Elections

Direct and indirect elections, FPTP, proportional representation and STV, the Election Commission, delimitation, the anti-defection law and how technology helps voters.

Key ideas

In direct elections citizens vote themselves (Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha); in indirect elections elected members choose (Rajya Sabha, President, Vice President).
Under First-Past-The-Post the candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins, even with less than half.
Under proportional representation parties win seats in proportion to their votes; a single transferable vote passes votes on by preference until seats are filled.
The Election Commission runs elections, prepares voter lists, recognises parties and enforces the Model Code of Conduct.
Delimitation redraws constituencies so that each seat stands for roughly the same number of people.
The anti-defection law can disqualify a member who leaves their party or defies its whip; the Speaker or Chairman decides.
EVMs with VVPAT and Braille, apps like Voter Helpline and cVIGIL, and home voting for people over 85 make voting easier and fairer.

Remember

Election Commission	set up 25 January 1950 (National Voters’ Day); Articles 324–329
Anti-defection law	52nd Amendment, 1985
Psephology	the scientific study of elections
Two-round system	over 50% needed, else a runoff between the top two
Seats under PR	vote share × total seats, e.g. 40% of 50 seats = 20 seats

Watch out

Thinking FPTP needs more than half the votes: the most votes is enough.
Calling Rajya Sabha elections direct: its members are chosen by elected MLAs.
Mixing up delimitation (redrawing seats) and defection (changing party).

Worked example

Under proportional representation, a house of 77 seats is shared by vote: party P gets 33%, Q 28%, and others 39%. About how many seats do P and Q get (to the nearest whole number)?

Working: 33% and 28% of 77

Answer: P about 25, Q about 22