Political Science: Class 11 (Book 2) — Chapter 3: Election and Representation

To ensure elections are democratic, basic rules must be written into the Constitution so they cannot be easily altered by the government of the day. These rules answer five critical questions:

• Who is eligible to vote? (Determines the extent of the franchise).
• Who is eligible to contest? (Determines the openness of political competition).
• Who is to supervise elections? (Ensures the impartiality of the electoral machinery).
• How do the voters choose their representatives? (Defines the electoral system).
• How are the votes to be counted and representatives elected? (Defines the translation of votes into seats).

"They say elections are a carnival of democracy. But this cartoon depicts chaos instead. Is this true of elections always? Is it good for democracy?" (Cartoon from 17 February 1957 by Shankar, depicting a chaotic crowd during the early general elections in India).

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Political Analysis & Systemic Significance: While elections can appear chaotic, noisy, and highly competitive, this "chaos" represents the vibrant mobilization of diverse social groups. In a deeply stratified society like India, electoral campaigns provide a platform for marginalized communities to assert their presence, voice demands, and challenge established power hierarchies. Thus, what appears as administrative chaos is often the process of democratic politicization and empowerment.

• The entire country is divided into small geographical units called constituencies (e.g., 543 constituencies for Lok Sabha).
• Each constituency elects exactly one representative (single-member constituencies).
• Voters cast their vote for a specific candidate , not a political party.
• The candidate who secures the highest number of votes in a constituency is declared elected.
• Critical Feature: The winning candidate does not need to secure a majority (more than 50%) of the total votes cast; they simply need more votes than any other individual candidate.

The 1984 Lok Sabha election serves as a dramatic historical example of how the FPTP system can create a massive discrepancy between the percentage of votes a party receives and the percentage of seats it wins.

Systemic Analysis: The Congress party won four-fifths (over 80%) of the seats in Parliament with only 48% of the popular vote. Conversely, the BJP secured 7.4% of the votes but won only 2 seats. This occurs because, under FPTP, votes cast for losing candidates in every constituency go entirely "wasted," allowing a party with a broad but non-majority support base to sweep the seats.

• Single National Constituency: The entire country is treated as a single constituency. Seats are allocated to parties based on their national vote share. Parties fill these seats from a pre-declared preference list of candidates. Examples: Israel, Netherlands.
• Multi-Member Constituencies: The country is divided into large geographical, multi-member constituencies. Each party declares a list of candidates for each constituency and wins seats in proportion to its vote share in that specific region. Examples: Argentina, Portugal.

Israel uses a highly proportional system of election to its legislature, the Knesset , which takes place every four years. A party must cross a minimum threshold of 3.25% of the total votes to be eligible for seat allocation.

Systemic Analysis: This system allows even very small parties with a highly dispersed support base to find representation in the Knesset. However, it frequently leads to highly fragmented legislatures and the necessity of multi-party coalition governments, which can be politically unstable.

The framers of the Indian Constitution chose the FPTP system for several compelling reasons:

1. Simplicity: The system is extremely simple to understand for common voters who may have no specialized knowledge of politics or formal education. Voters simply choose a candidate.
2. Clear Choice of Candidates: Unlike PR where voters choose abstract party lists, FPTP offers a clear choice between specific candidates. Voters know exactly who their local representative is and can hold them directly accountable.
3. Government Stability: PR systems often result in fragmented legislatures and unstable coalition governments. FPTP generally rewards the largest party with "bonus seats," helping it secure a clear majority to form a stable government.
4. Social Integration: FPTP encourages political parties to build broad, inclusive coalitions of different social groups to win a constituency. In a highly diverse country like India, a PR system would encourage each community to form its own exclusive, narrow, nation-wide party, deepening social cleavages.

• Every State has a specific quota of seats in the Rajya Sabha.
• The electors are the Members of the Legislative Assembly ( MLAs ) of that State.
• Voters (MLAs) rank the candidates in order of preference (1, 2, 3, etc.) on their ballot paper.
• To be declared a winner, a candidate must secure a minimum threshold of votes, known as the Quota .

The quota of votes required to win is calculated using the following mathematical formula:

Hypothetical Calculation (Rajasthan Rajya Sabha Election):

• Total MLAs in Rajasthan (Voters) = 200
• Seats to be filled (Candidates to be elected) = 4
• $$\text{Quota} = \left( \frac{200}{4 + 1} \right) + 1 = \left( \frac{200}{5} \right) + 1 = 40 + 1 = 41 \text{ votes}$$

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The Counting Process: First-preference votes are counted. If a candidate secures 41 or more first-preference votes, they are declared elected. If the required number of candidates do not reach the quota, the candidate with the lowest number of first-preference votes is eliminated, and their votes are transferred to the remaining candidates based on the second preferences marked on those ballot papers. This process of elimination and transfer continues until all seats are filled.

• Separate Electorates: A system introduced by the British colonial government where only voters belonging to a particular community could vote to elect a representative from that community. This was rejected by the Constituent Assembly because it divided the nation and prevented social integration.
• Reserved Constituencies: A democratic system where all voters in a constituency are eligible to vote, but only candidates belonging to the specific reserved community (SC or ST) can contest the election. This ensures representation while maintaining electoral unity.

• The Constitution provides reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) .
• This provision was initially made for 10 years, but has been extended through successive constitutional amendments up to 2030 .
• The number of reserved seats is in direct proportion to their share in the total population of India.
• Current Allocation (as of 26 January 2019): Out of 543 elected seats in the Lok Sabha, 84 are reserved for Scheduled Castes and 47 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

The decision of which constituency is to be reserved is taken by an independent, statutory body called the Delimitation Commission .

• Appointment: Appointed by the President of India; works in close collaboration with the Election Commission of India.
• Mandate: To draw and redraw the boundaries of constituencies all over the country based on census data.
• Methodology for ST Reservation: The Commission identifies constituencies that have the highest proportion of Scheduled Tribe population and reserves them for ST.
• Methodology for SC Reservation: The Commission looks for constituencies with a high proportion of Scheduled Caste population. However, unlike STs, the SC population is spread evenly across the country. Therefore, the Commission selects constituencies with higher SC populations but distributes them across different regions of the State, rotating them during each delimitation exercise.

• While reservation for women was long established in rural and urban local bodies (one-third of all seats), it was absent at the state and national legislative levels for decades.
• The passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women's Reservation Act, 2023) formally amended the Constitution to provide a one-third (33%) reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabhas).

• All adult citizens of the country, regardless of gender, caste, class, religion, or educational qualification, are entitled to vote. This is known as Universal Adult Franchise .
• The 1989 Amendment: Till 1989, the voting age in India was 21 years. The 61st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1989 reduced the eligibility age to 18 years , expanding the democratic electorate to include younger citizens.
• This system is consistent with the principle of equality and non-discrimination, reflecting the Constituent Assembly's deep faith in the wisdom of the common citizen.

Every citizen has the right to stand for election and become a representative of the people, subject to certain constitutional and legal requirements:

• Age Requirements: To contest elections to the Lok Sabha or State Assembly, a candidate must be at least 25 years old . (Other offices have different requirements, e.g., 30 years for Rajya Sabha, 35 years for President).
• Legal Disqualifications: There is a legal provision that any person who has undergone imprisonment for two or more years for any offense is disqualified from contesting elections.
• No Discriminatory Barriers: There are absolutely no restrictions based on income, education, class, or gender on the right to contest elections.

"The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of the electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to Parliament and to the Legislature of every State and of elections to the offices of President and Vice-President held under this Constitution shall be vested in a Commission (referred to in this Constitution as the Election Commission)."

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Political Analysis & Systemic Significance: Article 324 is a crucial safeguard. By vesting the "superintendence, direction, and control" of all national and state-level elections in an independent Election Commission (EC) , the Constitution insulates the electoral machinery from executive interference and political pressure from the ruling party.

• State-Level Assistance: The EC of India is assisted by a Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in every State.
• Exclusion of Local Body Elections: The EC of India is not responsible for conducting local body (Panchayat and Municipality) elections. These are conducted independently by the State Election Commissions , which function completely independently of the EC of India.
• Evolution from Single-Member to Multi-Member Body:
  • Until 1989, the Election Commission was a single-member body consisting only of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
  • Just before the 1989 general elections, two Election Commissioners were appointed, making it a multi-member body. It reverted to a single-member status shortly after.
  • In 1993 , two Election Commissioners were once again appointed, and the Commission has remained a three-member body ever since.
  • Decision-Making: The CEC presides over the Commission but does not possess more power than the other two Commissioners. All decisions are taken collectively as a body, either unanimously or by a majority vote.

• Appointment: The CEC and Election Commissioners are appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
• Tenure: They are appointed for a term of six years or until they attain the age of 65 years , whichever is earlier.
• Removal of the CEC: To prevent the ruling party from removing a non-compliant CEC, the Constitution provides the CEC with the same security of tenure as a Supreme Court Judge. The CEC can only be removed before the expiry of their term by the President if both Houses of Parliament pass a resolution to that effect with a Special Majority (two-thirds majority of those present and voting, and a simple majority of the total membership of the House).
• Removal of Election Commissioners: The other two Election Commissioners can be removed by the President of India, but only on the formal recommendation of the CEC.

The EC performs a wide range of critical administrative, advisory, and quasi-judicial functions:

1. Preparation of Voters' Lists: Supervises the preparation and continuous update of the electoral rolls to ensure they are free of errors, duplicate entries, or omissions.
2. Scheduling of Elections: Determines the entire election schedule, including the notification of elections, dates for filing nominations, scrutiny, withdrawal, polling, counting, and declaration of results.
3. Enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct: Implements a strict Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for political parties and candidates to ensure a level playing field. It can postpone or cancel elections in any constituency if the atmosphere is vitiated.
4. Recognition of Political Parties: Accords formal recognition to political parties (as National or State parties) and allots unique election symbols to them.
5. Control over Administrative Machinery: During the election period, the EC has full administrative control over all government employees assigned to election duty. It can transfer, suspend, or take disciplinary action against any officer failing to act in an impartial manner.

• Systemic Change: Transition from the FPTP system to a suitable variant of the Proportional Representation (PR) system to ensure that seats won by parties align closely with their actual popular vote share.
• Curbing Money Power: Introduce state funding of elections, where election expenses are paid by the government out of a special public fund, to reduce the influence of corporate money and wealthy candidates.
• Decriminalization of Politics: Bar candidates with pending criminal cases from contesting elections, even if their appeals are pending before a court of law.
• Banning Identity Appeals: Enforce a complete and strict ban on the use of caste, religious, or communal appeals during election campaigns.
• Regulating Political Parties: Pass a law to regulate the internal functioning of political parties, ensuring inner-party democracy, transparency in funding, and regular organizational elections.

Legal reforms alone cannot clean up the electoral process. True reform requires active democratic citizenship:

• Vigilant Electorate: Citizens must be politically conscious, active, and refuse to be swayed by short-term inducements, cash, or identity-based appeals.
• Role of Civil Society: Non-governmental organizations, voluntary groups, and independent media must act as watchdogs, monitoring candidate backgrounds, campaign spending, and exposing electoral malpractices.