Home » Despite dip in election trust, Indians trek miles to cast their ballots

Despite dip in election trust, Indians trek miles to cast their ballots

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As India kicks off its high-stakes general election, the integrity of its electoral process is being called into question. 

Nearly a billion people are eligible to vote in monthlong elections that began Friday. They will send 543 members to India’s Parliament, and determine whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party will win a third term in office. 

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New concerns about the integrity of India’s elections are bubbling up to the surface. But as the world’s largest election gets underway, an enduring faith in the power of each vote is still driving people to the polls.

But at the same time, opposition leaders are challenging the authenticity of votes cast via electronic voting machines, and trust in the Election Commission of India is dropping amid allegations of pro-government bias. A prepoll survey found that 28% of people trust the commission to a “great extent,” down from 51% of respondents in 2019.

Still, these apprehensions have not seemed to deter political participation, as voters from all political backgrounds flocked to the polls. 

“I don’t want to waste my vote,” says Mohammad Rafiq Sheikh, who cast his ballot at a school-turned-polling center in the northern Indian town of Ramban this morning. “Even one vote can decide a winner.”

Mohammad Rafiq Sheikh took his time casting his ballot this morning in the northern Indian town of Ramban.

After pressing the button for his party on the electronic voting machine (EVM), he carefully waited to hear the machine’s beep tone, and then to see the correct party symbol appear on screen, before leaving the government school-turned-polling station. 

“I don’t want to waste my vote,” says Mr. Sheikh, waiting for his 10 family members to file out of the building. “Even one vote can decide a winner.”

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

New concerns about the integrity of India’s elections are bubbling up to the surface. But as the world’s largest election gets underway, an enduring faith in the power of each vote is still driving people to the polls.

They are some of the first people to vote in India’s massive, high-stakes election. Nearly a billion voters are expected to flock to the polls over the next month to elect 543 members to India’s Parliament – and determine whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win a third term in office. This is despite growing mistrust of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and concerns about the authenticity of votes cast via EVMs. Indeed, for a country grappling with a democratic backslide, the enduring faith in India’s electoral system is a point of hope.

Mohan Guruswamy, a political analyst and the chairman of the New Delhi-based think tank Centre for Policy Analysis, says that India’s election process may not be perfect, but it’s fairly foolproof, and still has buy-in from voters of all backgrounds.

“It reflects the mandate and will of the people quite accurately,” he says. “There is a proper process of counting votes, and if you have doubts about the results as a candidate, you can get the votes physically checked on demand.”

Mohammad Rafiq Sheikh searches for his wife's name in the electoral roll outside a polling station in Ramban in northern India during the first phase of elections Friday.

“Impossible to subvert”?

Approximately 50 countries are slated to hold elections this year. But in some, including the United States and Pakistan, public confidence in the electoral process is declining, undermined by various factors, from misinformation on social media to censorship of opposition voices. 

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