NEW DELHI - There are seven national and 47 regional “recognized” political parties in India. The “recognition” is granted by the Election Commission (EC) and depends on the number of votes secured in the previous election. It allows the party certain benefits, such as a “fixed” election symbol. The election symbol is a peculiarly Indian innovation, which takes into account the fact that a significant number of voters, lacking in basic literacy, cannot read the names of the candidates on a ballot paper.

Candidates belonging to a national party are allowed the use of the same symbol everywhere in the country. A regional party enjoys the same privilege, but only in a particular state.)

Then there are parties — currently more than 700 in number — which are registered with the EC, but haven’t gained “recognition.” Call them proto parties if you like, but they can, in close contests, make or mar the fortunes of more established parties, especially given India’s first-past-the-post electoral system.

But playing the spoilsport is not the only motivation for India’s unrecognized parties. There are ideological reasons, too. Hence, the Bolshevik Party of India and the Revolutionary Socialist Party of India of Kerala (Bolshevik). India also has a Bharatiya Mohabbat Party and an All-India Mahila Raj Party (or Indian Party for the Rule of Women).

Take the Doordarshi Party (Party of Foresight), for instance. Led by a self-appointed, 90-year-old holy man, Jai Gurudev, the Doordarshi Party has regularly fought national and regional elections since 1980. While the party is largely focused on spiritual rejuvenation, it also raises secular concerns such as reform of taxation laws.

You don’t have to belong to a party to fight elections in India; nearly half the candidates in any national election are “independents.” From local strongmen to trade unionists, from activists to dissidents, from gurus to hermaphrodites, from those who fight elections as a matter of habit to those who join the race to establish a record, the independents are a category that is as diverse as the country itself. Despite efforts by the EC to curb the entry of non-serious nominees, all it still takes to be a legitimate candidate in India, apart from sanity and adulthood, is a security deposit of Rs. 10,000 (about $200).

Recently, the EC banned the entry of anyone with a criminal record, but since convictions are not always easy to come by in India, it is not a condition that is difficult to get around. According to Lok Satta, a civil society group which monitors the electoral process, there were 1,500 candidates with criminal records who stood for elections in 1996, of whom 40 were elected.

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INDIA Registered voters: 675 million * UNITED STATES Voting age population: 213 million Registered voters: 156 million JAPAN Voting age population: 103 million Registered voters: 100 million Italy Voting age population: 47.3 million ** Registered voters: 49.3 million Germany Voting age population: 67 million Registered voters: 61.4 million BRITAIN Voting age population: 45.8 million Registered voters: 44.4 million France Voting age population: 45 million Registered voters: 36.7 million Canada Voting age population: 23.7 million Registered voters: 21.2 million * In India, all voters are automatically registered, so the number for registered voters and voting age population is the same. ** In Italy, many voters are registered at more than one place, hence the number of registered voters is higher.