People’s participation in elections is usually measured by Voter Turnout figures. Turnout indicates the percent of eligible voters who actually cast their vote. Over the last 50 years, the turnout in Europe and North America has declined. In India the turnout has either remained stable or actually gone up.
In India the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger proportion as compared to the rich and privileged sections. This is in contrast to western democracies. For example in the United States of America, poor people, African Americans and Hispanics vote much less than the rich and the white people.
Common people in India attach a lot of importance to elections. They feel that through elections they can bring pressure on political parties to adopt policies and programmes favorable to them. They also feel that their vote matters in the way things are run in the country.
The interest of voters in election-related activities has been increasing over the years. During the 2004 elections, more than one-third voters took part in campaign-related activities. More than half of the people identified themselves as being close to one or the other political party. One out of every seven voters is a member of a political party.
