Photo Essay: The World’s Biggest Election

What do you call 714 million eligible voters, 5,500 candidates, 1,055 political parties, and 830,000 polling stations? Call it the world's biggest election ever, to be held in India, the world's largest democracy, beginning April 16.

In the line of duty: On April 16, Indians will begin lining up for the biggest election the world has ever held. The planet’s largest democracy has 714 million eligible voters, double the entire U.S. population. Over five stages of voting — on April 16, 23, and 30, and May7* and 13 — Indians will elect politicians to 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament. Running for office are 5,533 candidates representing 1,055 parties. Above, men show their voting identity cards while waiting to vote in India’s last general election on April 20, 2004, in Sangli in Maharashtra state.

Photo: ROB ELLIOT/AFP/Getty Images

Preeti Aroon was copy chief at Foreign Policy from 2009 to 2016 and was an FP assistant editor from 2007 to 2009. Twitter: @pjaroonFP

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