Context

• General elections to elect members of the 18th Lok Sabha in India are scheduled to be held in the months of April and May.
• With the official term of the 17th Lok Sabha session led by the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) ending on June 16, 2024, all political parties have started their election campaigns.

Background

• Elections for the 17th Lok Sabha were held in 2019, which saw a landslide victory for the BJP-led NDA, winning 353 out of 543 seats.
• BJP won a total of 303 seats, which was 31 more than the required number of 272 seats for the majority.

Eligible voters in general elections 2024

• According to the ECI, during the 2019 general elections, there were a total of 90 crore eligible voters for the mega elections in India, including about 15 million first-time voters.
• Notably, according to reports, the General Elections 2024 may see a significant increase of 6 crores in the official number of voters, taking the official number of eligible voters from 90 crores to 96 crores.

Voting Percentage in India

• The voting percentage was 58% in the year 2009, which increased to 66.4% in the year 2014 and 67.6% in the year 2019.
• ECI is now hoping to take it beyond 70%.

Obstacles in the way of increasing total voting in India

• Voter apathy
• Lack of awareness and literacy
• Security concerns
• Migration
• Logistics Challenges

Benefits of increasing total voting percentage

• Increase in government legitimacy
• Increase in government accountability
• Political stability
• Increase civic engagement
• Diverse representation

Steps taken to increase total voting in India

• Voter education
• Revision of voter list
• Promote accountability
• Accessibility and Ease of Voting
• Implementing remote voting

Lok Sabha

• It is the lower house and represents the people of India as a whole.

Structure

• Maximum number -550
• 530 member-state representatives
• 20 members- representatives of union territories
• Presently total number of members in Lok Sabha- 543
• 530 member states represented
• 13 members- representing union territories

Election of representatives

• State representatives are directly elected by the people of the territorial constituencies of the states.
• According to the Union Territories (Direct Election to the House of the People) Act, 1965, members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected in the Union Territories.

 Work

• One of the most important functions of the Lok Sabha is to select the executive, a group of individuals who work together to implement laws made by Parliament.

Lok Sabha tenure

• The normal tenure of the Lok Sabha is five years. But it can be dissolved before the expiry of five years on the advice of the President and the Council of Ministers.

Important Facts For Exam

Election Commission

• The Election Commission of India is an autonomous and semi-judicial institution.
• The Election Commission of India was established on 25 January 1950.
• According to Article 324, an Election Commission is formed for the elections to the posts of Parliament, State Legislature, President and Vice President.
• The honours and salary of the Election Commissioner are equal to that of a judge of the Supreme Court of India.
• The Election Commission has no connection with the Panchayat elections and corporation elections held in the states. These elections are organised by the Election Commission of the respective state.

Appointment 

• It is done by the President.

Structure 

• A Chief Commissioner and 2 other Commissioners.

Tenure

• The tenure of the Chief Election Commissioner is 6 years or till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
• The tenure of other Election Commissioners is 6 years or the age of 62 years, whichever is earlier.

Resignation 

• The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed in the same manner and on the same grounds as the judges of the Supreme Court, and not otherwise.
• He can resign from his post himself.

Note

• First Chief Election Commissioner of India - Sukumar Sen.
• First woman Chief Election Commissioner – V.S. Ramadevi.
• Current Chief Election Commissioner – Shri Rajeev Kumar