Page 1 - Lesson Notes
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SAI International school
                                                   Session 2020-21
                                                        Grade- IX

                                                   Political Science
                                               Ch-3. Electoral Politics
                                 Sub topic-3.2 What is our system of election
                                                      Lesson Note

        What is Our System of Election?


              Elections are held in India in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) regularly after every 5
               years.
              After 5 years, the term of all the elected representatives comes to an end.
              Elections held in all constituencies at the same time, either on the same day or within a few
               days is called a General Election.
              Sometimes elections are held only for one constituency to fill the vacancy caused by death or
               resignation of a member. This is called a By-Election.

        Electoral Constituency

        India is divided into different areas for the purpose of elections. These areas are called electoral
        constituencies. The voters who live in an area elect one representative.


              For Lok Sabha elections, India is divided into 543 constituencies. The representative elected
               from each constituency is called a Member of Parliament or an MP.

              Each state is divided into a specific number of Assembly constituencies. In this case, the
               elected representative is called the Member of Legislative Assembly or an MLA. Each
               Parliamentary constituency has within it several assembly constituencies.

              The same principle applies for Panchayat and Municipal elections. Each village or town is
               divided into several ‘wards’ that are like constituencies.
              Each ward elects one member of the village or the urban local body. Sometimes these
               constituencies are counted as ‘seats’, for each constituency represents one seat in the
               assembly.

        Reserved Constituencies


        Some constituencies are reserved for people who belong to the Scheduled Castes [SC] and
        Scheduled Tribes [ST]. In the Lok Sabha, 84 seats are reserved for the SC and 47 for the ST.

              In SC reserved constituency, only someone who belongs to the Scheduled Caste can stand
               for election.


              Only those belonging to the Scheduled Tribes can contest an election from a constituency
               reserved for ST.

        In many states, seats in rural (panchayat) and urban (municipalities and corporations) local bodies
        are now reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and women candidates as well.
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