Election and Representation — Class 11 Political Science

This chapter studies the constitutional provisions on elections and representation in India. Just as a game needs agreed rules and an impartial umpire decided before play, basic decisions about elections are written into the constitution. It explains the two key questions a constitution answers: ensuring free and fair elections (who can vote, who can contest, who supervises) and ensuring fair representation (how voters choose and how votes are counted). India uses the First Past the Post (FPTP) system, in which the country is divided into 543 single-member constituencies and the candidate with the highest votes wins — even without a majority — which can give a party more seats than its share of votes (as in 1984). The chapter contrasts FPTP with Proportional Representation (PR), used in Israel and for India's Rajya Sabha and presidential elections through the Single Transferable Vote. It explains why India chose FPTP (simplicity, accountability to a local representative, and stable government). It discusses reservation of constituencies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (rejecting separate electorates), universal adult franchise (lowered to 18 in 1989), the right to contest, and the independent Election Commission under Article 324, ending with debates on electoral reforms.