An election at Suryodaya School

The chapter teaches the whole election process through one classroom.

Three candidates stood for Class Representative at Suryodaya School: Ahmed, Gurmat and Ravi. The class teacher, Ms. Usha, was made Election Officer.

Notice the separation: the person running the election is not a candidate. That is the same principle as the Election Commission being independent.

Each candidate offered something different: Ahmed, clean classrooms and playground; Gurmat, a system of peer coaching and mutual support; Ravi, more space for music, theatre and art. They campaigned differently too: posters, the noticeboard, talking to classmates, and a lunchtime music performance.

Ms. Usha explained the secret ballot: no one would know who voted for whom, which keeps the process private and fair. She set up voting booths in the corner and made sure there was a ballot paper in braille for Neha.

Students marked an 'X' next to one name. The ballots went into a box, which was sealed until counting, and Ms. Usha called Ms Sheeba from the next class to witness the count.

Of 33 votes, one paper was unmarked and declared invalid. Ahmed got 8, Gurmat 12, Ravi 10. Gurmat won with the most votes, though not most of the votes: 12 out of 33.

The chapter adds one more option that a real Indian ballot has: NOTA, None Of The Above. It lets a voter reject every candidate. It does not change who wins, but it sends a message that voters want better choices.