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CH 2

Chapter 2 discusses the election and representation systems in India, focusing on the First Past the Post (FPTP) system and its implications for democracy and representation. It outlines the role of the Delimitation Commission in reserving constituencies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the importance of free and fair elections, and the establishment of an independent Election Commission. Additionally, the chapter highlights proposed electoral reforms to enhance the electoral process and ensure equitable representation.

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33 views4 pages

CH 2

Chapter 2 discusses the election and representation systems in India, focusing on the First Past the Post (FPTP) system and its implications for democracy and representation. It outlines the role of the Delimitation Commission in reserving constituencies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the importance of free and fair elections, and the establishment of an independent Election Commission. Additionally, the chapter highlights proposed electoral reforms to enhance the electoral process and ensure equitable representation.

Uploaded by

Aswathi vijayan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 2

ELECTION AND REPRESENTATION


ELECTION
It is a formal and organized choice by vote of a person for a political office or other position.
REPRESENTATION
The action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented.

ELECTION SYSTEM IN INDIA


It can happen in a number of different ways. They are:-
1) First Past the Post System- members of the electorate cast their vote for the candidate of
their choice and the candidate who receives the most votes wins, even if they did not
receive a majority of the votes.
Countries using first-past-the-post include the United Kingdom, Canada, India and partly
in the United States.

2) Proportional Representation- Proportional representation characterizes electoral systems in


which divisions in an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. Countries
who follow this system are India, Israel and Netherland.

Why did India adopt the FPTP system?


We know that our country is completely democratic country and the political powers are
distributed through the public elections.
The public elections in our country works with the very generic FPTP process (first-past-the-post) where
the candidate with maximum votes win the political seat. We adopted this policy due to its simplicity
which fits perfectly in our democratic political ecosystem.
The FPTP system offers voters a choice not simply between parties but specific candidates. In
other electoral systems, especially PR systems, voters are often asked to choose a party and the
representatives are elected on the basis of party lists. As a result, there is no one representative
who represents and is responsible for one locality.
The makers of our Constitution also felt that PR based election may not be suitable for giving a
stable government in a parliamentary system.
The working of the FPTP system results in a two-party system. This means that there are two
major competitors for power and power is often shared by these two parties alternately. It is
difficult for new parties or the third party to enter the competition and share power.
3) Reservation of constituencies- the FPTP electoral system can mean that the dominant social
groups and castes can win everywhere and the oppressed social groups. Our Constitution
makers were aware of this difficulty and the need to provide a way to ensure fair and just
representation to the oppressed social groups.
It was decided to adopt the system of reserved constituencies. In this system, all voters in a
constituency are eligible to vote but the candidates must belong to only a particular community or social
section for which the seat is reserved. The Constitution provides for reservation of seats in the Lok
Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Who decides which constituency is to be reserved?


 This decision is taken by an independent body called the Delimitation Commission. The
Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with
the Election Commission of India. It is appointed for the purpose of drawing up the boundaries
of constituencies all over the country.
 The Delimitation Commission looks at the composition of population in each constituency.
Those constituencies that have the highest proportion of Scheduled Tribe population are
reserved for ST. In the case of Scheduled Castes.
 The Delimitation Commission looks at two things. It picks constituencies that have higher
proportion of Scheduled Caste population and spreads these constituencies in different regions
of the State.

4) FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS- If we want democracy it is important that the election system is
impartial and transparent. The system of election must also allow the aspirations of the voter to
find legitimate expression through the electoral results.
 Universal franchise and right to contest- democratic elections require that all adult citizens of
the country must be eligible to vote in the elections. This is known as universal adult franchise.
Till 1989, an adult Indian meant an Indian citizen above the age of 21. An amendment to the
Constitution in 1989, reduced the eligibility age to 18. Adult franchise ensures that all citizens
are able to participate in the process of selecting their representative. This is consistent with the
principle of equality and non-discrimination. Many people thought and many think so today that
giving the right to vote to everyone irrespective of educational qualification was not right. But
our 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 country and for their own
constituencies.
5) Independent Election Commission- to ‘supervise and conduct‘elections. 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.
To assist the Election Commission of India there is a Chief Electoral Officer in every state. The
Election Commission of India can either be a single member or a multi-member body.
The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) presides over the Election Commission, but does not
have more powers than the other Election Commissioners. The CEC and the two Election
Commissioners have equal powers to take all decisions relating to elections as a collective body.
They are appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The
Constitution ensures the security of the tenure of the CEC and Election Commissioners. They are
appointed for a six year term or continue till the age of 65.
The functions of Election Commissioner are:-
 It supervises the preparation of up-to-date voters’ list. It makes every effort to ensure
that the voters’ list is free of errors like nonexistence of names of registered voters
 It also determines the timing of elections and prepares the election schedule. The
election schedule includes the notification of elections, date from which nominations
can be filed, last date for filing nominations etc.
 The Election Commission has the power to take decisions to ensure a free and fair poll.
It can postpone or cancel the election in the entire country.
 The Election Commission accords recognition to political parties and allots symbols to
each of them.

ELECTORAL REFORMS

No system of election can ever be perfect. So certain reforms were brought in the system. They were:-
1. Our system of elections should be changed from the FPTP to some variant of the PR system. This
would ensure that parties get seats, as far as possible, in proportion to the votes they get.
2. There should be a special provision to ensure that at least one third women are elected to the
parliament and assemblies.
3. There should be stricter provisions to control the role of money in electoral politics. The
elections expenses should be paid by the government out of a special fund.
4. Candidates with any criminal case should be barred from contesting elections, even if their
appeal is pending before a court.
5. There should be complete ban on the use of caste and religious appeals in the campaign.
6. There should be a law to regulate the functioning of political parties and to ensure that they
function in a transparent and democratic manner.

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