If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain.
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You may find this off the track topic but in the present situation where Bihar assembly elections are at the peak, I found that people lack socio-polity knowledge.
Even the literate population has below-average political knowledge which is not a good sign of being in a democratic country. Not only if one is preparing for civil services or government exams should have socio-polity awareness but one should have basic knowledge of society.
Imagine you are traveling abroad and someone asked you who is the chairman of The Parliament? come on if you are eligible to vote you should know the structure of your country.
It’s ironic but, indeed, people do not have an idea of who they are going to vote for? or what is the purpose of the vote? We are living in a Republic country where the public is supreme, and having correct socio-polity knowledge elects skillful government.
1. The Parliament of India
Source: padmad.org
- The supreme legislative of the Republic of India.
- Consists of a bicameral legislature ( two legislative bodies, chamber, or house) composed of the President of India and the two houses.
- The two houses are the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People).
- The president of India is the supreme head of the legislative.
- It is also called Bhartiya Sansad (The Parliament of India) meeting at Sansad Bhavan, New Delhi.
2. The Lok Sabha
Source: financialexpress
- The Lok Sabha or the House of People is the lower house in the Parliament.
- The members of Lok Sabha are elected by the citizens of India who are adults(eligible to vote).
- The members are the representative of their constituencies.
- The Lok Sabha has a total of 550 seating capacity, currently, 543 seats are occupied.
- Out of 543, 131 seats are reserved for a representative of Schedule (84)Caste and Schedule Tribe(47).
- Leader of the house- Honorable The Prime Minister of India (currently: Narendra Modi, BJP since 26 May 2014 )
- Speaker of the house- Om Birla, BJP since 19 June 2019
- Currently, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) holds the majority with 333 seats out of 543.
3. The Rajya Sabha
Source: thefederal.com
- The Rajya Sabha or the council of states is the upper house in the parliament.
- The members of the house are representative of states who are elected by the bunch of elected members of legislative assemblies of the States as per single transferable vote.
- One-third of its members retire every second year.
- Total 245 seats, 233 are representative of States and Union territories and 12 members are nominated by the President from the field of contributions to art, literature, science, and social services.
- However, the 12 members are not entitled to vote in Presidential elections as per Article 55 of the Constitution.
- Chairman- The vice president of India (present: Venkaiah Naidu)
- Deputy Chairman- Harivansh Narayan Singh, JD(U)
- Leader of the house- Thawar Chand Gehlot, BJP.
- Leader of the opposition- Ghulam Nabi Azad, INC.
- Present NDA is in government with a total of 118 seats.
4. Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad
Source: uplegisassembly.gov.in
- Vidhan Sabha (State Legislative Assembly) and Vidhan Parishad (State Legislative Council) are bodies at the state level.
- Similar to central, at the state level, there can be two houses upper and lower house i.e bicameral system.
- It’s the state choice whether they can have the State Legislative Council along with State Legislative Assembly.
- There are a total of seven states with Legislative Council: Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
- The members of the State Legislative Assembly are called Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and the members of the Legislative Council are called Members of Legislative Council.
- Legislative Assembly of the state has to power to create or abolish the State Legislative Council by passing a resolution to that effect by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.
5. Difference between MP and MLA
Source: topdifferences.com
- MP is the Member of Parliament and MLA is the Member of Legislative Assembly.
- MP is at the central level (both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha), MLA is at the state or assembly level ( only State Legislative Assembly).
- States having Legislative Council, members are called as MLC
(Member of Legislative Council). - As per the territory, the size of members in the state assembly may vary maximum (500).
- The members are elected by adult voting, each member representing their constituency is elected.
- The Governor has the power to nominate one member (Anglo Indian community).
- The tenure of MLA is 5 years and MLC is 6 years, the term of MLA can be extended for another 6 months (maximum) in an emergency.
- Along with MPs, MLA has the one electoral power, in electing the President of India.
- Those who contested for MP cannot opt for MLA/MLC.
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6. Types of elections in India
Source: feminisminindia.com
The elections are held under the supervision of the Election Commission that is the federal body responsible to monitor, supervise, and administrate the process in a biased way.
General Election:
- To elect the members of the lower house i.e Lok sabha, the elected members through this are called Member of Parliament(for 5 years).
- All the adult citizens who are eligible to vote only in their constituency cast vote to members representing their constituency.
- The party with the majority ( out of 545) wins the election and the leader of the party becomes the Prime minister of India.
- Last Election-17th Lok Sabha(2019)
Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) Election:
- This election is held to choose the MLA of state and Union territory (like Delhi).
- All adult citizens of India can vote only in their constituency.
- The leader of the majority party/alliance takes oath as Chief Minister of the State.
- The strength of the house depends upon the size and population of the state.
By-election:
- It is held when the MLA becomes the MP and need to vacate.
- Or the sitting MP or MLA dies.
- Or the member becomes ineligible due to any criminal charge or less attendance.
Rajya Sabha (Upper House) Elections:
- The election is held to select the members of the upper house (the council of states) for 6 years.
- One-third of the body faces re-election every two years.
- The members are not elected directly by the common citizens of India, MLA and the President elects the members.
7. Electoral system of India
Source: wikipedia.org
- The candidates need to register their nomination to Electoral Commission.
- The parties cannot use government resources to promote their campaign.
- District collectors should ensure the mobilization of the political campaign in their respective territories.
- The polling is held between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm, Electronic Voting Machines EVM is used.
- The government cannot start a project during the election period.
8. States and Union territories
Source: sketchbubble
There are a total of 28 states and 9 Union Territories.
States:
- A state is a division under the Indian constituency which has its own administrative body under the elected government.
- The chief minister is the head of administration and the governor acts as the President’s role at the state level.
- Different states vary in population, size, demography, culture, language, and religion.
Union Territories(UT):
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli
- Chandigarh
- Daman and Diu
- Lakshadweep
- Puducherry
- Delhi
- Ladakh
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are recent UT formed in 2019.
- Union Territories are ruled by the central government and appoint Lt governer to look at administrative power.
- Unlike other UT, Delhi, Puducherry, J&K, and Ladakh have chief minister and representation in the upper house.
9. Fundamental Rights
Source: sketchbubble
Fundamental Rights apply to all citizens of India as per (Articles 12 to 35) of the Constitution of India irrelevant of caste, religion, background, birthplace, sex, or gender.
- The Right to equality (Articles. 14-18)- Equality before the law on grounds of religion, race, caste, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity and/or place of birth, equality of opportunity in matters of employment, the abolition of untouchability, and the abolition of titles.
- The Right to freedom (Articles. 19-22) includes freedom of speech and expression, assembly, privacy, association or union or cooperatives, movement, residence, and right to practice any profession or occupation.
- The Right against exploitation (Articles. 23-24) prohibits all forms of forced labour, child labor, and trafficking of human beings. Children under the age of 14 are not allowed to work.
- The Right to freedom of religion (Articles. 25-28) includes freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion, freedom to manage religious affairs, freedom from certain taxes and freedom from religious instructions in certain educational institutes.
- The Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles. 29-30) preserve the right of any section of citizens to conserve their culture, language, or script, and the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
- The Right to constitutional remedies (Articles. 32-35) is present for enforcement of fundamental rights, a person can move to the Supreme court if he/she wants to get their fundamental rights protected.
10. What you should be looking for as a voter?
Source: thebetterindia.com
India is a democratic country and as democracy says for the people, by the people, and of the people so voters need to make a smart choice while choosing a government.
People highly neglect the power of voting with this common mentality that my one vote is not going to make a difference but a vote is a tool that can bring a revolution.
These simple things need to care for while voting
- Having your own authentic voter ID card registered in the voter list in your constituency.
- Have basic knowledge about the ruling party development, agility, and scalability.
- Look for what is the most important issue which your locality is facing like education, employment, infrastructure, health care, etc, and which party manifesto covers the most with of it with a visionary plan.
- See the track record of all the parties’ work schedule and measure them with your own perception, don’t go for other words.Ignore the noise and try to figure out the ground reality of your location.
- Know the important administration of your localities like MLA, DC, BDO, and SSP, and if possible follow them in the news or social media.
- If you stay outside from your locality try to keep an update about your region from your smartphone and make yourself available while voting.
Bhaskar Pandey is a Hyderabad Techie from Bihar/Jharkhand, professionally a Cloud Enginner and passionately involved with storytelling and writing, he is a descendant of Scorpio Sunshine who loves to unwrap the layers of life. He believes that writing is a serious job with a sensitive touch of responsibility which can bring organic change in folks, bring him down as a blogger. Madly believes the mantra “You become, what you think.”
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I agree!