Election

We returned from the Maldives just in time for the Indian election.  Tamil Nadu voted last week.  The timing varies across the states, so the final outcome hasn't been determined yet.  Given India's population is around 1.3 billion people, it must be a mammoth task.  It is apparently the largest democratic process in the world.

The campaigning made from some new experiences and interesting moments in the few weeks leading up to the election.  There is certainly a great deal of passion and opinion surrounding the political parties and their leaders.

We had multiple experiences of our driver abruptly changing course while driving usual routes, due to campaigners blocking the roads.  In the above video I started recording because we were blocked while driving on a narrow one-way road, so the only way out was backwards.  I managed to not actually capture the campaigners, but thought the slow glimpse into a back street here was interesting.

 

The above two videos were taken outside the entrance of our apartment building.  Sometimes we get blocked by cows, but this was the first time we had driven through campaigners.

Some more of the campaigning that occurred on the streets outside of our apartment.  We think the people in the white uniforms were from the naval college up the road.  

The kids were very happy about the election because it gave them an unexpected day off school.  Thanks to living in China and India over the past few years they have now had days off for snow, a worker accidentally cutting the main power line to the school, a cyclone and now an election.  Apparently at times there are also short-notice public holidays called after a popular Bollywood star or politician has passed away.