Elections and democracy
In a direct democracy, all citizens take part in every decision, like a village Gram Sabha. In a big country this is not possible, so we have indirect (representative) democracy: people elect representatives who make decisions for them.
Elections do three jobs: they let people choose who governs, they let people remove governments peacefully, and they make representatives answerable. The Constitution sets the basic rules of elections so that no party in power can change them to its own advantage.
First Past the Post (FPTP) and why India chose it
How FPTP works
The country is divided into areas called constituencies. Each constituency elects one representative. The candidate with the most votes wins, even if it is less than half. This is also called the plurality system. Voters vote for a candidate, not a list.
Proportional Representation (PR)
In PR, a party gets seats in proportion to its share of votes. If a party gets 30% of votes, it gets about 30% of seats. Countries like Israel and the Netherlands use it. In India, a kind of PR (single transferable vote) is used to elect the President, Vice-President, Rajya Sabha and Legislative Councils.
Why India chose FPTP
- Simple: easy to understand even for voters who cannot read.
- Clear link: each area has its own representative whom people can hold responsible.
- Stable government: it usually gives one party or group a clear majority.
- Encourages unity: to win a seat, a candidate must win votes from many social groups, not just one.
A weakness: a party can win many seats with far fewer votes than the other parties' total, so seats may not match votes.
Reserved constituencies
FPTP may leave some groups without any representatives. So the Constitution reserves some constituencies for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). In a reserved seat, only candidates from that group can contest, but all voters in the constituency vote. This is not a separate electorate (where only one group votes), which the makers rejected because it could divide society.
Which seats are reserved is decided by the Delimitation Commission, an independent body that draws constituency boundaries, looking at where these groups live. In the Lok Sabha, 84 seats are reserved for SC and 47 for ST.
Free and fair elections
- Universal adult franchise: every citizen aged 18 or above can vote, whatever their caste, religion, sex, education or wealth. (The age was 21 until 1989.)
- Right to contest: any citizen who meets simple conditions (for example 25 years for Lok Sabha) can stand.
- Independent Election Commission (Article 324): the Chief Election Commissioner and other commissioners supervise elections. It prepares voter lists, fixes the schedule, enforces the Model Code of Conduct, can order a re-poll, and allots party symbols. A CEC can be removed only like a Supreme Court judge. States have State Election Commissions for local body elections.
- Tools: Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), voter ID cards, VVPAT slips.
Electoral reforms
Many suggestions have been made to improve elections:
- Think about a system closer to PR so that seats match votes better.
- Reserve one-third of seats in Parliament and assemblies for women (a law for this was passed in 2023 and will apply after the next delimitation).
- Control the role of money: stricter limits and state funding of elections have been suggested.
- Stop people with serious criminal cases from contesting; candidates must already declare their assets and criminal records.
- Ban caste and religious appeals in campaigns.
- Make the Election Commission more independent in how commissioners are appointed.
Laws alone cannot fix everything: alert voters, a free press and active citizens are also needed.
Try it: count a class election
Hold a mock vote in your class for 'class captain' with 3 or 4 candidates. Count the votes. Who wins by FPTP? What percentage did the winner get? Now suppose 10 'seats' were shared in proportion to votes. How many would each candidate get? Check your idea with the slider in the last 3D step.
Key formulas and definitions
- FPTP: most votes in a constituency = winner (no need for 50%)
- PR: % of seats โ % of votes
- PR seats for a party = (party votes รท total votes) ร total seats
- Voting age: 18 (61st Amendment, 1989); contest Lok Sabha: 25
- Election Commission: Article 324; CEC + Election Commissioners
- Lok Sabha reserved seats: 84 SC + 47 ST
Worked examples
1. In a constituency, A gets 38,000 votes, B 33,000, C 29,000. Who wins under FPTP and with what share?
Total = 100,000. A wins with 38,000 รท 100,000 = 38%. A wins although 62% voted for others.
2. Under PR, a house has 200 seats. Party X gets 30% of votes. How many seats?
30% of 200 = 0.30 ร 200 = 60 seats.
3. Party P gets 40% of votes but wins 70% of seats in FPTP. How is this possible?
If P comes first in most constituencies, even by a small margin, it wins those seats. Votes for losers in each seat do not count towards seats, so P's seat share can be much bigger than its vote share.
4. In a reserved SC constituency, can a general-category voter vote?
Yes. All registered voters of the area vote. Only the candidates must be from the SC group.
5. Three parties get 45%, 35% and 20% of votes. Share 20 seats by PR.
45% of 20 = 9, 35% of 20 = 7, 20% of 20 = 4. Check: 9 + 7 + 4 = 20 seats.
6. Name two things the Election Commission does before polling day.
It prepares and updates the voter list and announces the election schedule. It also enforces the Model Code of Conduct once elections are announced.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the winner under FPTP needs more than 50% of votes. Most votes is enough.
- Thinking only SC/ST voters vote in reserved seats. Everyone votes; only candidates are reserved.
- Saying India uses PR for Lok Sabha. PR (single transferable vote) is for Rajya Sabha, President and Vice-President.
- Confusing the Election Commission of India with State Election Commissions, which run panchayat and municipal elections.