“There are three main diseases of this country, sir: typhoid, cholera, and election fever. This last one is the worst.” – Aravind Adiga, White Tiger

The greatest show on earth is about to begin. One of the miracles of the modern age, Indian democracy, will next month pen its latest chapter when 714m voters, more than 10 times the 69.5m who turned out for Barack Obama, set off on a five-stage election marathon from April 16 to May 13. Bookmakers have declared the election as hard to read as Finnegans Wake, with no fewer than seven candidates from nearly 100 competing parties said to have a realistic shot at becoming prime minister.

Many non-Indians will be tempted to see the election as pitting against each other two leaders with distinct national visions. In this case, the incumbent Congress party, led by Manmohan Singh, prime minister, will do battle with L. K. Advani's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), which mislaid power five years ago. But many Indians won't see it that way. For them, elections are less about national politics and more about which of a jostling frenzy of smaller parties – many with strictly local, caste-based or religious agendas – is worthy of their attention.