Indo-Pacific Explainer: The 2024 Indian Election

2024 is a pivotal year for democracy globally. Dubbed ‘the year of elections’, 4 billion people – half the world’s population – will head to the polls to determine the fate of their respective governments.

But among these, none represent the scale of this moment in democratic history quite like India.

A sprawling, highly diverse and highly populated society, India’s democratic tradition has defied its complexities. Almost seven decades after independence, it proudly remains the largest democratic nation in the world.

And, in 2024, it hosted the largest democratic election in human history.