How will the 15th General Election impact the world? A train full of BBC reporters is trying to find the answer It was no ordinary train that pulled out of Safdarjung station on Saturday afternoon. It was curiously coloured in grey and red with the legend,Kya India Ka Vote Chaleyega Duniya Ka Note? splashed across it. Also,it was on time,chugging out towards Ahmedabad at exactly 3 pm. This,as the crowd of jostling passers-by and station staff was told,was BBCs India Election train. The fully air-conditioned seven-coach train carried a team of 25 reporters from BBCs news bureaus across the world,all of them with a mission to document Indias 15th Lok Sabha elections. The train will cover eight states across India in a three-week journey,during which around 20 more reporters will come on board at various points. They will report in 12 languages for 14 BBC services about the state of the economy and the election process in the country, said Nazes Afroz,executive editor,South-Asia. This is the first time that BBC has embarked on a project of this kind in India. The last time something similar happened was in Bangladesh in 2007 to assess the impact of climate change. The general elections in India are being closely watched by the world community because the economic downturn has had a lesser impact on business and banking establishments here,compared to the collapses elsewhere. Also,Indias stand on foreign policy issues,its vying for a seat at the UN Security Council,makes the country a hot international topic, adds Afroz. For Yusuf-Garaad Omar,Head,BBC Somali World Service,the General Elections present him with an opportunity to get a first-hand feel of Indias democracy. In the past,we have had translated reports by English-speaking BBC reporters during elections in India. Now we will be reporting for first time in Swahili,Somali and French for our viewers in Kenya and Somalia, says Omar,who has a wide experience of covering Africa. Likewise Firdevs Robinson,Editor,Central Asia,will be explaining to viewers in the Caucasus,about the functioning of the worlds largest democracy. Though the first phase of the elections is over,the reporters are unfazed. We did not have the necessary resources to pull off such a big campaign so quickly. Besides,we are not getting involved with the nitty-gritty of the elections. We will present an overall perspective and how it will impact the world, says Afroz. Over 20 BBC Hindi service reporters will be attached to the foreign language reporters to provide technical assistance as they interact with locals,businessmen,and get expert opinions on issues. The train returns to Delhi on May13
