Page 13 - Leap of Faith Vol - 2

Message

Election Commissioner of India

t is a happy occasion that Election Commission of Over the last two decades, elections have been influenced
India's illustrated book on growth and development by sociological ideas of inclusivity, accessibility and voter
I of electoral democracy of India i.e. ‘Leap of Faith: friendliness. Election Commission of India is fully
Journey of Indian Elections’ has gone for a second and committed to these ideas. Elections are not just a matter
enlarged edition. The original edition of the book launched of number but also quality of participation. It is important
12 National Voters' Day on January 25, 2022 and drew that citizens of world's largest democracy understand
wide appreciation from Parliamentarians, policy makers, these aspects of electoral management.
and institutions. This edition contains some new chapters
My compliments and best wishes are with the entire team
focusing on new events like Presidential and Vice
behind this book. At a time when public interface of the
Presidential elections as well as legislative assembly
institutions has increased manifold, this book will serve a
elections held during the last one year.
useful purpose both for intellectuals and lay readers.
The adult suffrage enshrined in the Constitution of India
under Article 326 represents the wishes and aspirations of
the nation from the days of freedom struggle. Election
Commission of India has borne the onus of turning the
fundamental vision of the Constituent Assembly on
electoral democracy into a reality. Unless the elections Arun Goel
held on the basis of adult suffrage were conducted in a Election Commissioner of India
free, fair and credible manner that vision could have
received a setback as it happened in many de-colonized
nations of Asia and Africa. India, to her credit, never
sacrificed democracy for development, but pursued both
as complementary strands.

vii