Q76. Consider the following statements:
- In the election for Lok Sabha or State Assembly, the winning candidate must get at least 50
percent of the votes polled, to be declared elected. - According to the provisions laid down in the Constitution of India, in Lok Sabha, the Speaker’s post goes to the majority party and the Deputy Speaker’s to the Opposition.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
The correct answer is Neither 1 nor 2.
- In India, elections for the Lok Sabha or State Assembly are held using a first-past-the-post system, which means that the winning candidate may or may not receive a majority (50%+1) of the votes cast.
- In addition, the Indian constitution has adopted the system of territorial representation for electing members to the Lok Sabha or State Assembly.
- A constituency is a geographical area that an MP or MLA represents in this system.
- Only one representative is elected from each constituency.
- Hence, such a constituency is referred to as a single-member constituency.
- In this system, the candidate with the most votes is declared elected. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
- Before the tenth Lok Sabha, both the Deputy Speaker and the Speaker were usually members of the ruling party.
- Since the 11th Lok Sabha, there has been agreement that the post of Deputy Speaker is held by the main opposition party, while the Speaker is held by the ruling party (or ruling alliance).
- This means that it is an ‘informal consensus’ among political parties rather than a constitutional provision. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
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