Watch: 1,033 candidates in one election: Tamil Nadu’s craziest poll

Today, voting in India is simple. You walk into a polling booth, press a button on an Electronic Voting Machine, and your vote is cast in seconds.

Key takeaways

Quick scan — what you need to know:

• Today, voting in India is simple.
• You walk into a polling booth, press a button on an Electronic Voting Machine, and your vote is cast in seconds.
• But in 1996, voters in one constituency in Tamil Nadu faced a very different situation.
• They had to search through a booklet running into more than 60 pages just to find the candidate they wanted to vote for.

Background

What led here, in plain terms:

• Because, that election had 1,033 candidates.
• Today, voting in India is simple.
• You walk into a polling booth, press a button on an Electronic Voting Machine, and your vote is cast in seconds.
• But in 1996, voters in one constituency in Tamil Nadu faced a very different situation.

Why it matters

Why readers and decision-makers should care:

• You walk into a polling booth, press a button on an Electronic Voting Machine, and your vote is cast in seconds.
• But in 1996, voters in one constituency in Tamil Nadu faced a very different situation.
• They had to search through a booklet running into more than 60 pages just to find the candidate they wanted to vote for.