Elections are India's greatest festival – so why is this one so dull?

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In her book How India Became Democratic, academic Ornit Shani described Independent India’s first election and its adoption of universal suffrage as a “stark act of decolonisation”, one that required “an immense power of imagination”.

India had had elections before. In 1920, British India held elections for both a central as well as provincial legislatures. But elections in colonial India were limited to a small number of wealthy voters. So Independent India first general election on October 25, 1951, was something special, as every adult Indian got the right to vote. Shani identifies this as the outcome of India’s freedom movement, which was mass-based.

India managed to keep this miracle going. Elections were held regularly and keenly fought. Popular participation was high and voters enthusiastic. As I’ve argued in a previous India Fix, unlike other democracies with strong checks and balances in the form of judiciaries and legislatures, in India, the only real check on the executive are...

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