The Great Indian Election: National Geographic's documentary to premiere on Independence Day

National Geographic will premiere its documentary The Great Indian Election  on Independence Day this year.  According to a press release from the network, the documentary chronicles “the untold story of India’s biggest democratic exercise.” The multi-crew production was shot in 37 locations across the country and will feature everyone involved in its planning, from booth level officers (BLOs), the country’s top-most politicians, ground level party workers to first time voters, including 100-year-old citizens.

The release further states that Sunil Arora (23rd Chief Election Commissioner of India), Surendra Singh (District Election Officer – Varanasi), Rohini R Bhajibhakare (first female collector of Salem district) among others are a part of the documentary. The cameras of National Geographic have also followed Narendra Modi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Sachin Pilot, Rahul Gandhi and Nitin Gadkari on their campaign trail.

When the documentary was announced in May, the network had said that viewers would get a change to go “behind the scenes of a political party’s war rooms, to a ring side 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.”

Arora had previously spoken about The Great Indian Election: “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 world’s largest election a success. It’s 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,” he had said.

The Lok Sabha Election 2019 took place in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May. The Election Commission of India declared the results on 23 May.

The Great Indian Election will also be available to stream on Hotstar.