Page 15 - Leap of Faith Vol - 2

Foreword

Deputy Election Commissioner

t is my privilege to place the second and improved legislative assembly elections in 2022-23 have been added
edition of the ‘Leap of Faith: Journey of Indian for the second edition. Besides the Introduction, the
I Elections’ into the hands of the readers. It is more chapters on elections during pandemic and electoral
than a year since the launch of the original edition of the reforms have been fully rewritten. The other chapters have
book on the 12 National Voters' Day on January 25, been suitably amended to improve the reading experience.
2022. It was shared with Parliamentarians, policy makers,
Priyadarshi Dutta, as the author and researcher, has done
civil servants, key government institutions and
an excellent job. Designers Neeraj & Pallavi Sahai, have
universities besides being placed on the website of
done commendable work. Harini Srinivasan worked as an
Election Commission of India (ECI) in e-book format.
editor with due diligence. The whole team was ably led
The heartening response to the first edition, and a few and mentored by Dr. Sadhana Rout, Senior Consultant,
suggestions for improvement triggered the prospect of a who deserves compliments for her perseverance.
second edition. Several elections including Presidential
and Vice Presidential elections took place over the last I am thankful to Dr. Ranbir Singh, CEO, Delhi; H.R. Srinivas,
Special Officer (IT), ECI and CEO, Bihar; and Anuj
one year. Several recognizable measures were taken to
Chandak, Joint Director, SVEEP Division for their special
make elections more free & fair, clean, inclusive, and
contributions. I offer sincere thanks to my colleagues in
participatory with positive outcome. Thus, when it was
ECI, Dharmendra Sharma, Nitesh Vyas, Sheyphali B.
proposed to bring out an updated edition of the book,
Sharan, Santosh Ajmera and Ranjeet Srivastava for their
the Commission gladly concurred.
support. I hope this book will find positive reception
The book traces the legacy of electoral democracy in amongst both discerning and general readers. It would
modern India from the nineteenth century to the present be an asset for research scholars as well.
time. In that sense it has heritage value with contemporary
significance. At least three new chapters pertaining to
Presidential and Vice Presidential elections, use of Manoj Kumar Sahoo
technology in electoral management, and recent Deputy Election Commissioner

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