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Class 8 Universal Franchise and India’s Electoral System: cheat sheet
CBSE Social Science. 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?
Working: 180 ÷ 3; 12 ÷ 2
Answer: 60 each time; 6 rounds
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