The electoral process - class-X

India is the largest democracy in the world and its constitution grants to its people a wide number of rights. In India, elections are held under the direct control of the Election Commission of India which is an autonomous Constitutional body and the right to vote is based on the principle of Universal Adult Franchise. The success of election is based upon the active participation of people in maximum numbers, however, voting cannot be compelled and this right is exercised by the citizens as per their discretion. Hence, saying that India has the largest number of voters in the world does not quantify the stronghold of Indian elections to be democratic.

An election is a decision making process by which people get to choose their representative. It is a test to evaluate the functioning of government and indicates the policies, representatives would undertake. But elections cannot evaluate the performance of judiciary.

In Gram Panchayat elections, all the villagers who are 18 years or more in age can vote. The villagers who are 21 years or more can contest the elections on fulfilling other requirements.

The principle of communal representation which was accepted under the Morley-Minto Reforms was retained and was pushed further in the Government of India Act, 1919. After this, some seats were reserved for Muslims in different councils, while in the Punjab Council, some seats were reserved for Sikh community.

Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. India’s Upper House election (Rajya Sabha) is actually based on Proportional Representation System. In Separate Electorate System, the community to which the electorate belongs would choose their own leaders via an election in which the candidates of only their community would be allowed to contest and only their community members would vote. In Reservation of Seats, the candidates in the election can belong only to a particular community for which it is reserved.

He was not eligible to vote as he was not yet 21 years of age. In 1980, a minimum age for voting was 21 years.

On August 1935, the Government of India passed longest act i.e. Government of India Act 1935 under the British Act of Parliament. This act gave the provision for separate electorates for Anglo-Indians and Indian Christians.

Republic is a type of state. In republic state, supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives. It has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.

According to our election law, no party or candidate can:

 i) Bribe or threaten voters; 

 ii) Appeal to them in the name of caste or religion;

iii) Use government resources for election campaign; and

 iv) Spend more than Rs. 25 lakh in a constituency for a Lok Sabha election or Rs. 10 lakh in a constituency in an Assembly election.

The voting age of elections to the Lok Sabha and to the Legislative Assemblies of States was lowered from 21 years to 18 years through the Sixty-first Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988. Article 326 of the Constitution, which concerns to elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies, was amended to effect this change.

Democracy is a system in which the citizens elect their representatives who rule them. The ultimate power in a democracy lies with the people. It can be direct or representative. In a direct democracy, people directly vote for the issues which concern the nation whereas, in a representative form, people choose their representatives who deliberate over the issues.

The Lower house of Indian Parliament is known as
Lok Sabha. The members of Lok Sabha are
elected directly by the people. It is held in every 5 years and is called the
general elections. The entire country is divided into 543 constituencies. Upto
530 members represent the territorial constituencies in States and upto 20
members represent the Union Territories. Any person living in that constituency
whose age is above 18 years can vote for the Lok Sabha elections. From each
constituency a member is elected. Thus, the Lok Sabha is formed.

Following are the essential conditions of democratic elections: 

1. Everyone should have one vote and each vote should have equal value.
2. Parties and candidates should be free to contest elections and should offer some real choice to the voters.
3. Elections must be held regularly after few years.
4. The candidate preferred by the people should get elected.
5. Elections should be conducted in a free and fair atmosphere.

An election is a formal and organized process by which a population chooses through voting an individual to hold political office. Elections are the integral part and foundation of modern representative democracy since the 17th century.

An election is a process where people vote in order to choose their representative person or group of persons to hold public office. The person or group of persons who get the majority of the votes from people become the winner of elections while the others getting fewer votes to become losers.

The correct matches are: Nagpur (1920) - Changes in Congress constitution; Madras (1927) - Independence Resolution; Calcutta (1928) - Return of Gandhiji; Lahore (1929) - Poorna Swaraj; Karachi (1931/1930 context) - Fundamental Rights.

Elections to the Vidhan Sabhas are carried out in the same manner as for the Lok Sabha election. The states and union territories are also divided into single-member constituencies. The candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins and becomes the MLA for that seat. A political party whose MLAs have won more than half the number of constituencies in a state can be said to be in majority.

A constituency is an electoral unit into which eligible electors are organized to elect representatives to a legislative or another public body. In India, each constituency elects one representative each to each Houses of Parliament and State Legislature. The size and shape of the parliamentary constituencies are determined by an independent Delimitation Commission, which aims to create constituencies which have roughly the same population, subject to geographical considerations and the boundaries of the states and administrative areas.

The Election Commission of India, as an autonomous constitutional authority, administers the election processes in India. It allows symbols to the political parties. It gives recognition to the national parties, state parties, and regional parties. The commission formulates electoral rolls and updates the voter's list from time to time.

In the state legislature, a representative elected from a constituency becomes Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA). A person should be i) a citizen of India ii) not less than 25 years of age to be a member of the Legislative Assembly and not less than 30 years of age to be a member of the Legislative Council.

The country has been divided into 543 Parliamentary Constituencies, each of which returns one MP to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament. The size and shape of the parliamentary constituencies are determined by an independent Delimitation Commission, which aims to create constituencies which have roughly the same population, subject to geographical considerations and the boundaries of the states and administrative areas.

In the Indian Presidential election, the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote is used. Each elector has one vote, but the value of that vote varies, and they can mark preferences for candidates.

Under Article 54 of the Indian Constitution, the Electoral College for the President includes elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies of the States, including the National Capital Territory of Delhi and Puducherry.

(i) Depositors are the creditors of the company. They are not the members of the company.
(ii) He provide loan for  a short period.
(iii) He is not given a voting rights.
(iv) He does not participate in the management as he is  not the owner of the company.
(v) He is a  creditor of the company and gets regular interest at the fixed rate on his deposit.

The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha is 550, with 530 members representing the States and 20 representing Union Territories.

The minimum age requirement for a Presidential candidate is 35 years, not 30. The other options (citizen of India, no office of profit, qualified for Lok Sabha) are correct requirements.

Answer is option  A 1951

General elections were held in British India in December 1945 to elect members of the Central Legislative Assembly, an equivalent of present-day Lok Sabha, and the Council of State, an equivalent of present-day Rajya Sabha. These were the last general elections in British India; consequent elections were held in 1951 in India and 1970 in Pakistan.

In the year 1892, The Indian Council Act was passed in British India increasing the size of legislative councils. The Act was passed as a result of demands raised by Indian National Congress in the sessions held, which was the admission of the certain number of elected members. This Act marks the beginning of principle of representation by way of indirect election.

The prime purpose behind the passing of the Right to Information Act is to empower citizens of a country, by ensuring full accountability and transparency in work done by the Government. The act was passed with a motto of eradicating corruption and make the democracy work for the betterment of citizens in true sense.

When parties choose candidates in
elections, they keep in mind the caste
composition of the electorate and
nominate candidates from different
castes to muster the necessary support
to win elections. When governments are
formed, political parties usually take care of that representative of different castes and
tribes find a place in it.

The Indian Councils Act 1892 brought the provision of bringing additional members into the Legislative Council through indirect election. For the first time, the element of an election was introduced into Indian political system. The principle of representation was introduced as universities, district board, municipalities, zamindars and chambers of commerce were empowered to recommend members to provincial councils.

The person in order to be eligible in casting vote should be a SriLankan citizen, with 18 or above years of age and having no disqualification as prescribed in the constitution of the SriLanka

By-elections are elections used to fill elected offices that have become vacant between general elections. These offices become vacant because the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office or dies or resigns.

Elections are conducted in democratic polity. The major participants that are political parties compete with each other to get to power by winning people's confidence and to allure them to get majority of votes. It is the healthy political competition that keeps the spirit if democratic nations alive but when it gets to reed the political parties tend to do everything in their power to attract people and get their votes.

Salvador Allende was the founder leader of the Socialist Party of Chile and led the Popular Unity coalition to victory in the presidential election in 1970. After being elected as the President, Allende took several policy decisions to help the poor and the workers.

The Leader of the Haryana Sangharsh Samiti is Chaudhary Devi Lal who led a movement called 'Nyaya Yuddh" (Struggle for Justice) and formed a new party called Lok Dal to contest the election is Haryana's State Assembly.

Every person who wishes to
contest an election has to fill a
‘nomination form’ and give some
money as ‘security deposit’. It is a surety on behalf of the candidate to comply with the model code of conduct and is liable to be forfeited if he/she be found involved in electoral malpractices.

 By 1900 New
Zealand was the only country where
every adult had voting right. Many changes took place during Europe’s struggle for democracy. It took many years of the constant struggle to secure a universal adult franchise. New Zealand was the first country to grant voting rights to women. 

In China, elections are regularly held
after every five years for electing the
country’s parliament, called
Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui
(National People’s Congress). The
National People’s Congress has the
power to appoint the President of the
country. It has nearly 3,000
members elected from all over
China. Some members are elected
by the army. Before contesting
elections, a candidate needs the
approval of the Chinese Communist
Party. Only those who are members
of the Chinese Communist Party or
eight smaller parties allied to it were
allowed to contest elections held in
2002-03. The government is always
formed by the Communist Party.

The demand for Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka gained significant momentum and organized political form during the 1980s, leading to the civil war.

In Saudi Arabia, women are still struggling to get rights equivalent to that of women. There are several rights and privileges that are denied to women such as political freedom of the right to vote.

Critical development efforts cannot succeed without a legitimate and democratically elected government that is responsive and accountable to its citizens. Elections provide an important opportunity to advance democratization and encourage political liberalization. Elections offer a choice and fair opportunity to the people to change the current rulers; this choice and opportunity is available to all the people on an equal basis. The exercise of this choice leads to a government limited by basic rules of the constitution and citizens’ rights. Hence, Option A is correct.  The rest of the options are the features of elections, not the advantages, hence, incorrect. 

Option a is false 

People’s participation in election is usually measured by voter turnout figures.  Over the last fifty years, the turnout in Europe and North America has declined. In India, the turnout has either remained stable or actually gone up. 

In Democratic India, general elections take place every five years. All
those who are eighteen years of age have a right to vote. A number of
candidates seek the election. They move from door to door. They hold
public meetings and explain the programs of their parties. If they get
majority of votes, they win; but if they do not, they lose. An election,
therefore, is like a battle. But this battle is fought in a peaceful
way. It is a battle of ballots, not a battle of bullets.

Universal adult franchise is the right to vote which is given to all adults irrespective of caste, creed, race etc. Education has never been a criteria to vote.

The right to vote is granted when a citizen completes 18 years of age. 

Therefore, one can be disqualified from voting, only on the grounds of age.

1- "Self-respect of the Telugus" (1989) -: During the election campaign in 1983 Assembly Election, the leader of Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh N. T. Rama Rao used this slogan.
2- "Save Democracy" (1977) -: This slogan was given by Janta Party in Lok sabha Election held in 1977.
3- "Garibi  Hatao" (1971) -:  The slogan coined by Indira Gandhi resonated with the nation and secured a landslide victory for the Congress party.
4- "Land to the Tiller" (1977) -: The Left Front used this slogan in the West Bengal assembly elections held in 1977.

The Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India, is made up of Members of Parliament. Each represents a single geographic constituency. There are currently 543 constituencies. The maximum size of the Lok Sabha as outlined in the Constitution of India is 552 members made up of up to 530 members representing people of the states of India and up to 20 members representing people from the Union Territories on the basis of their population and 2 are nominated by President.

There are reserved constituencies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in both parliamentary and assembly elections. 

The Election Commission is the Constitutional body duly assigned the task of superintendence, direction and control of elections consisting of Parliament, State Legislature, President and Vice President of India.

In order to check cases of impersonation, it introduced photo identity cards. It was an innovative idea of T.N. Seshan, the former CEC.

According to the election guidelines given by election commission in India, Holding rallies in support of the candidates is not prohibited. But according to the same bribing the voter, threatening the voter and appeal in the name of caste or religion is strictly prohibited.

In the last few years a new system of Election Photo Identity Card [EPIC] has been introduced. The government has tried to give this card to every person on the voters list. The voters are required to carry this card when they go out to vote, so that no one can vote for someone else. But the card is not yet compulsory for voting. 

Following are the correct sequence of the election process in India -:

• Announcement of election date
• Model code of conduct comes into force
• Campaigning begins
• Announcement of result

Announcement of new projects or programme or concessions or financial grants in any form or promises thereof or laying of foundation stones, etc., which have the effect of influencing the voters in favour of the party in power is prohibited. The coming into force of the Model Code of Conduct cannot be given as an excuse for not commissioning such schemes or allowing them to remain idle.

The representation of peoples' act 1952 describes the procedure for elections of the houses of the parliament and to the house or houses of the state legislature. Along with this, it describes the qualifications and disqualifications of the members of the houses and corrupt practices with the elections.

The elections are held by dividing the whole country or a State into a number of representative areas called constituencies. Thus, a constituency is a fixed area with a body of voters or residents with strong voting rights. There are separate constituencies each for Assembly elections and Parliamentary elections. 

Every person who wishes to contest an election has to fill a nomination form and give some money as security deposit. Recently, a new system of declaration has been introduced on direction from the Supreme Court. Every candidate has to make a legal declaration, giving full details of:

1. Serious criminal cases pending against the candidate
2. Details of the assets and liabilities of the candidate and his or her family
3. Educational qualifications of the candidate.

This information has to be made public. This provides an opportunity to the voters to make their decision on the basis of the information provided by the candidates. Educational qualifications are not necessary for the candidates.

EPIC stands for Election Photo Identity Card, which is issued by the Election Commission of India to eligible voters.

An electoral competition also has many demerits. It creates a sense of disunity and factionalism in every locality. Different political parties and leaders often level allegations against one another. Parties and candidates often use dirty tricks to win elections. Some people say that this pressure to win electoral fights does not allow sensible long term policies to be formulated. Some good people who may wish to serve the country do not enter this arena because of this unhealthy competition.

In order to contest elections for membership of Lok Sabha, a person should be At least 25 years of age. 

Democracy is a system in which the citizens elect their representatives who rule them. The ultimate power in a democracy lies with the people. Hence, it can be said that democracy is a form of government in which the people have a say in who should hold power and how the power should be used.

In India, there is universal adult suffrage which means that every adult above the age of 18 years is eligible to vote in an election. It enables every adult citizen of the country to participate in the process of government formation. Elections are conducted by a constitutional body named Election Commission.

Rajya Sabha and State Legislative Councils are upper houses of the Central and state legislature respectively. The members of both houses are elected indirectly by single transferable vote method. They are elected for a term of 6 yrs and one-third of members retire every two years.

The people of India directly elect their representatives to Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. Every citizen above the age of 18 years is eligible to vote in the election to the lower houses. The members of the upper houses are elected indirectly by proportional representation system by single transferable vote method.

Political equality refers to a situation where all citizens of a particular country are free to exercise their political freedom through the voting process. It is a principle of one person one vote where each person has equal right to vote for their representative and equally be a part of the system.

Option A is incorrect because a minister in the Union or State government is not disqualified from being a member of Parliament; in fact, they are usually required to be members.

In India, there are two methods of elections which are territorial representation and system of proportional representation. Proportional representation is further divided into single transferable vote system and list system. Under this system, all sections of people get representation in proportion to their number i.e., even the smallest section of the population get its share of representation in the legislature. The proportional representation by single transferable vote system is adopted for the election of President, Vice- President, and members to the Rajya Sabha.

This is an Act to provide for Legislative Assemblies, Councils of Ministers and Councils of Advisers for states. The part that provides for the Part C States is called Government of Part C States Act, 1951. The part that provides for the Part B States is called The Part B States (Laws) Act, 1951.

Chaudhary Devi Lal was an Indian politician who twice served as Chief Minister of Haryana, first in 1977–79 and then in 1987–89. He also served as sixth Deputy Prime Minister of India from 1989–91 in the governments of V. P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar.

Rajya Sabha is upper house of the Central legislature. The members of the house are elected indirectly by proportional representation system by single transferable vote method. The representatives of each State and two Union territories are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of that State and by the members of the Electoral College for that Union Territory, as the case may be.

The National People's Congress of China is the largest parliamentary body in the world, consisting of nearly 3,000 members.