2. What are Elections ?What are Elections ?
Elections’ is the mechanism by which the people can
choose their representatives at regular intervals of
time and change them if they wish to do so. Elections
play an important part in our lives because in it the
voters can make many choices:-
1) They choose who’ll make laws for them.
2) They can choose who will form the government and
take major decisions for them.
3) They can choose the parties whose policies will
guide the government.
3. What are Democratic Elections ?What are Democratic Elections ?
The conditions of a democratic elections are:-
1) Everyone should have one vote and every vote
should have equal value.
2) Parties and candidates should be free to contest
elections and offer a choice to the voters.
3) Elections should be held at regular intervals.
4) The candidate preferred by the people should get
elected.
5) They should be held in a free and fair manner where
people currently in power have a fair chance of
losing.
6. The Upper HouseThe Upper House
Rajya Sabha (Council of States)
not more than 250 members
12 are nominated by the President of India
the rest are indirectly elected
by state Legislative Assemblies
The Council of States can not be
dissolved
members have terms of 6 years
1/3 members retire at end of every 2nd year
8. Lower HouseLower House
Lok Sabha (House of the People)
545 members
2 are appointed by the President of India
the rest are directly elected from single-
member districts
5-year terms unless dissolved
Lok Sabha elects its presiding officer.
9. Electoral ConstituenciesElectoral Constituencies
Our country is divided into different areas for purposes
of elections. These are called electoral constituencies.
For Lok Sabha elections the country is divided into
543 constituencies. The representatives elected from
each constituency is called a member of parliament.
Reserved ConstituenciesReserved Constituencies
The Constitution makers worried that weaker sections
may not stand a good chance to get elected. They
may not have the required resources, education and
contacts to win the elections. So they thought of a
special system of reserved constituencies for the
Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribe.
11. In a democratic election the list of those who
are eligible to vote is prepared much before the
elections and given to everyone. This list is
officially called the Electoral Roll and is
commonly known as The Voters List. This is an
important step as it is a democratic election:
everyone should get an equal opportunity to
vote their representatives.
Why is the Voters List necessary ?Why is the Voters List necessary ?
12. Election CampaignElection Campaign
In our country such campaigns take place for a two
week period between the announcement of the final
list of candidates and the date of polling. During this
period the candidates contact their voters, political
leaders, address election meetings and political
parties to mobilize their supporters.
13. How is polling conducted in India ?How is polling conducted in India ?
Now a days electronic
voting machines are used to
record votes. The machines
shows the names of the
candidates and the party
symbols. Independent
Candidates too have their
own symbols, allotted by
election officials. The voter
just has to press the button
against the symbol to whom
they want to give their vote.
15. Who can be nominated to stand inWho can be nominated to stand in
Elections ?Elections ?
The conditions to stand in the elections are :-
A candidate must be a minimum of 25 years
of age to contest.
There are some restrictions on criminals.
Political parties must nominate their
candidates who get the party symbol and
support.