Election Atlas of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

It took almost 10 years for the Election Atlas to be conceptualized and compiled. It is for the first time that an Election Atlas is being brought out for a state of India. It deals broadly with two categories of attribute data; the election data and the collateral demographic data as both of them are perceived to co-vary in space and time and at times the former is dependent on the latter. The time spans over which the maps are prepared extend back to 1978 in the case of Assembly Constituencies for election to the Legislative Assembly of the state of Andhra Pradesh and 1977 for election to the Lower House (Lok Sabha) of the Indian Parliament. Statistical analysis of the data has been done from 1952 to 2009 and mapping from 1977 to 2009. Electoral information is analyzed through votes polled for each party or candidate which are depicted by means of choropleth map or maps of symbols. They give a quick visual idea of areal or spatial pattern of party strongholds apart from inherent behavioural, social and economic ramifications. The maps which are mostly thematic in nature have been prepared by using the GIS Technology and highlight the way in which something which is of interest to the common man can be brought to his door step on the platform provided by technology.