Every five years or so (and sometimes at alarmingly higher frequencies) India, the world's largest democracy, goes to the polls. For months on end, the normal routine of the nation comes to a grinding halt as an elaborate machinery is set up for citizens to exercise their franchise and elect the 545 representatives whom they see fit to govern a country of over one billion residents. The sheer size and scope of the electoral exercise is mind-boggling: in the 2004 general elections there were some 387 million votes polled for a total of 5398 candidates at 700,000 polling stations nationwide, using over 1 million electronic voting machines, at a cost of close to Rs 100 million. With a few perceptive brushstrokes, master cartoonist Sudhir Dar brings alive all the excitement and eccentricities of Indian elections. Nothing escapes his scrutiny: from bickering over party tickets to allotment of innovative election symbols, from high-octane campaigning to meaningless manifestos, from booth capturing to long electoral queues, from lost security deposits to victorious post-poll alliances between sworn enemies. For more than four decades, Sudhir Dar has regaled generations of readers with his inimitable creations. This volume contains some of his best work, including a host of new and topical cartoons. Accompanying the cartoons are facts and figures and little snippets about elections in India that are sure to intrigue and fascinate you. This is a memento of the chaotic and delightful world of elections that every reader will want to own.
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