At stake in this election:

• 543 seats in the People's Assembly (Lok Sabha)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Atal Behari VAJPAYEE
• Assembly: India has a bicameral Parliament (Sansad) consisting of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) with 250 seats and the People's Assembly (Lok Sabha) with 545 seats.

* The electoral college consists of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by an electoral college to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) 250 members are to serve 6-year terms*. In the People's Assembly (Lok Sabha), 543 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms and 2 members are appointed by the president.

* Up to 12 seats are appointed by the president and the remaining members are chosen by elected members of the state and territorial assemblies

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Indian People's Party / Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
  • Leader: Atal Bijari VAJPAYEE
  • Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 182
  • Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 161
• Party: Indian National Congress-Indira (INC-I)
  • Leader: Sonia GANDHI
  • Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 141
  • Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 140
• Bloc: United Front (UF)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 84
  • Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 177
• Party: Independents and others
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this People's Assembly election: 136
  • Seats won in last People's Assembly election: 65

Last Parliamentary election:

• The last elections to the Lok Sabha last were held on: April 27, May 2, May 7, May 23, and May 30, 1996.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 1,016,402,907 (1998)
• Registered Voters: 605,880,192 (1998)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 490,018,434 (1998)

·         Is India a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (30 July 1980)

·         Has India ratified CEDAW: Yes (9 July 1993)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 44 (following the 1998 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 130 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is India a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has India ratified CRPD: Yes (1 October 2007)

·         Population with a disability: 152,460,436 (est.)