Elections

State Legislative Assemblies

P and Q

Political Party

Mid-term elections

Both (b) and (c)

President of India

Six years

In favour of the majority

All of the above

A registered Political Party is allotted a symbol from its list of 'reserved symbols'.

The Election Commission

Both (a) and (b)

All of the above

Election is a procedure whereby persons are chosen, by voting, to represent the voters for running the government.

The Lok Sabha elections are held by Direct election method. People of India directly elect their representatives to the Lok Sabha.

The system of election to the office of the President of India is indirect Elections.

(a) By-elections — When a seat held by any member of the Legislative Assembly in the Centre or State falls vacant on account of death or resignation of the member before completion of his/her term, to fill up this vacancy the election which is held is called By-Election.

(b) Mid-term election — This type of election is held when a State Legislative Assembly or the Lok Sabha is dissolved before the completion of its full term (5 years).

The Election Commission allots symbols to political parties.

The election symbols give identification to the political parties on ballot paper/electronic voting machine. It helps illiterate voters to identify the party they want to vote for.

Two important powers and functions of the Election Commission are:

1. Preparation of Electoral Rolls and Photo Identity Cards.
2. Registration and Recognition of Political Parties.

The Commission identifies eligible voters in each constituency and prepares the list of all eligible voters. This is called voters list.

The Election Commission prepares the voters list.

The election commission advises the President or the Governors of the State in respect of electoral matters, disqualification of members, election disputes, petitions etc. The commission also advises judiciary in the matter of post election disqualification of sitting members of parliament and state legislature. The cases of persons found guilty of corrupt practices at elections which come before the supreme court and high courts are also referred to the commission for its opinion.

(a) Below are the differences between the two types of elections:

(b) Election of Legislative Assemblies and Lok Sabha are direct and the election of State Legislative Councils, Rajya Sabha, the President of India and the Vice President are indirect in a Parliamentary Democracy.

(c) The President of India is elected indirectly by the members of an Electoral college consisting of the elected members of both the houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States including National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Pondicherry. The election takes place in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. Like the President, the election of the Vice-President is also indirect. The Vice-President is elected by members of both Houses of Parliament. In this election, the State Legislatures do not take part.

(a) The Elections held to elect the members of the Lok Sabha after expiry of the normal term of five years are called the General Elections.

(b) Two points of difference between a by-election and mid-term election are:

(c) The last General Elections were held in 2019 in India.

An electorate can be defined as all the people who are eligible to vote. Alternatively, a very large body of voters is called the electorate.

The Indian Constitution grants the right to vote to all Indian citizens of sound mind above the age of 18, irrespective of an individual’s caste, religion, social or economic status. Every voter is allowed one vote only. A voter can vote at the constituency where they have registered themselves.

(a) The Election Commission consists of three members — a chief Election Commissioner and two other Election Commissioners.

The chief election commissioner is the head of the Election commission. He is appointed by the President of India

(b) The term of the Election Commissioners is six years. During this tenure if they attain the age of 65 years, they shall vacate office on the day of attaining this age.

In case there is a difference in opinion between the Election Commissioners, decision is taken in favour of the majority opinion.

(c) Following are the four functions of the Election Commission:

1. Preparation of electoral rolls and photo identity cards.
2. Registration and recognition of political parties.
3. Fixing dates and conducting elections.
4. Ensuring free and fair elections.

Following are the steps for election of Class Representative:

1. Nomination of Candidates — Candidates will fill the nomination form.
2. Election Campaign — It will continue after nomination till the date of polling.
3. Polling — Students will vote for their favourite candidate.
4. Counting — The votes in secret ballot are counted to decide the winner.
5. Announcement of result — Name of the winning candidate will be announced.

I would introduce following changes in elections to Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha:

1. One Nation One Election — I would introduce simultaneous or synchronised elections in which voters can exercise their separate choices for both Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in one outing. It will optimise public funds and reduce the cost to the exchequer for conducting elections.
2. Preventing Criminalisation of Politics — I would introduce more reforms to prevent people with criminal backgrounds to stand for elections.
3. No campaign or voting on the basis of caste — Although this rule exists but it is not being followed strictly in our system.
4. Paid News — Paid news is any news or analysis appearing in any media (Print and Electronic) for a price in cash or kind. It is quickly becoming a big hurdle in conducting free, fair and transparent elections. I would introduce strict rules to prevent paid news from disrupting elections.