Purple

A newborn babe with twinkling eyes

Brings hopes of clear & bright skies
Mum is ecstatic,

dad is proud
But waiting in his future is a dark cloud

The child is 5, playing with his mates
Picks up a doll & starts combing her plaits
The boys all laugh,

and the elders all jest
This is the first of his many mistakes

“Shy & aloof, even quicker to cry
These aren’t the traits of a ‘normal’ boy”
The teacher yells

and mother stands abashed
The child of 10 just can’t figure out ‘why’

The teasing starts, then the insults & slurs
“Shouldn’t cry, shouldn’t run, that makes it even worse
I’ll keep my mouth shut &

walk the straight line.
Must endure this phase & everything will be fine”

A teenager now, he knows he’s ‘different’
He has feelings, but to their bodies he’s indifferent.
He loves to be with him

but he longs for her too
“What kind of a weirdo have I turned into!?”

Longing for a connection, for this torment to end
He gathers up his courage & confides in a friend
“You like boys,

and are also into girls?
Disgusting! Seems you want the best of both worlds!?”

Surprised & scared, shattered & ashamed,
It dawns upon him that it’s truly started to rain
“Does love demand a pronoun?

Why is life so tough?
Isn’t loving another human just good-enough!?”

His heart is pure but it’s hard to pick a side
Dissecting the dilemma, he finally decides-
“The love I feel inside

is same as yours, & real,
So whether you get it or not, I won't seek your approval”

Eventually,
The storm gives way & brings what it must
A rainbow on the horizon, on a warm comforting gust.
The rainbow brings more choices,

not just pink & blue
So choose your colors with pride & be truly ‘You’.

Part 2: How much does your vote count? State-wise differences

Republished from my LinkedIn post here

In the previous post, we saw that 'Electoral Power' - the relative power of a vote compared to national average - varies as per state. The comparison was done between the states. 

This post goes one level deeper & evaluates these differences within the states.

The spread of electors per seat within a particular state can be compared through a measure called 'standard deviation'. Higher values of standard deviation mean that the distribution of electors per seats in that state is uneven- some seats may have more electoral power & others, less.

Here are some observations supported by tables:

• Punjab, Gujarat & West Bengal have the most even electoral distribution & also have a balanced electoral power. Electors here enjoy the ideal scenario.
• Andhra Pradesh, a state with electoral power closest to the national average, has quite an unbalanced electoral distribution per seat. It would be interesting to see how the scenario has changed after separation of Telangana & redrawing of the electoral boundaries in 2014.

• Kerala & Himachal Pradesh, the states with high electoral power, have balanced distribution of electors per seat. This indicates that these states have more seats & more parliamentary representation than can be logically attributed.

 

• Rajasthan has an even distribution of electors per seat, but has lower number of seats & less parliamentary representation than can be logically attributed.
• Delhi NCT, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh account up to 164 Lok Sabha seats; that's 30.2% of the total. These states have the most skewed electoral distribution & they also have the least electoral power. This could have been done to ensure that these big states don't dominate the national scenario & smaller states get a voice in the matter.

• Here's a list of top 20 parliamentary constituencies with the highest electoral power. Interestingly, 13 out of the 20 LS seats in Kerala have the highest electoral power in India. Polling percentage in these seats is also high. 
  

• Similarly, here's the list of bottom 20 constituencies when ranked as per electoral power. Malkajgiri in Telangana has electoral population as huge as two constituencies in one - so voters there have the lowest electoral power. Also, all four seats from Bengaluru feature in the bottom 20; polling percentage in these seats is relatively low.  

In other democracies, specifically in the US, gerrymandering has become huge issue. Faults in the electoral distribution & legislative loopholes have been exploited by political parties to maximize their political gains.

Since this exercise is statistical & depends on multiple factors, it hasn't captured the attention of the masses & hasn't received much attention in media as well. But Indian voters need to be mindful of these facts, because a small change in the electoral boundaries can lead to a huge impact on national politics & ultimately, on public policy.

Over time, an average voter in the certain regions may start feeling that his/her vote is not valued enough & that we should we redraw the boundaries to make it fairer.

There is an independent body called Delimitation Commission of India which has the power to redraw the boundaries of constituencies. The current boundaries are established based on 2001 census when India's population was 102,87,37,436. It has since increased to over 130 crore - an increase of 27%, thus prompting a need for re-evaluation.

I am hopeful that this issue will get more exposure in near future.

Let's be mindful, engaged citizens and make each vote count.

Data Source: Election commission of India's Lok Sabha election report 2014

Part 1: How much does your vote count?

Republished from my LinkedIn articles

 

Note: This post is not political in nature. It's an amateur mathematical exercise.

Your vote is precious & every vote counts.

But do you think every vote counts equally? 

Well, may be not.

I collected data from the Election Commission of India's 2014 election report (as 2019 data will be published next year) & did a quick analysis. Here's what I found -

1. In 2014 LS elections, there were 83,40,82,814 eligible electors for 543 seats. So, an average of 15,36,064 electors per seat (see graph below). Thus, if a state has higher than average electors per seat, a vote cast there would have lower electoral power, and vice versa.
2. Uttar Pradesh (UP), the state with highest number of seats @80, also has the highest number of electors per seat @17,35,132. This means that a vote cast in UP accounts to 13% less compared to the national average. After UP, electors in Rajasthan (12%) & Maharashtra (9.6%) have the lowest electoral power.
3. Union territories (UT), with the exception of National Capital, and the hilly states have the lowest numbers of electors per seat. Meaning that each vote cast there has a higher than average electoral power.
4. If we exclude hilly states & UTs, electorates in Kerala have the highest electoral power - as much as 20.8% higher than national average. Odisha (9.5%) & Tamil Nadu (8%) are the next highest.
5. Andhra Pradesh (then inclusive of Telangana) is closest to the national average when it comes to electoral power. I suspect that political gerrymandering played a crucial role during the state's division in 2014. Would be interesting to see the current numbers.

 

More disparities can be found if we do this analysis at a seat level (which shall be covered in part 2 of this post); so elector power can vary greatly within a particular state. But besides the obvious political reasons, there are factors like geography, local economy, urbanization, population growth rates, migration, etc.. A longitudinal study shall reveal how much of this picture is politically influenced.

 

Data Source: Election commission of India's Lok Sabha election report 2014