Which of the following statements are correct about Lok Sabha ? (a) The…
2015
Which of the following statements are correct about Lok Sabha ?
(a) The Constitution puts a limit on the size of the Lok Sabha.
(b) The size and shape of the Parliamentary Constituencies is determined by the Election Commission.
(c) First-past-the-post electoral system is followed.
(d) The Speaker of Lok Sabha does not have a casting vote in case of an equality of votes.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below :
Answer: A. (a) and (c) — CONCEPTThe Lok Sabha is the directly elected House of the Union Parliament, and four separate rules, three of them constitutional and one statutory, govern…
- A.
(a) and (c)
- B.
(a), (b) and (c)
- C.
(a), (c) and (d)
- D.
(a), (b), (c) and (d)
Attempted by 5 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
CONCEPT
The Lok Sabha is the directly elected House of the Union Parliament, and four separate rules, three of them constitutional and one statutory, govern its strength, its constituencies, its method of counting votes and its presiding officer. Article 81 caps the elected strength of the House at 550 members, up to 530 chosen from the States and up to 20 from the Union Territories; in 2015 Article 331 additionally allowed the President to nominate up to two Anglo-Indian members, so the total ceiling stood at 552. Article 82 requires the constituencies to be readjusted after every census, and that readjustment is carried out by a Delimitation Commission constituted under an Act of Parliament; the Election Commission superintends and conducts the poll but does not draw the boundaries. The method of counting is laid down not in the Constitution but in election legislation: rule 64 of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 declares elected the candidate who polls the largest number of valid votes in a single-member constituency, which is the first-past-the-post rule, so the leading candidate wins without needing an absolute majority. Article 100(1) provides that the presiding officer shall not vote in the first instance but shall have and exercise a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.
APPLICATION
Test each of the four statements against those rules:
Statement | Governing rule | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
The Constitution puts a limit on the size of the Lok Sabha | Article 81 caps the elected strength at 550 members, up to 530 chosen from the States and up to 20 from the Union Territories; with the two Anglo-Indian members then nominable under Article 331, the ceiling stood at 552 in all | Correct |
The size and shape of the parliamentary constituencies is determined by the Election Commission | Article 82 assigns readjustment after each census to a Delimitation Commission set up under an Act of Parliament; the Election Commission superintends and conducts elections, it does not fix boundaries | Incorrect |
First-past-the-post electoral system is followed | Rule 64 of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 declares elected the candidate polling the largest number of valid votes in each single-member constituency, with no majority threshold and no second round | Correct |
The Speaker does not have a casting vote in case of an equality of votes | Article 100(1) says the opposite: the Speaker abstains in the first instance precisely so that a casting vote is available to break a tie | Incorrect |
CROSS-CHECK
Two of the four statements survive the test: the constitutional ceiling on the size of the House and the use of first-past-the-post voting. The delimitation statement misassigns to the Election Commission a function that Article 82 gives to a Delimitation Commission, and the casting-vote statement directly contradicts Article 100(1). Any code containing either of those two statements therefore fails, which leaves the code that selects only the size-limit statement and the first-past-the-post statement. The correct answer is (a) and (c).