India’s new parliament was elected from April 16 to May 13 this year. The contest for representation on the Lok Sabah, the lower house of India, was joined by nine national, 47 state and 500 minor and/or regional parties. 714 million Indians were called upon to cast their vote on a total of five days. The strongest party to emerge with 206 seats in parliament was Congress (INC), which now forms the government. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) came in second.