Election Glossary: What Are Bellwether Seats, Swing States; Election Terms You Should Know

As the last phase of elections comes to an end and exit polls start rolling, the results and speculations are the most crucial topics revolving around the country. To get a proper hold of the election updates, here are some election terminology you should know.

Bellwether seats: A bellwether seat in politics is the constituency that serves as a trend indicator for the region as a whole. These seats frequently signal the state's electoral mood as well as the party or coalition that will form the government.

Proxy Voters: Introduced in 2003, proxy voting allowed "classified service voters," such as government officials posted abroad or armed or paramilitary personnel living outside their state, to designate a resident of the same constituency as a proxy to vote on their behalf when they were unable to attend.

Simultaneous Elections: Elections for both the state legislative assemblies and the Lok Sabha are held simultaneously, which is referred to as simultaneous elections. The enormous costs associated with holding separate elections would be reduced if elections were held simultaneously. Up until 1967, the nation saw simultaneous elections during the first twenty years of India's independence.

Model Code of Conduct: In order to ensure free and fair elections, the Election Commission of India has released an extensive set of guidelines known as the Model Code of Conduct. These guidelines are intended to govern and regulate the conduct of candidates and parties, particularly with regard to meetings, processions, and activities on election days.

Swing States: A statistical indicator of the shift in voter support for or against a party at the federal or local level between two elections is this. It is a sign of the tendencies influencing voting behavior. A one percent swing in one party's favor cuts the other party's vote by the same amount.

Anti-Defection Law: This law forbids state legislatures or Members of Parliament from switching to a different political party without risk of losing their seats.

Alliance: An alliance is a decision made by two or more political parties to work together on a poll.

Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR): It is a non-governmental organization. It advocates electoral and political reform in India.

Coalition: A coalition is a group of political parties coming together to form a government in a state or centre.

Electoral College: An assembly of electors tasked with choosing India's president and vice president.

ECI: The Election Commission of India is an entity established by the Constitution. ECI is in charge of overseeing and managing the nation's election processes.

Election manifesto: A political party's platform that details its promises and policies is distributed during an election.

Electoral Roll: The electoral roll is a list of all eligible voters in a constituency.

EVM: A voting device used in elections is called an electronic voting machine (EVM).

First Past the Post: This voting method declares the winner as the candidate who receives the majority of the votes in a constituency.

Hung Assembly: A situation in which no alliance or political party is able to win a majority of votes.

Indian Parliament: The highest legislative authority in India. The Rajya Sabha (Council of States), the Lok Sabha (House of the People), and the President make up this body.

Left Front: A group of left-leaning political parties in India that came together in 1964 to oppose the Indian National Congress's hegemony.

Lok Sabha: The lower house of the Indian Parliament is called the Lok Sabha. Elected representatives from India's states and union territories make up this body.

None of the above (NOTA): In polls, the NOTA ballot option is intended to let voters express their disapproval of the candidates on the ballot.

Rajya Sabha: The upper house of the Indian parliament is called the Rajya Sabha. Members from India's states and union territories have been elected and nominated.

Seat Share: A party's share of seats won in an election is expressed as its percentage.

Upper House: The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, is referred to by this term.

Voter Turnout: The percentage of voters who cast ballots in an election is known as voter turnout.

Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT): Voters receive feedback through this method. A voting machine independent verification system is called a VVPAT. Voters can use it to confirm that their ballots were cast correctly.

Voter List: This is a list of all eligible voters in a given electoral constituency, used to determine who is eligible to cast a ballot.

Vote Share: The proportion of a given constituency's or state's votes cast in support of a given candidate or party.