"FPTP System's Seat-Vote Mismatch Sparks Reform Debate"
First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)
the candidate with the most votes wins a constituency, regardless of majority.
Plurality
having more votes than any single rival, not necessarily over 50%.
The Constitution does not prescribe one single electoral formula for every elected body. It leaves the method to ordinary law and uses different systems for different institutions. The Representation of the People Act, 1951 governs Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections, and these follow the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system inherited from British practice: whichever candidate polls the highest number of votes in a constituency is declared elected, even if that number is far short of half the votes cast. This differs from Rajya Sabha elections, which under Article 80 use proportional representation through the single transferable vote, so that seats broadly reflect the votes of the electing MLAs.
The Constituent Assembly chose FPTP for the directly elected House deliberately. It reasoned that single-member constituencies give voters one clearly accountable representative for their area and tend to produce stable, single-party majorities in a parliamentary system that needs the executive to command legislative confidence. It also avoided a list-based proportional system to keep counting simple, in line with the goal under Article 326 of universal adult suffrage without splintering representation along caste, religion, or regional lines.
Because a winning candidate needs only more votes than every rival, not a majority of votes cast, FPTP can turn a modest lead in vote share into an overwhelming lead in seats whenever the opposing vote is fragmented among several parties. This structural feature of the counting rule, not any manipulation, is the real source of the seat-vote gap that recurs across Indian elections.
Under FPTP, victory depends on plurality, not majority. A candidate who wins 30% of the vote in a five-cornered contest can still be declared elected if every rival polls less. When this happens across hundreds of constituencies for the same party, small vote-share advantages compound into very large seat majorities. No election law in India requires a candidate to cross the 50% mark.
Two results illustrate this clearly. In 1984, the Indian National Congress won 415 of 543 Lok Sabha seats, still the highest seat tally any party has won, on a vote share of 48.12%. In 2019, the BJP won 303 seats, its own highest tally, with about 37% of the vote. In both elections, the opposing vote was split across many parties and independents, so a lead of roughly a tenth of the vote translated into a seat share above 75%. …
Consider the following statements:
1.In the election for Lok Sabha or State Assembly, the winning candidate must get at least 50 percent of the votes polled, to be declared elected.
2.According to the provisions laid down in the Constitution of India, in Lok Sabha, the Speaker's post goes to the majority party and the Deputy Speaker's to the Opposition.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Examine the need for electoral reforms as suggested by various committees with particular reference to the 'one nation-one election' principle.
Consider the following statements regarding elections in India:
1.A candidate is declared elected to the Lok Sabha only if he or she secures a simple majority (more than 50%) of the valid votes polled in the constituency.
2.Members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the method of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Match List-I (Elected body/office) with List-II (Method of election) and select the correct answer using the codes given below:
List-I:
A.Lok Sabha members
B.Rajya Sabha members
C.President of India
D.Municipal Corporation members
List-II:
1.Indirect election by proportional representation through single transferable vote (via State Legislative Assemblies)
2.First-past-the-post in single-member territorial constituencies
3.Election by an electoral college using proportional representation through single transferable vote
4.First-past-the-post in single-member wards
The freeze on the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, based on population figures from a specified census, was extended until the year 2026 by which of the following?
As per Article 81 of the Constitution, the total elected membership of the Lok Sabha cannot exceed:
Consider the following statements about Lok Sabha election results:
1.In 1984, the Indian National Congress won the highest number of Lok Sabha seats ever won by a single party, with a vote share below 50%.
2.In 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party won its highest-ever seat tally in the Lok Sabha with a vote share below 40%.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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