General Knowledge / Types Of Elections In IndiaTypes of Elections in IndiaElection It is a formal and organized choice by vote of a person for a political office or other position. Type of Elections Elections in the Republic of India include elections for : 1. Members of the Parliament in Lok Sabha, 2. Members of State Legislative Assembly, 3. Members of the Parliament in Rajya Sabha, 4. Member of State Legislative Council, 5. Members in local panchayat or city corporation council. 6. By-election is held when a person of a particular constituent dies or resigns. General Elections (Lok sabha) Members of Lok Sabha (House of the People) or the lower house of India's Parliament are elected by being voted upon by all adult citizens of India, from a set of candidates who stand in their respective constituencies. Every adult citizen of India can vote only in their constituency. Candidates who win the Lok Sabha elections are called 'Member of Parliament' and hold their seats for 5 years or until the body is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi, on matters relating to creation of new laws, removing or improving the existing laws that affect all citizens of India. Elections take place once in 5 years to elect 545 members for the Lok Sabha (Lower house). The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by adult universal suffrage and a first-past-the-post system to represent their respective constituencies, and they hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Sansad Bhavanin New Delhi. The maximum strength of the House allotted by the Constitution of India is 552. Currently, the house has 545 seats which is made up by the election of up to 543 elected members and at a maximum, 2 nominated members of the Anglo-Indian Community by the President of India. A total of 131 seats (24.03%) are reserved for representatives of Scheduled Castes (84) and Scheduled Tribes (47). The quorum for the House is 10% of the total membership. The Lok Sabha, unless sooner dissolved, continues to operate for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting. However, while a proclamation of emergency is in operation, this period may be extended by Parliament by law. An exercise to redraw Lok Sabha constituencies' boundaries is carried out by the Boundary Delimitation Commission of India every decade based on the Indian census, last of which was conducted in 2011. This exercise earlier also included redistribution of seats among states based on demographic changes but that provision of the mandate of the commission was suspended in 1976 following a constitutional amendment to incentivise the family planning programme which was being implemented. The 17th Lok Sabha was elected in May 2019 and is the latest to date. The Lok Sabha has its own television channel, Lok Sabha TV, headquartered within the premises of Parliament.
State Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) Elections The Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha in Hindi) is the lower house of a state legislature in the States and Union Territories of India. In the 22 states and 3 union territories with unicameral state legislature it is the sole legislative body. In 7 states it is the lower house of their bicameral state legislatures with the upper house being State Legislative Council. 6 Union Territories are governed directly by the Union Government of India and have no legislative body. Each Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is directly elected to serve 5 year terms by single-member constituencies. In 14 states the Governor of a state may appoint one Anglo-Indian MLA to their respective states Assemblies, in accordance with the 23rd Amendment of the Constitution of India. The Constitution of India states that a State Legislative Assembly must have no less than 60 and no more than 500 members however an exception may be granted via an Act of Parliament as is the case in the states of Goa, Sikkim, Mizoram and the union territory of Puducherry which have fewer than 60 members. A State Legislative Assembly may be dissolved in a state of emergency, by the Governor on request of the Chief Minister, or if a motion of no confidence is passed against the majority coalition. Members of State Legislative Assembly, are elected directly by voting, from a set of candidates who stands in their respective constituencies. Every adult citizen of India can vote only in their constituency. Candidates who win the State Legislative Assemblies elections are called 'Member of Legislative Assembly' (MLA) and hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the Governor. The house meets in the respective state, on matters relating to creation of new laws, removing or improving the existing laws that affect all citizens living in that state. Total strength of each assembly depends on each State, mostly based on size and population. Similar to Lok sabha elections, leader of the majority party/alliance takes oath as Chief Minister of the State. Qualifications required to become an MLA To become a Member of a State Legislative Assembly (MLA), a person must be a citizen of India, not less than 25 years of age, should be mentally sound, should not be bankrupt, and must be enrolled on the voters' list of the state for which he or she is contesting an election. He or she may not be a Member of Parliament. He or she should also state an affidavit that there are no criminal procedures against him or her. Speaker of State Legislative Assembly who is responsible for the conduct of business of the body, and also a Deputy Speaker to preside during the Speaker's absence. The Speaker acts as a neutral judge and manages all debates and discussions in the house. Usually he or she is a member of the stronger political party. A State Legislative Assembly holds equal legislative power with the upper house of state legislature, the State Legislative Council, except in the area of money bills in which case the State Legislative Assembly has the ultimate authority. List of Legislative Assemblies
By-election As the name suggests, when a elected candidate to either the State Assembly, Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha leaves the office vacant before their term ends, a bye election is conducted to find a suitable replacement to fill the vacant position. It is often referred in India as Bypolls. Common reasons for bye elections: 1. Sitting MLA resigns once he gets elected as MP. 2.Sitting MLA or MP died. But there are other reasons that occur when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office (criminal conviction, or failure to maintain a minimum attendance in the office or due to election irregularities found later. Also, when a candidate has won more than one seat, they have to vacate one .) Rajya Sabha (Upper House) Elections The Rajya Sabha, also known as the Council of States, is the upper house of India's Parliament. Candidates are not elected directly by the citizens, but by the Members of Legislative Assemblies and up to 12 can be nominated by the President of India for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. Members of the Parliament in Rajya Sabha get a tenure of six years, with one-third of the body facing re-election every two years. Rajya Sabha acts as a second-level review body before a bill becomes an act. The Vice President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions. The Legislative proposals (making new laws, removing or appending new conditions to the existing law) are brought before either house of the Parliament in the form of a bill. A bill is the draft of a legislative proposal, which, when passed by both houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) and assented to by the President, becomes an Act of Parliament. The Constitution of India however places some restrictions on the Rajya Sabha which makes the Lok Sabha more powerful in certain areas. For example, it stipulates that Money bills must originate in the Lok Sabha. Members of Rajya Sabha debate bills sent by the Lok Sabha and can approve, reject or send the bill back to the Lok Sabha for further debate and discussion on the matter, as well as to suggest better changes in the drafted bill. Members of Rajya Sabha can only make recommendations to the Lok Sabha for money bills within 14 days. Even if Rajya Sabha fails to return the money bill in 14 days to the Lok Sabha, that bill is deemed to have passed by both the Houses. Also, if the Lok Sabha rejects any (or all) of the amendments proposed by the Rajya Sabha, the bill is deemed to have been passed by both Houses of Parliament of India in the form the Lok Sabha finally passes it. Home Back |