In the run-up to the Rajasthan state elections, public audits of electoral rolls are beginning to payoff remarkably, says Nikhil Dey.

A citizens' committee in Karnataka decides that the people can aid the Election Commission's efforts at reducing the presence of criminals in politics.

With elections just weeks away, Child Relief and You asks that political parties to focus on issues that affect children.

As India's massive election exercise begins, citizens watch committees have teamed up to help voters assess and make sense of the candidates' disclosures.

Jayaprakash Narayan on the famous verdict of May 2004 that saw the BJP-led NDA evicted from power. This feature includes a brief interview.

'God's own country' was at the polls earlier this month on May 10. A report based on the Kerala Election Watch committee's analysis of candidate affidavits and subsequent results.

In July the Chief of the Central Election Commission wrote to the Prime Minister outlining several proposals for further reforms in the electoral arena. Rasika Dhavse reports.

At least one controversial issue raging in the Karimnagar by-election race in A.P. has taken its toll. Union Minister Oscar Fernandes has assured the region's beedi workers of modifying a controversial New Delhi order that has mandated a skull-denoted warning on beedi packets. Kondal Rao reports.

The the machinery and conduct of elections, is robust and intact. But the 'software' of democracy, the processes by which we are governed in-between elections, is corrupt and corroded, writes Ramachandra Guha.

A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court has referred the question of whether voters should have the option to declare their lack of confidence in all the candidates on a ballot to a Constitution bench. Kannan Kasturi reports.

It was once hoped that curbing election expenses would keep the process fairer. Today, the opposite is true, and neither the UPA nor the NDA wants to disturb this comfortable arrangement. Kannan Kasturi reports.

Underneath the gloss of the UPA victory on 16 May lies a sober reality. Around the country, adivasi women are known for their leadership qualities, and yet, they do not get equal opportunities to contest elections, finds Manipadma Jena.

The current national elections have set high standards in management, organization, transparency and fair selection of people's representatives. Now, the chosen representatives must understand that people have voted for governance, writes Arvind Verma.

The best of India must stop running independent side-shows, and bring their energy and vision to well-constructed political spaces, and let this be their contribution to changing India, writes Surendra Srivastava.

Voting is an important duty. But giving the state coercive power ostensibly in the name of saving the people from themselves is undemocratic paternalism, writes Pratap B Mehta.

The entire episode of BJP leader Lalkrishna Advani's resignation from the party and its subsequent meek withdrawal not only breaks the myth of his capacity for brinkmanship, but may also prove to be a spoiler for the party in the run up to the Lok Sabha, says B.S. Nagaraj.

The aggressive stance of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in exiting the NDA is not really a big surprise, but whether that can lead to the formation of a viable government by an United Third Front at the Centre leaves room for scepticism, says B.S. Nagaraj.

Continuing the focus on how Members of Parliament from key urban constituencies have fared in the 15th Lok Sabha, Lavanya Donthamshetty shines the spotlight on the leaders from Chennai.

If the cost of ecological damage and social deprivation are accounted for, Narendra Modi will only be half as tall as he is made out to be, says Ashish Kothari, issuing a grave warning.

The controversy over the Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports on ecological preservation in the Western Ghats has brought about a churn in politics in Kerala. P N Venugopal wonders if this will determine the decisions of the electorate in the Lok Sabha elections.

They make an appearance before every election with a basket of promises and some patchwork to impress the electorate, only to disappear later. Chennai residents tell Lavanya Donthamshetty how tired they are of such politicians, wishing for a leader with vision and the commitment to turn it into reality.

Atum Welly, a former Congress minister in Arunachal Pradesh who switched to the BJP, alleges that a fraudulent move threw him out of the election process, as the Election Commission of India accepted a forged letter of withdrawal. What’s more, he is not alone! Ramesh Menon reports.

Days before the much-hyped showdown between Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi, Prabhu Mallikarjunan pays a visit to the holy city to know more about the loyalties and concerns of people on the ground.

Any election campaign and process needs money, and as long as the exercise of money power is well-regulated, it can never thwart the power of the people, feels P V Rajeev.

Did corruption as an issue only create noise, or did it really impact voter choice in the 16^th Lok Sabha elections? Prabhu Mallikarjunan finds that the answer may not be very straighforward or simple.

How strong was the Modi wave? Did recent state elections impact voter choice in parliamentary elections? Did better performing MPs necessarily augur well for their parties? A statistical analysis by Srinivasan Ramani finds interesting linkages between these and the UPA drubbing.

While the entire country appeared unimpressed by the Aam Aadmi Party and its promises, Punjab not only sent four of its candidates to the Lok Sabha, but also overcame the rural-urban divide in its mandate for the party. Srinivasan Ramani explores why.

In the 2014 elections, the BJP won 66 out of 131 seats reserved for SC/ST candidates, which is the highest for any single party since 1991. Prabhu Mallikarjunan looks at the statistics and tries to decipher what this says for voting behaviour in these constituencies.

The Election Commission of India is introducing The National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPA) with a view to eliminating duplication and erroneous deletions in electoral rolls across the country. Chinmayi Shalya reports.

Why have the media bought the view that EVMs are infallible when some experts – and the Supreme Court – disagree? Ravikiran Shinde dissects the issue.

'Shashi Tharoor and the Congress party coming together was a recipe for success. If Shashi had chosen to contest on his own on the basis of his personal accomplishments, he could have presented an agenda for change and made a splash, but like some of the other Independent stars, he would have made a point, but not gone any further.'

'There is more introspection already going on on these web sites than in New Delhi and state capitals, and there is more loud thinking than in the endless debates on our television channels.'

The 2009 election will mark the rapid decline of India.

'Perhaps it is too much to expect the channels which run on celebrity content and arrogance to say that they had to eat crow. But because television news networks are arbiters of the moral and the political right and who dare ask them questions?'

The verdict of the 2009 general election has once again brought the 'centre' in Indian politics to centre-stage. India has returned to an even keel.

The choice for the last remaining Communist party on this planet is clear. It either reinvents itself, as its brethren around the world have repeatedly done. Or it walks off into the JNU sunset.

If he shall not do so today, can Dr Manmohan Singh ever push reforms and infrastructure initiatives?

'If a scheme like the NREGA can yield such handsome dividends, imagine the likely impact of an initiative to provide universal healthcare, free primary education, safe drinking water, affordable housing and social security.'

By fixing a minimum tenure for secretaries in key ministries, Singh can ensure continuity of policy.

Phase IV: Most candidates from Rajasthan

Congress vs BJP in Delhi

Phase IV: BSP has most 'tainted' candidates

Phase IV: Cong fields maximum crorepatis

Congress has the most crorrepatis in the fray in Phase V of the polls.

Fifth Phase: BSP has maximum criminal candidates

All about last phase of LS election

Graphic: Women in Lok Sabha

BJP vice-president Purshottam Rupala tells the media, "The initial results are in favour of the BJP, I am sure of our victory. Though we expect a lot more seats, still there is an hour to go before the final results are declared."

Invincible as he appears in his western stronghold, can Narendra Modi sweep forth from it and take New Delhi for an insurgent BJP? The good news for Modi's rivals in his party is that these results don't even begin to suggest he can.

Now that the numbers are out and it is nowhere near as spectacular as expected/feared by some or hyped by many -- it is Narendra Modi's lowest in three elections -- it is a sobering thought. Is this the best he can do, wonders Saisuresh Sivaswamy.