’s Election Commission announced Sunday. Who can vote? And how many Indians are eligible to vote? About 900 million people. That’s almost triple the entire population of the United States. All Indians aged 18 and above can participate. In the last general election, in 2014, more than 830 million Indians were eligible – and more than 550 million voted. Who’s running? Hindustan Times/Hindustan Times/Hindustan Times via Getty Images Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) stands near Rahul Gandhi (L) during the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament Attack at Parliament House on December 13, 2017, in New Delhi. Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are seeking re-election after a landslide victory in 2014. The main national opposition party is the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, the scion of India’s most influential political dynasty. Gandhi is the son of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. His grandmother Indira was India’s first female leader, and his grandfather, Jawarhlal Nehru, was the country’s founding Prime Minister. But numerous other regional parties also wield significant influence across the country, with some for and others against Modi – all of which can help define the outcome. In the 2014 contest, there were a total of 464 political parties and more than 8,000 candidates courting voters across the nation. How is the prime minister elected? In India’s Westminster-style model, parties field candidates for seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament. There are 543 seats at stake. An additional two seats are filled by nominees from the Anglo Indian community – or those of mixed Indian and European descent. Framed to protect the rights of Anglo Indians when British colonial rule ended, the rule gives the President the power to nominate two members of the community if he/she feels they aren’t adequately represented in the legislature. Whichever party wins the majority of seats gets to choose the prime minister. For the BJP, the candidate is Modi, who became Prime Minister in 2014 when his party won 282 Lok Sabha seats in what was the biggest majority secured by a single party in 30 years. With its allies, the coalition notched up an impressive 336 seats. If no one party wins a majority, a coalition of different parties can come together to form the next government. In 2004, for example, the Congress – after falling short of an absolute majority – entered into a coalition with smaller parties to form the government. How long does it take to complete polling? Several weeks. To ensure the integrity of the process, and allow for election and security resources to be moved around the country, polling unfolds in seven phases covering different regions. A total of one million polling stations will be peppered across India. Polling ends on May 19, with votes counted by May 23. What are the key battlegrounds? SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Indian Congress party supporters hold a Congress party flag as they celebrate in Ahmedabad on December 11, 2018. Voting is spread across India’s 29 states and seven additional, smaller territories, known as union territories. Some areas carry more weight than others because of the number of Lok Sabha constituencies in each state or union territory, something that’s based on how populous they are. The bigger the state, the more seats it has. And the biggest battleground by many miles is the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. It’s India’s most populous state, with about 200 million inhabitants – if it was a country, it would be the fifth largest on the planet. Uttar Pradesh accounts for 80 seats in the Lok Sabha, making it critical to the formation of any Indian government. Other key regions to watch will be western state of Maharashtra, which accounts for 48 Lok Sabha seats; West Bengal in the east with 42 seats; Bihar in the north, which accounts for 40; and in the south, Tamil Nadu, which has 39 seats.<doc-sep>
India started voting on Thursday to elect members to the lower house of Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party hope to win power for a second five-year term — but opinion polls suggest it could be a close fight to the finish. The coalition led by Modi's party is predicted to win 273 of the 543 parliament seats being contested, one seat more than the number needed to govern, Reuters reported. There'll be around 900 million eligible voters in India, almost three times the size of the U.S. population. That makes the elections — spread over seven phases that end on May 19 — the largest democratic exercise in the world. Indian citizens who are 18 or older are eligible to participate. Votes will be counted on May 23 and results are likely to be announced the same day. How it works India follows the parliamentary system of government where the lower house — known as the Lok Sabha — comprises elected representatives. There are a total of 545 seats, two of which are nominated by the president, while the rest are contested. The party that wins the majority of seats in the lower house will form a government. If no party wins a clear majority, coalitions will have to be formed. At the moment, there are two major coalitions: The National Democratic Alliance is led by Modi's BJP and makes up the current government; while the United Progressive Alliance is led by the Indian National Congress. Analysts have previously said that the emergence of a so-called "third-front government" — where neither the BJP nor Congress holds a major sway — could potentially spook markets and dent investor confidence in India. Main contenders Since 2014, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has governed India. During that time, Modi introduced a number of prominent economic reforms such as the implementation of the goods and services tax, as well as demonetization — where all 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes were unexpectedly withdrawn and new 500 and 2,000 rupee denomination notes issued. While growth ticked up under his government, not everyone benefited equally — something that had been a major promise during his 2014 campaign. Indian election officials check polling material and Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) at a distribution centre in Hyderabad on April 10, 2019, a day before the beginning of the first phase of India's general election. Noah Seelam | AFP | Getty Images The main challenger to Modi is Rahul Gandhi, the president of opposition party Congress. He is a member of India's most influential political dynasty: his father, Rajiv Gandhi, and grandmother, Indira Gandhi, were former prime ministers. His great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was India's founding prime minister. In the last election, Congress had won just 44 seats in the lower house. Since then, the party has been on the upswing and recently won three major state elections. Analysts broadly expect Modi to return for a second five-year term as prime minister. But some have said that the BJP may lose its single party majority in the lower house and the NDA coalition may need the support of additional parties. Political consultancy Eurasia Group said earlier this month they predict Congress holds only a 15 percent chance of returning to power. While BJP and Congress are the only two parties with a pan-Indian presence, voters in a number of states in India are expected to favor regional parties. Battlegrounds Among India's 29 states and seven union territories, Uttar Pradesh is the most populous, with more than 200 million people. The state elects 80 members to the lower house and doing well there is crucial for any party to get ahead in the polls. In the last election, the BJP and its ally won 73 out of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. Several local parties have formed an alliance to counter Modi's party, making it tough for the BJP to repeat its performance in the 2019 elections. Other areas that will be closely watched include the western state of Maharashtra, with 48 lower house seats; West Bengal in the east, with 42; Bihar, in the north, with 40; and Tamil Nadu, in the south, with 39. Important issues