Multiple State Assemblies of India went to
elections
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...
in 2008.
Legislative Assembly elections
The first batch of elections for the year were announced
by the
Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body. It was established by the Constitution of India to conduct and regulate elections in the country. Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of superintendence, di ...
(ECI) on 14 January 2008. This included the elections to the
Legislative Assemblies of the states of
Meghalaya
Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...
,
Nagaland
Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
and
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
. Elections in all
polling stations of all three states were conducted using
electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Elections to the state Assembly of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
was announced
by the ECI on 2 April 2008. This was the first election to be held under the new boundaries drawn up the
Delimitation Commission of India
The Delimitation commission or Boundary commission of India is a commission established by the Government of India under the provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act. The main task of the commission is redrawing the boundaries of the vari ...
.
The elections were split into three phases. Elections in all
polling stations of the state were conducted using EVMs.
Elections in four states -
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...
,
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
,
Mizoram
Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...
and
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...
- and in the
National Capital Territory of Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
(NCT) were announced
by the ECI on 14 October 2008. Of these, only
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...
would have elections in two phases. All others would have a single phase election. Counting for all constituencies were held on the same day. All these elections were held in accordance with
constituencies newly delimited by the
Delimitation Commission of India
The Delimitation commission or Boundary commission of India is a commission established by the Government of India under the provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act. The main task of the commission is redrawing the boundaries of the vari ...
. As has become the practice, EVMs would be used in all polling stations of all constituencies. Elections dates in
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
and
Mizoram
Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...
were subsequently amended by a new notice
passed by the ECI on 29 October 2008.
On 19 October 2008, the ECI announced
elections to the state Assembly of
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
. EVMs were used in all polling stations across the state. Taking into account various factors including weather, academic schedules and law & order situation in the state, the election is scheduled as a 7 phase marathon.
*1 In Meghalaya, the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...
(INC) was the single largest party and was invited by the Governor to form the Government. However, their Chief Minister
D. D. Lapang
Donwa Dethwelson Lapang (born 10 April 1934), popularly known as Dr. D. D. Lapang, is a politician from Meghalaya, India, and a former Chief Minister of Meghalaya.
He started his life as a road labourer and worked his way up to become Sub-Inspe ...
was unable to secure enough support in the Assembly. The
Meghalaya Progressive Alliance
The Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) was the ruling coalition of political parties that formed the Government in the state of Meghalaya, India from 2008 to 2009. It was led by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the United Democratic P ...
(MPA) is a post election alliance formed by the
Nationalist Congress Party
The Nationalist Congress Party ( NCP) is one of the nine national parties in India. The party generally supports Indian nationalism and Gandhian secularism. It is the largest opposition party in Maharashtra and is also a significant party ...
(NCP),
United Democratic Party (UDP),
Hill State People's Democratic Party
The Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) is a regional political party active in the state of Meghalaya, northeast India. Formed in 1968 as a split from the All Party Hill Leaders Conference by Hopingstone Lyngdoh, the HSPDP has had rep ...
(HPDP) and others including two
independents
*2 In Nagaland, the
Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) retained control of the government. The single largest party in the Nagaland Assembly was the
Nagaland People's Front (NPF) whose leader formed the new Government.
Chhattisgarh
Delhi
Jammu and Kashmir
Karnataka
Madhya Pradesh
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Rajasthan
Tripura
Local body elections
*
2008 Uttarakhand local body elections
See also
*
N. Gopalaswami
N. Gopalaswami (born 21 April 1944), served as 15th Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) and has been awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2015. He is a 1966 batch Indian Administrative Services officer belonging to the Gujarat cadre. He took ove ...
References
External links
Election Commission of India
{{Legislatures of India
Elections in India by year