First-Past-the-Post and forming a government

Elections in India are often called the 'Festival of Democracy'. India has a parliamentary system, with elections at three levels: the Lok Sabha, the state legislative assemblies, and local bodies.

The country is divided into 543 constituencies for the Lok Sabha. Those elected are Members of Parliament (MPs); those elected to state assemblies are Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs). (A Lok Sabha constituency and an assembly constituency are different areas.)

Both are chosen in similar ways, but work at different levels: MPs on issues affecting the whole country, MLAs mainly on regional issues.

India uses the 'First-Past-the-Post' system: the candidate who gets the most votes in a constituency wins, like the first runner past the finishing post.

Read that carefully. It says 'the most votes', not 'most of the votes'. A candidate can win without even 50 per cent of the total.

The classroom shows it. Gurmat won with 12 out of 33 votes: more than anyone else, but fewer than half.

After voting, forming a government begins. The party or coalition that wins a majority of seats in the Lok Sabha (more than half of 543, so at least 272) forms the national government, and its leader usually becomes Prime Minister. In a state, the leader of the majority party becomes Chief Minister. A coalition is simply two or more parties working together.

The legislative assembly has different names in different languages (Vidhan Sabha, Niyama Sabha and others), and the State Election Commission, working with the ECI, carries the same principles down to local bodies.