Universal adult franchise, the Election Commission, how voting works with EVMs, VVPAT and NOTA, First-Past-the-Post, and how the Rajya Sabha and the President are elected.
Key ideas
Universal adult franchise means every citizen aged 18 or above can vote.
A constituency is an area whose voters elect one representative; the Lok Sabha has 543.
A secret ballot lets people vote freely, without pressure.
The Election Commission sets election dates, registers parties and enforces the Model Code of Conduct; State Election Commissions run local elections.
Under First-Past-the-Post, the candidate with the most votes wins, even with less than half.
The Rajya Sabha is permanent: members serve 6 years and one-third retire every two years.
The President is chosen by an electoral college of elected MPs and MLAs; the Vice President by all members of both Houses.
Remember
Voting age
18 (lowered from 21 in 1988)
Election Commission set up
1950
First general elections
1951–52
Lok Sabha constituencies
543
NOTA
None Of The Above
VVPAT
paper slip to check your vote on an EVM
Rajya Sabha
mostly elected by state MLAs; one-third retire every 2 years
Watch out
Thinking a winner needs more than half the votes under First-Past-the-Post: the most votes is enough.
Saying the Rajya Sabha is dissolved like the Lok Sabha: it is permanent.
Mixing up who elects the President (elected MPs and MLAs) and the Vice President (all MPs).
Worked example
Like the Rajya Sabha, suppose a house of 180 members has one-third retire every two years. How many retire each time, and how many rounds of retirement happen in 12 years?