As the world’s largest democracy gears up for its 15th general election, Saraswati Devi, a 28-year-old domestic servant in New Delhi, doesn’t have many expectations.

She harbours just one hope - that the winner would ensure that prices of basic food don’t shoot through the ceiling.

"I earn only about Rs.1,000 (about C$25) a month," said Devi. "Last year I had to feed my children a bland meal of roti and dal for many days because I couldn’t afford to buy tomatoes at Rs.50 for a kilo. I will vote with the hope that I don’t have to suffer such a hard time again."

The Lok Sabha or general elections will be held April 16-May 13. In the national capital, polling for seven parliamentary seats will take place May 7. Most people have varied expectations from the electoral battle in New Delhi.

For school teacher Rashmi Dey, the election should be a harbinger of change, what with a number of young faces in the fray.

"Finally, political parties seem to be seeing sense and giving more seats to youths. That brings about a lot of hope for citizens like me who are tired of seeing the same old faces and reading about one corruption case or the other they are involved in," Dey said.

"With more youth participation, politics will hopefully get a more clean image and more importantly a fresh perspective to issues," she said. Rahul Jain, a college student and first time voter, is eagerly awaiting polling day. But he is sick and tired of rhetoric.

"I am a sportsperson and I am glad that former cricketers like (Mohammed) Azharuddin have joined politics. They will do much better work than most politicians," he said.

Jain feels that with a large number of young voters this year, positive developments can be expected.

"Like me, a number of my friends have become eligible to vote. We have vowed to exercise our right to choose our MP. I am sure we will see some change in the political scenario in our lives," Jain said.

Like many in his age group, Jain is not asking anything for himself. He wants the security forces to be supplied sophisticated weapons and bullet proof jackets and more vessels for the Coast Guard - promises that were made after the horrific Mumbai terror attack in November.

However, there are people like Rasika Sharma who are not convinced that their vote will herald worthwhile changes.

"Call me a cynic but I don’t think my vote really matters. I am 30 and from what I have seen till now, all promises of change are just a facade. At the end it’s the same old faces that come to power and things remain where they are," she said.

Many in India are unsure who will rule because general elections in India have resulted in fractured verdicts, hung parliaments and governments formed or supported by multiple political parties for most of the past two decades.

During the campaign period this month leaders of political parties are engaged in frenetic parleys to cobble together pre-poll alliances which they hope will be winning combinations or, at least, yield numbers that may give them a say in the formation of the next government.

No single party has won a majority in India’s 545-member Lok Sabha or lower house of Parliament since 1984.

The leader of the single-largest party in the Lok Sabha is usually invited to form a government and has to prove that he has the support of a majority of lawmakers.

India’s incumbent United Progressive Alliance government is led by the Congress Party, formally known as the Indian National Congress, a party that had parliamentary majority for more than 30 years since India’s independence from British colonial rule in 1947.

Its main rival is another alliance, the National Democratic Front - led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which lost the last general election in 2004 after running a coalition government for five years.

The myriad parties are in a way a reflection of India’s diversity and its contradictions and the varying aspirations of communities and regional groups as they look for a piece of the pie by electing representatives they feel would best serve their interests. -

IANS