{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='INDIA: ELECTIONS' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c310d8eafeecae15e72b' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c310d8eafeecae15e72b' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nINDIA: ELECTIONS\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eHindi/Nat The people of four Indian states have gone to the polls to elect their provincial governments in what is being seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Vajpayee's eight month old coalition government.The polls are also crucial...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eHindi/Nat \u003cbr/\u003eThe people of four Indian states have gone to the polls to elect their provincial governments in what is being seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Vajpayee's eight month old coalition government.\u003cbr/\u003eThe polls are also crucial for the political future of the Italian-born President of the Congress party, Sonia Gandhi.\u003cbr/\u003eWhile widespread discontent over the soaring prices of vegetables has dominated the election campaign, many have tried to draw attention to issues of pollution and child labour.\u003cbr/\u003eIt is election time once again in the world's most populous democracy.\u003cbr/\u003eThe president of the Congress party, Sonia Gandhi was one of the first to cast her vote in New Delhi.\u003cbr/\u003eOver 80 (m) million voters are eligible to choose 626 state legislators in four of India's 26 states in a day long vote.\u003cbr/\u003eNearly five-thousand candidates are in the fray in the provincial elections being held in the states of New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.\u003cbr/\u003eFor the first time, many polling stations have provided electronic voting machines for voters to caste their ballot.\u003cbr/\u003eThe Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), which also heads the federal government, governs two of the four states, and Congress rules two.\u003cbr/\u003eIn three states, the B-J-P is pitched in direct political battle against its main rival, the Congress.\u003cbr/\u003eThe Congress Party led India to independence in 1947 and has ruled the country for more than four decades since then.\u003cbr/\u003eTens of thousands of armed police have been posted at 100-thousand polling stations across the four states.\u003cbr/\u003eThe vote is being seen as the first test of popularity for the B-J-P since it came to lead the federal government last April.\u003cbr/\u003eThe issue central to these elections is the unprecedented rise in the price of onions and potatoes - staples of Indian's diet.\u003cbr/\u003eConsidered political dynamite in India after having dislodged a federal government in the past, onions climbed to the top of politicians' agenda last month when a massive shortage drove up prices by over 700 percent.\u003cbr/\u003eThe onion rush snowballed into a crisis for the government, provoking charges that it had failed to fight off rising inflation and other setbacks to the economy.\u003cbr/\u003eNew Delhi is among the places hardest hit by the skyrocketing food prices.\u003cbr/\u003eOn the main rival Congress Party's agenda are issues it believes are vital to the common people - food prices, power shortages and a spurt in crime.\u003cbr/\u003eThe campaign however has lacked much of its traditional flare because India's independent Election Commission has limited candidates to spending just 500-thousand rupees (11,765 dollars) on each candidate.\u003cbr/\u003eIn the past, richer candidates had spent many times that on posters, campaign trucks blaring taped promises and other tactics.\u003cbr/\u003eThe electoral verdict is crucial for the Italian-born widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who took over as the President of the Congress party for the February-March national elections.\u003cbr/\u003eAlthough Sonia Gandhi was unable to lead Congress to victory, she has been able to halt the growing popularity of the B-J-P.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (Hindi)\u003cbr/\u003eThe ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has betrayed the people of Delhi. We cannot tolerate this any more. They must go.\u003cbr/\u003eSUPER CAPTION: Sonia Gandhi, Congress party President\u003cbr/\u003eThough the polls don't directly affect Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, they could result in a political realignment .\u003cbr/\u003eA defeat in New Delhi, which is currently governed by the B-J-P, could prompt the many regional parties in Vajpayee's federal coalition to rethink their support for his party.\u003cbr/\u003eThe 19-party ruling alliance is already strained by restive allies - the latest salvo came on Sunday from its right wing ally Shiv Sena who is opposing the forthcoming visit of the Pakistani cricket team.\u003cbr/\u003eLast month, the party changed its chief minister in New Delhi to counter the setbacks to its image.\u003cbr/\u003eBut Vajpayee says there is no threat to his government.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (Hindi)\u003cbr/\u003eThey say we are going to have problems after the provincial elections. Friends, there is no problem. We will win the elections and provide you with a stable federal government.\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPER CAPTION: Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister\u003cbr/\u003eFor the first time however, voluntary agencies are trying to focus political attention on issues that politicians prefer to ignore.\u003cbr/\u003eIn New Delhi, where air pollution is said to kill one person every hour, candidates read this bold-faced advertisement in Sunday's newspapers.\u003cbr/\u003eOnly 22 of the 85 candidates for the Delhi state assembly responded when asked by a concerned citizens' group to sign a pledge to take specific steps against pollution.\u003cbr/\u003eNearly one-thousand children took to the streets in the Indian capital last week , calling on politicians running in the local elections to support their campaign against child labour.\u003cbr/\u003eIt was yet another attempt to force the politicians to take a stand on an issue that has kept millions of children enslaved as labourers.\u003cbr/\u003eIn New Delhi, 95 contestants from various political parties have signed the petition pledging to eliminate child labor while 18 have declined.\u003cbr/\u003eThe voters seem disillusioned and indifferent to promises made by politicians.\u003cbr/\u003eThe counting of votes begins on 28th and the final results are expected to be out within a day.\u003cbr/\u003e Delhi, India November 20, 25 1998\u003cbr/\u003eDelhi, India November 25 , 1998\u003cbr/\u003e1. Various of Sonia Gandhi voting\u003cbr/\u003e2. Queue outside polling station\u003cbr/\u003e3. Mid shot woman standing in queue\u003cbr/\u003e4. Polling officials inside polling station\u003cbr/\u003e5. Cutaway electronic voting machine\u003cbr/\u003e6. Man casting his vote and leaving\u003cbr/\u003e7. Tilt up from electronic voting machine to polling officials\u003cbr/\u003e8. People waiting to cast their vote\u003cbr/\u003e9. Security men outside polling station\u003cbr/\u003eDelhi, India November 20 , 1998\u003cbr/\u003e10. Wide of crowd at election rally with onion shaped balloon\u003cbr/\u003e11. Onion shaped balloon\u003cbr/\u003e12. Congress candidate holding a garland of vegetables\u003cbr/\u003e13. Boy watching from window\u003cbr/\u003e14. Congress candidate campaigning\u003cbr/\u003e15. Campaign van with banners and loudspeakers\u003cbr/\u003e16. Banner on campaign van showing high prices of vegetables\u003cbr/\u003eDelhi, India November 15  1998\u003cbr/\u003e17. Congress President Sonia Gandhi waving to crowd\u003cbr/\u003e18. Woman at rally wearing congress cap\u003cbr/\u003e19. SOUNDBITE: ( Hindi ) Sonia Gandhi, Congress Party President\u003cbr/\u003eDelhi, India October 24 1998\u003cbr/\u003e20. Women holding BJP flag at rally\u003cbr/\u003e21. Prime minister Vajpayee and Delhi chief Minister Sushma Swaraj waving to crowd\u003cbr/\u003e22. Cutaway crowd\u003cbr/\u003e23. Delhi chief minister Sushma Swaraj sitting\u003cbr/\u003e24. Old woman holding BJP flag\u003cbr/\u003e25. SOUNDBITE: ( Hindi ) Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister\u003cbr/\u003e26. Crowd cheering\u003cbr/\u003eDelhi, India  November 23 1998\u003cbr/\u003e27. Various of newspaper advertisement asking politicians for clean air\u003cbr/\u003eDelhi, India November 20, 1998\u003cbr/\u003e28. Various of children singing at anti-child labour march\u003cbr/\u003e29. Various of children walking\u003cbr/\u003e30. Children looking into the camera and laughing\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='action-container flex justify-between'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' aria-label='Read more description' class='rp-full-description' type='button'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cspan id='read_more'\u003eRead More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-report'\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='resource-details-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' id='resource-details-heading'\u003eResource Details\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-resource-details clearfix'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eCurator Rating\u003c/dt\u003e\n\u003cdd\u003e\u003cspan class=\"star-rating\" aria-label=\"3.5 out of 5 stars\" role=\"img\"\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-solid fa-star text-action\" 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