The first general elections to be held under the new Constitution were immensely significant for Indian democracy. It represented India’s determination to take the path of democracy after independence from British rule. India adopted Universal Adult franchise at one go, unlike in the West where franchise was extended in stages, first to the propertied and only subsequently to other sections of society. For instance, women in Switzerland got the right to vote only in 1971.

The first elections were difficult because of the social dimensions also. A large section of the population did not know how to read and write. How were they going to indicate their choice? In some parts of the country, women were known by their father’s or husband’s name, they did not have an independent identity. This had to change if women were to have equal rights and take the country towards greater social equality. How were electoral rolls to be made? An Election Commission was set up to take care of the practical matters of conducting elections across the length and breadth of the country.

To overcome the problem of illiteracy, the Election Commission came up with a novel idea of having symbols from everyday life to represent political parties and candidates. This creative innovation dispensed with elaborate instructions and required only visual identification. This basic idea continues even today. To make it even easier, in the first election each candidate had a separate ballot box with the symbol stuck outside; the voter only had to drop their ballot paper in the box of their preferred candidate. In the run up to the elections, there was a massive campaign to encourage the voters to go out and vote.