Indian general election, 2009

Infobox Election
election_name = Indian general election, 2009
country = India
type = parliamentary
ongoing = yes
previous_election = Indian general election, 2004
previous_year = 2004
next_election =
next_year =
election_date = May 2009
seats_for_election = "To be determined by the Delimitation Commission"

leader1 =
party1 = Indian National Congress
leaders_seat1 =
seats1 =
seat_change1 =
popular_vote1 =
percentage1 =
swing1 =

leader2 =
leaders_seat2 =
party2 = Bharatiya Janta Party
seats2 =
seat_change2 =
popular_vote2 =
percentage2 =
swing2 =

map_

map_size =
map_caption =

title = PM
before_election = Manmohan Singh
before_party = Indian National Congress
after_election =
after_party =

India will hold general elections to the 15th Lok Sabha by May 2009.

Elections in India for the Lok Sabha (the national parliament) must be held at least every five years under normal circumstances; with the last elections held in 2004 elections will take place by May 2009.

In August 2008, the ruling United Progressive Alliance won a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha, after Left parties withdrew their outside support over the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement. Media speculation is that elections will be held at the latest date possible, which will be upon the Election Commission to decide.

Prime Ministerial Candidates

United Progressive AllianceFollowing the August 2008 confidence vote victory for the current government, a statement by Congress President Sonia Gandhi has caused speculation that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the next elections. Officially, no one has been designated yet. [ [http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14740889] Manmohan PM candidate of the Congress: Sonia.] This runs contrary to speculation that Rahul Gandhi would be the projected leader. [ [http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=87247 Rahul to start early for 2009 LS elections] , "The Indian Express", 28 May 2007]

National Democratic AllianceThe main opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its coalition partners in the National Democratic Alliance, announced on December 11, 2007 that their candidate for prime minister would be BJP party leader Lal Krishna Advani, [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7137799.stm India party declares PM candidate] , BBC News Online, 11 December 2007] the Leader of the Opposition. On January 23, 2008, leaders from BJP and other NDA parties convened to officially elect him their candidate [ [http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/23/stories/2008012359911200.htm NDA endorses Advani as its prime ministerial candidate] , "The Hindu", 23 January 2008] . No other party or alliance has announced a prime ministerial candidate.

Third FrontA motley of regional parties, as well as the Communist parties, have been striving to form a third front to counter the BJP-led and Congress-led alliances. Among the possible members are the United National Progressive Alliance, India's Left parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party. Once again, the media has speculated that Mayawati, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, could potentially be projected as the front's Prime Ministerial candidate, but no official move has taken place yet. If Mayawati's party can win enough seats, she has openly stated that she would be willing to take the support of the national parties to become Prime Minister. [ [http://www.gulfnews.com/world/India/10242146.html] Mayawati may rock Third Front.]

These elections will be the first in over 30 years to be fought on constituency boundaries, based on the redistricting decisions of the Delimitation Commission of India. Major changes include the reservation and de-reservation of seats and the merging of portions of different constituencies to eliminate population discrepancies between different seats. The central government of India has deferred delimitation in Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Jharkhand for the time being.

References

External links

* [http://www.delimitation-india.com/ Delimitation Commission of India]