The atlas, which has 42 thematic maps and 90 tables depicting various facets of the election, was released on June 15 by Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and Election Commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey.

The atlas also shares interesting facts, anecdotes and legal provisions related to the Indian elections, an official statement said.

Since the first Lok Sabha elections in 1951-52, the commission has been publishing compilations of electoral data in the form of narrative and statistical books.

The 17th Lok Sabha polls conducted in 2019 was the largest democratic exercise in human history which witnessed the participation of 61.468 crore voters at 10.378 lakh polling stations spread over 32 lakh square kilometre territory of India, it said.

In Indian elections, electoral data is primarily collected during the preparation of electoral rolls by electoral registration officers and also in the process of the conduct of the polls by returning officers.

This data is then collated by these statutory authorities. After the culmination of the electoral process, the Election Commission collects the electoral data and prepares various reports for compilation, record and dissemination purposes.