India

India is the seventh largest (by area) and the second most populous country in the world, with roughly one-sixth of its population, of about a billion and a quarter. India is one of the world's oldest civilizations, yet a very young nation. Under Mughal and Rajput control for much of its history until its colonisation by European powers in the mid-eighteenth century. The world's largest democracy by electorate was created after independence in 1947 under the leadership of its nationalist movement, the Indian National Congress.[1]

Elections to its Parliament are held once every 5 years. Currently, Prime minister Narendra Modi is the head of the government, enjoying a majority in the Parliament, while President Pranab Mukherjee, is the head of state. India is a constitutional republic governed under the world's longest written constitution, federally consisting of 29 states and seven centrally administered union territories, with New Delhi as the nation's capital.

The country has six main national parties: the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). At the level of its states, many regional parties stand for elections to state legislatures, every five years. The Rajya Sabha elections are held every 6 years.