ELECTIONS

Its election season here at home and election news is rampant!!!You hear BJP this,Congress that and the like news left right and centre everyday,in fact every hour!!But where does that leave me and lots of other people like me who have no clue about Indian politics!!I don't know a word [well,I didn't know a word till before my research for this post] about Lok Sabha itself then how the hell will I ever understand what all these news channels are getting at?So wid a lil help from my dad [he's into this stuff big time!] I've decided to help the people out there like me.Go on guys dig in,it sure will help:)

INDIAN PARLIAMENT :

It is a bicameral one with two houses,the Rajya Sabha or the Upper House and the Lok Sabha or the Lower House.Any bill can become an act only after it is passed by both the houses and assented by the President.

LOK SABHA :

It is also known as the " House of the people ".Almost all of its members are directly elected by the citizens of India.It is more powerful of the two houses and can precede or overrule the Rajya Sabha (upper house) in certain matters.

COMPOSITION :

The Lok Sabha can have up to 552 members as envisaged in the constitution of India.Up to 530 members can be elected from the states,20 from the union territories and no more than 2 can be nominated by the President [from the Anglo-Indian community if the President feels its not adequately represented in the House.]

RESERVATIONS :

79 seats are reserved for the Schedule Caste community and 41 seats are being reserved for the Schedule Tribe community.

CONSTITUENCY :

Population is the basis of allocation of seats to each state.There are 543 parliamentary constituencies in India,demarcated by the delimitation committee based on the census data of the year 2001.These constituencies are drawn to make sure,that there are,as near as practicable,the same number of people in each of them.Each constituency elects one member [MP,Member of Parliament] into the Lower House.For the list of constituencies....

TERM :

The Lok Sabha has a term of 5 years,currently elections are being held for the 15th Lok Sabha as the term of the Sabha formed in 2004 expires on 1,June,2009.Although the President can dissolve Lok Sabha and call a general election before five years is up, if the government can no longer command the confidence of the Lok Sabha, and if there is no alternative government available to take over.

CONTESTANTS :

Any Indian citizen who is registered as a voter and is over 25 years of age is allowed to contest elections to the Lok Sabha.There are catches to this though,as per Section 8 (3) of R. P. Act, 1951, if a person is convicted of any offence and sentenced to an imprisonment of 2 years or more, this will be disqualification to contest elections.Even if is a person is on bail, after the conviction and his appeal is pending for disposal, he is disqualified from contesting an election as per the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India.

WHO CAN VOTE :

Any citizen over the age of 18 can vote in an election (before 1989 the age limit was 21). The right to vote is irrespective of caste, creed, religion or gender. Those who are deemed unsound of mind, and people convicted of certain criminal offences are not allowed to vote.

POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS :

Political parties are an established part of modern mass democracy, and the conduct of elections in India is largely dependent on the behaviour of political parties. Although many candidates for Indian elections are independent, the winning candidates for Lok Sabha elections usually stand as members of political parties, and opinion polls suggest that people tend to vote for a party rather than a particular candidate.If a political party is recognised in four or more states, it is considered as a National Party.

That was tha basic!I will come back with more stuff about the parties,their manifestos,alliances etc....HOPING TO QUENCH YOUR THIRST!!