Election System

India uses two different election systems for different purposes. **First Past the Post (FPTP) System:** - The entire country is divided into 543 constituencies - Each constituency elects one representative - The candidate who secures the highest number of votes in that constituency is declared elected - The winning candidate does NOT need to secure a majority (more than 50%) — only more votes than all other candidates - This is also called the Plurality System - Used for: Lok Sabha elections and State Legislative Assembly elections The famous example from the text: In 1984 Lok Sabha elections, Congress won 415 of 543 seats (more than 80%) with only 48% of the votes. BJP got 7.4% votes but less than 1% seats. Similarly, in the 1952 general elections, the Congress obtained 45 per cent of the total votes but managed to win 74 per cent of the seats. The Socialist Party, with more than 10 per cent of the votes, could not even win three per cent of the seats. This disproportionality is a characteristic outcome of the FPTP system, where the division of non-Congress votes among rival parties allowed the Congress to win significantly more seats than its vote share. **Proportional Representation (PR) System:** - Seats are allocated to each party in proportion to its share of votes - Two variations: (1) entire country as one constituency (Israel, Netherlands), and (2) multi-member constituencies (Argentina, Portugal) - Voters vote for a party, not a candidate — representatives are elected from party preference lists - India uses PR on a limited scale for indirect elections: President, Vice-President, Rajya Sabha, and Vidhan Parishads **Why India adopted FPTP for Lok Sabha/Assemblies:** 1. Simplicity — common voters can understand it without specialised knowledge 2. Clear choice presented — voters endorse a specific candidate, not just a party 3. Constituency-based accountability — voters know who their representative is and can hold them accountable 4. Stable government — FPTP gives the largest party bonus seats, facilitating stable parliamentary majorities 5. Coalition-building across social groups — encourages voters from different social groups to unite around a candidate in a locality 6. Discourages parties that draw votes only from one caste or community **FPTP tends to produce:** Two-party competition (though India developed multi-party coalitions after 1989) **PR tends to produce:** Multi-party systems with coalition governments (example: Israel)

Articles 324–329 in Part XV of the Constitution provide the framework for elections in India. The key provisions are: independent Election Commission (Article 324); one general electoral roll for every constituency (abolishing communal electorates); universal adult franchise from age 18 (Article 326); and Parliament's power to make laws on elections. The Election Commission (ECI) conducts elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and offices of President and Vice-President. State Election Commissions handle Panchayat/Municipality elections. India uses the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system for Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections — the candidate with the highest number of votes in a constituency wins, regardless of absolute majority.

Article 324 of the Indian Constitution provides for an independent Election Commission for the "superintendence, direction and control of the electoral roll and the conduct of elections" in India. This covers all elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President. The Supreme Court has agreed that these words give the Election Commission a decisive role in virtually everything related to elections. **Structure:** The Election Commission can be either a single member or a multi-member body. It was single-member until 1989, when two Election Commissioners were added briefly before reverting to single-member status. In 1993, two Election Commissioners were again appointed and the Commission has remained multi-member since then. The Commission currently consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) presides but does not have more powers than the other Election Commissioners — all three have equal powers as a collective body. **Appointment:** The CEC and Election Commissioners are appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Council of Ministers. This means the ruling party could appoint partisan persons — a concern that has led many to suggest appointment should also require consultation with the Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India. **Security of tenure:** CEC and Election Commissioners are appointed for a six-year term or continue till the age of 65, whichever is earlier. The CEC can be removed before the expiry of term only by the President if both Houses of Parliament make such a recommendation with a special majority. Election Commissioners can be removed by the President of India. **Functions:** - Supervision and preparation of up-to-date voters' lists - Determining timing of elections and preparing election schedule (including notification, filing of nominations, polling, and counting) - Power to postpone or cancel elections if free and fair poll is not possible - Implementing the model code of conduct - Ordering a re-poll or recount - According recognition to political parties and allotting symbols **Limitations:** The Election Commission is NOT responsible for the conduct of local body elections — those are conducted by State Election Commissioners who work independently. The Election Commission has limited staff of its own. During elections, state and central government officers are assigned election duty and come under the Election Commission's control. The EC can transfer officers, stop transfers, and take action against those who fail to act in a non-partisan manner.

Reservation of constituencies is the mechanism to ensure fair representation of oppressed social groups in the FPTP electoral system. Under FPTP, dominant social groups and castes can win everywhere, leaving oppressed groups unrepresented. The Constitution makers were aware of this and provided for reserved constituencies. **System of reserved constituencies:** In this system, all voters in a constituency are eligible to vote, but candidates must belong only to the particular community or social section for which the seat is reserved. This is distinct from "separate electorates" (discussed below). **Contrast with separate electorates:** Under the British-introduced separate electorates, only voters belonging to a particular community could vote for the representative from that community. The Constituent Assembly rejected this system — many members expressed fear that it would not suit their purposes. The text quotes a Muslim member: "Separate electorates have been a curse to India, have done incalculable harm to this country... We want to merge in the nation." **Who is covered:** The Constitution provides for reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This provision was initially made for 10 years and has been extended by successive constitutional amendments. At the time of writing: 79 seats reserved for SC and 41 for ST out of 543 Lok Sabha seats. The number of reserved seats is in proportion to their share in the total population. **Delimitation Commission:** Boundaries of constituencies and determination of reserved constituencies is done by the Delimitation Commission. It is: - Appointed by the President of India - Works in collaboration with the Election Commission - Fixes the quota of reserved constituencies in each State based on proportion of SC/ST in that State - For ST: picks constituencies with highest proportion of ST population - For SC: picks constituencies with higher SC population but also spreads them across different regions of the State (since SC population is generally spread evenly) - Reserved constituencies can be rotated each time delimitation is undertaken **Women's reservation:** The Constitution does not provide for reservation of Lok Sabha/Assembly seats for women. Reservation for women has been provided in rural and urban local bodies. A similar provision for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas would require a constitutional amendment — proposed several times but not yet passed (as of the time of writing). **Panchayati Raj reservation (73rd Amendment Act):** The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 specifically provides for the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in every panchayat (at all three levels: village, intermediate, and district) in proportion to their population in that panchayat area. It also mandates the reservation of not less than one-third of the total seats for women in panchayats at all levels, including seats reserved for SC and ST women. Furthermore, not less than one-third of the offices of chairpersons in panchayats at each level are reserved for women. State legislatures are authorized to provide for reservation of seats or chairperson offices for backward classes in panchayats. The reservation for SCs and STs in panchayats, similar to legislative bodies, is linked to Article 334 which specifies a time limit (currently till 2020). However, the reservation for SCs in panchayats is not applicable to Arunachal Pradesh, as it is inhabited fully by indigenous tribal people and has no Scheduled Castes, a provision added by the 83rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 2000. **PESA Act reservation in Scheduled Areas:** Under the PESA Act of 1996, which extends Panchayati Raj provisions to Scheduled Areas, the reservation for Scheduled Tribes in panchayats shall not be less than one-half of the total number of seats, and all seats of Chairpersons of Panchayats at all levels shall be reserved for Scheduled Tribes. State governments can also nominate Scheduled Tribes who have no representation in the intermediate or district level panchayats, up to one-tenth of the total elected members. **Constitutional framework and rationale:** The Constitution (Part XVI, Articles 330-342A) makes special provisions for SCs, STs, backward classes, and Anglo-Indians. These provisions aim to realize the objectives of equality and justice as laid down in the Preamble. They may be classified as permanent or temporary (some are permanent features while others operate only for specified periods) and as protective (protecting from injustice and exploitation) or developmental (promoting socio-economic interests). The special representation for Anglo-Indians exists because, as a numerically small and dispersed community, they would not likely win seats through elections.

Electoral reforms refer to proposals to improve the election system. The text acknowledges that "no system of election can ever be perfect" and that "any democratic society has to keep searching for mechanisms to make elections free and fair to the maximum." Various proposals discussed include: 1. **Changing from FPTP to PR:** Changing the election system from FPTP to some variant of PR would ensure parties get seats in proportion to votes received. 2. **Women's reservation:** At least one-third of seats in Parliament and Assemblies should be reserved for women. 3. **State funding of elections:** Stricter control over money in elections; election expenses should be paid by government from a special fund. 4. **Barring candidates with criminal cases:** Candidates with any criminal case should be barred from contesting even if their appeal is pending before a court. 5. **Ban on caste and religious appeals:** Complete ban on use of caste and religious appeals in campaigns. 6. **Regulation of political parties:** Law to regulate functioning of political parties and ensure they function in transparent and democratic manner. The text notes there is no consensus about these suggestions. Even if consensus existed, there are limits to what laws and formal provisions can do. Free and fair elections ultimately require candidates, parties, and those involved in the election process to agree to abide by the spirit of democratic competition. Two other means (beyond legal reforms) for ensuring elections reflect democratic aspirations: (1) citizens being more vigilant and actively involved in political activities, and (2) political institutions and voluntary organisations functioning as watchdogs.

Universal adult franchise means that all adult citizens of the country are eligible to vote in elections. It is described as one of the most important decisions of the framers of the Indian Constitution. They guaranteed every adult citizen in India the right to vote regardless of religion, caste, education, gender, or income. In the Constituent Assembly, the introduction of universal suffrage was the only provision passed without virtually any debate — a testament to the complete democratic consensus on this point. **Age qualification:** Till 1989, an adult Indian meant a citizen above the age of 21. An amendment to the Constitution in 1989 reduced the eligibility age to 18. **Right to contest elections:** All citizens have the right to stand for election and become representatives. Different minimum age requirements apply: - Lok Sabha and State Assembly: candidate must be at least 25 years old - A person who has undergone imprisonment for two or more years for some offence is disqualified from contesting elections There are no restrictions based on income, education, class, or gender on the right to contest elections. The text says "our system of election is open to all citizens." The text notes that critics argued giving the vote to everyone irrespective of educational qualification was not right. However, the Constitution makers had "a firm belief in the ability and worth of all adult citizens as equals in the matter of deciding what is good for the society." The implementation of universal adult franchise in India, particularly during the first general elections (1951-52), was seen by many as a "bold and risky" experiment, given that democracy had previously existed mainly in prosperous, literate countries. Critics predicted its failure, calling it "the biggest gamble in history" due to the country's poverty and high illiteracy rates. However, India's successful conduct of these elections, involving 17 crore eligible voters, proved these sceptics wrong and became a landmark event, demonstrating that democratic elections could be held universally regardless of poverty or lack of education. The Constitution provides that elections to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies are to be on the basis of adult franchise. Every person who is a citizen of India and is at least 18 years of age is entitled to vote, provided they are not disqualified under provisions of the Constitution or any law made by the appropriate legislature (Parliament or state legislature) on grounds such as non-residence, unsound mind, crime, or corrupt or illegal practices. The Constitution explicitly abolishes the system of communal representation and separate electorates. It also states that no person is ineligible for inclusion in the electoral roll solely on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or any of them.