The soon-to-release documentary will take viewers behind the scenes of several political parties' campaign rooms and present a ringside view of gargantuan political rallies.
National Geographic has announced a new documentary that will encapsulate the story of elections in India, the world’s largest democracy.
The Indian elections involve 11 million poll officials, with over 900 million electorates and 8000 candidates converge across one million polling booths to participate in the worlds largest democratic exercise.
The 6 month, multi-crew production shot in 37 locations across the length and breadth of the country tells the tale of the largest democratic exercise in the world.
From the highest echelons of the Election Commission of India to the booth level officers (BLOs), from the topmost political leaders to ground level party workers, from first-time voters to 100-year-old voters, there is absolutely nothing that National Geographics cameras have not covered to bring the story of the worlds largest elections that has the entire world enthralled.
While much of the world realise the nature and scale of conducting elections in India, National Geographic has travelled the heart of the country to capture stories from the grassroots. The documentary further spans high power corridors of the Election commissions offices in Delhi, remote locations on the Indo -China border, densely populated by-lanes of UP and Tamil Nadu, areas of Chhattisgarh and thick forests of Sunderbans covering the expanse of a geographically and socio-politically diverse country.
National Geographics has followed key political leaders on their campaign trail. Their cameras will take the viewers behind the scenes of political partys war rooms, to a ringside view of gargantuan political rallies, examine the role of social media and cover new technology in wooing the voters and unravel the trail that leads to the Parliament.
Commenting on the documentary, Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner of India said: Keeping voter convenience and simplicity at the helm of the electoral process is not only a challenging task logistically but also an effective outreach programme to each voter. This is a testament to making the worlds largest election a success. Its great to see a brand like National Geographic capturing the enormity of this exercise and showcasing this challenging journey to the viewers with an unbiased eye.
Commenting on the announcement, Gayatri Yadav, President & Head-Consumer Strategy and Innovation, Star India said: National Geographic is excited to tell a story of democracy that is relevant to the world over. For the first time, viewers will get to understand the complexities and vastness of the largest democratic exercise in the world and every Indian will feel proud of being a part of this incredible journey. This mammoth exercise in logistics and planning involves implementing the model code of conduct, voter awareness activities, the largest peacetime deployment of security forces and managing mind-boggling numbers which makes for a very captivating story that National Geographic is proud to bring to the world.
The documentary will premiere soon on National Geographic.