India held general elections to the 15th Lok Sabha in five phases between 16 April 2009 and 13 May 2009. With an electorate of 714 million (larger than the electorate of the European Union and United States combined), it was the largest democratic election in the world till date.
By constitutional requirement, elections to the Lok Sabha (lower house of the parliament of India) must be held every five years, or whenever Parliament is dissolved by the President of India. The previous election to the 14th Lok Sabha was conducted in May 2004 and its term would have naturally expired on 1 June 2009. Elections are organized by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and are normally held in multiple phases to better handle the large electoral base and its security concerns. The 2009 elections were held in five phases. In February 2009, Rs.1,120 Crores (€176 million) was budgeted for election expenses by the Indian Parliament.
The average election turnout over all 5 phases was around 59.7%. The results of the election were announced within three days of phase five, on 16 May 2009, following the first past the post system.
Coordinates: 28°37′3″N 77°12′30″E / 28.6175°N 77.20833°E / 28.6175; 77.20833
The Lok Sabha (Hindi: लोक सभा) or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India. The Constitution limits the Lok Sabha to a maximum of 552 members, including no more than 20 members representing people from the Union Territories, and two appointed non-partisan members to represent the Anglo-Indian community (if the President feels that that community is not adequately represented).
Each Lok Sabha is formed for a five-year term, after which it is automatically dissolved, unless extended by a proclamation of emergency. In such cases, the term may be extended by one-year increments. The 15th Lok Sabha was formed in May 2009.
An exercise to redraw Lok Sabha constituencies' boundaries has been carried out by the Delimitation Commission based on the Indian census of 2001. This exercise, which was supposed to be carried out after every census, was suspended in 1976 following a constitutional amendment to avoid adverse effects of the family planning program which was being implemented. Today, the Lok Sabha has its own TV channel, Lok Sabha TV, head-quartered within the premises of Parliament.
Rakhi Sawant (Hindi: राखी सावंत) (born on 25 November 1978) is an Indian dancer, Hindi film and television actress, model and television talk show host. She has appeared in many Hindi films and few Kannada, Marathi, Telugu and Tamil films in roles commonly attributed to item girls. She has converted to Christianity.
Rakhi was born as Neeru Bheda to Jaya Bheda. who married Sawant, a police constable at Worli Police Station, and gave her children her second husband's name Sawant. Rakhi attended Goklibai High School in the Vile Parle suburb of Mumbai and later studied at Mithibai College. She is the sister of film director Rakesh Sawant and former actress Usha Sawant.
In 1997, Rakhi debuted with the unnoticed film Agnnichakra as Ruhi Sawant. She continued acting in some low-budget Bollywood films. She did small roles & dance numbers as a junior artist in films like Joru Ka Ghulam, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hain & Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke and went unnoticed.
In 2003, she auditioned for an item number in the Bollywood movie, Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne. She auditioned about four times before being finally selected for her breakthrough item number, "Mohabbat Hai Mirchi", composed by Himesh Reshammiya. She also bagged a small role in the movie for which she gained visibility. After that, Rakhi acted in small roles in some more films including Masti & Main Hoon Na