Lok Sabha: Total MP Seats in India, Duration, Elections & Qualifications

• The Constitution has fixed the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha at 550 members, of which
  • 530 members are to be representatives of the States, and
  • 20 members are to be representatives of the Union Territories (UTs).
• At present, the Lok Sabha comprises 543 members, of which:
  • 524 members are representatives of the States, and
  • 19 members are representatives of the Union Territories (UTs).

• The representatives of States in the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the people from the territorial constituencies of their respective States.
• The election of members of the Lok Sabha is based on the principle of Universal Adult Franchise.
• Every Indian citizen who is above 18 years of age and who is not disqualified under the provisions of the Constitution or any law is eligible to vote at such election.

• The Indian Constitution has empowered the Parliament to prescribe the manner of choosing the representatives of the Union Territories in the Lok Sabha.
• Accordingly, the Parliament has enacted the Union Territories (Direct Election to the House of the People) Act, 1965, by which the members of Lok Sabha from the Union Territories are also chosen by the direct election.

• As of now, there are no nominated members in Lok Sabha.
• Before 2020, the President of India used to nominate two members from the Anglo-Indian community if the community was not adequately represented in the Lok Sabha.
• However, the 104th Amendment Act of 2019 discontinued this provision of special representation of the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha by nomination.
  • Consequently, this provision ceased to have effect on the 25th of January, 2020.

• The normal term of the Lok Sabha is five years from the date of its first meeting after the general elections, after which it automatically dissolves.
• The President of India is authorised to dissolve the Lok Sabha at any time even before the completion of five years.
  • This decision of the President cannot be challenged in a court of law.
• During a National Emergency, the term of the Lok Sabha can be extended by a law of Parliament for one year at a time, for any length of time.
  • However, this extension cannot continue beyond a period of six months after the emergency has ceased to be in effect.

The key aspects related to the system of elections to the Lok Sabha include:

• Territorial Constituencies,
• Readjustment after each Census,
• Reservation of seats for SCs and STs, and
• First-Past-The-Post System.

Each aspect has been discussed in detail in the sections that follow.

• Each State is divided into territorial constituencies for the purpose of holding direct elections to the Lok Sabha.
• In order to ensure that there is Uniformity of Representation between different states as well as between different constituencies in the same state, the Indian Constitution makes the following two provisions:
  • Allocation of Seats to States -- Each State is allotted a number of seats in the Lok Sabha in such a manner that the ratio between that number of seats and its population is the same for all States.
    • However, this provision does not apply to a State having a population of less than six million.
  • Division into Territorial Constituencies -- Each State is divided into territorial constituencies in such a manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it is the same throughout the State.

• After every Census, a readjustment is to be made in:
  • Allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha to the States, and
  • Division of each State into territorial constituencies.
• The Constitution empowers the Indian Parliament to determine the authority and manner in which this readjustment of seats is to be made.
  • Accordingly, the Parliament enacts the Delimitation Commission Act for this purpose as and when required.

Though the original Constitution provides for the readjustment of Lok Sabha seats after each census, some constitutional amendments have put a freeze on this readjustment exercise. The developments on this front can be seen as follows:

• 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 froze the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha to the states and the division of each state into territorial constituencies till the year 2000, at the 1971 Census level.
• 84th Amendment Act of 2001 extended the above ban on readjustment for another 25 years (i.e. upto year 2026).
  • However, it empowered the government to undertake readjustment and rationalisation of territorial constituencies in the states on the basis of the population figures of the 1991 Census.
• 87th Amendment Act of 2003 provided for the delimitation of constituencies on the basis of the 2001 Census and not the 1991 Census.
  • However, this was to be done without altering the number of scats allotted to each state in the Lok Sabha.

Thus, the present position on the freezing on readjustment of Lok Sabha seats is as follows:

• The allocation of seats to states in the Lok Sabha is frozen till 2026 at the 1971 Census level.
• The delimitation of states into territorial constituencies is frozen till 2026 at the 2001 Census level.

• The Indian Constitution provides for the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha on the basis of their respective population ratios. This means that:

(The number of Lok Sabha seats reserved in a State or UT for SCs/Total number of seats allocated to that State or UT in the Lok Sabha) = (Total population of SCs in that State or UT/Total population of that State or UT), and
(The number of Lok Sabha seats reserved in a State or UT for STs/Total number of seats allocated to that State or UT in the Lok Sabha) = (Total population of STs in that State or UT/Total population of that State or UT)

• It is to be noted that:
  • Though the seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, they are elected by all the voters in a constituency, without any separate electorate.
  • A member belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is eligible to contest general (non-reserved) seats as well.

• Originally, this reservation was to operate for ten years (i.e. up to 1960), but it has been extended continuously since then by 10 years each time.
• As of now, under the 104th Amendment Act of 2019, this reservation is to last until 2030.

• The 84th Amendment Act of 2001 provided for the population figures of the 1991 Census as the basis for refixing of the reserved seats.
• However, later, the 87th Amendment Act of 2003 provided for the refixing of the reserved seats on the basis of the 2001 Census.
• Thus, the present position is that the population figures of the 2001 Census are used as the basis for fixing the seats reserved for SCs and STs.

• The election of the members of Lok Sabha is held through the System of Territorial Representation by the First-Past-The-Post System.
• The System of Territorial Representation means that each constituency elects only one member of the Lok Sabha who represents the geographical area of that particular constituency in the Lok Sabha.
  • Since from each constituency, only one representative is elected, such a Constituency is known as a Single-Member Constituency.
• The First-Past-The-Post System means that a candidate who secures the maximum number of votes is declared elected.
  • Thus, the elected candidate does not secure due representation to Minorities (small groups), and hence may not truly represent the whole electorate of his/her constituency.

The Indian Constitution provides for various qualifications for the Members of Lok Sabha. Apart from them, the Parliament has also prescribed some qualifications for members of the Lok Sabha under the Representation of People's Act of 1951. These constitutional as well as statutory qualifications have been discussed as follows:

The Indian Constitution lays down the following qualifications for a person to be chosen as a Member of the Lok Sabha:

• He/she must be a citizen of India.
• He/she must make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation before the person authorised by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for this purpose.
• He/she must not be less than 25 years of age.
• He/she must possess other qualifications prescribed by Parliament.

The Parliament has laid down the following additional qualifications for the Member of Lok Sabha in the Representation of People Act of 1951:

• He/she must be registered as an elector for a parliamentary constituency from which he/she is contesting an election.
• He/she must be a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe in any State or Union Territory if he/she wants to contest a seat reserved for them.
  • However, a Member of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes can also contest elections from a non-reserved seat.

The Indian Constitution provides for various disqualifications for the Members of the Lok Sabha. Apart from them, the Parliament has also prescribed some disqualifications for members of the Lok Sabha under the Representation of People's Act of 1951. These constitutional as well as statutory disqualifications have been discussed as follows:

As per the Indian Constitution, a person shall be disqualified from being elected as a Member of Lok Sabha:

• if he/she holds any office of profit under the Union or State Government (except that of a Minister or any other office exempted by Parliament).
• if he/she is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a court.
• if he/she is an undischarged insolvent.
• if he/she is not a citizen of India or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign state or is under any acknowledgement of allegiance to a foreign state.
• if he/she is so disqualified under any law made by Parliament.

• Apart from the above disqualifications, the Indian Constitution also lays down that a person shall be disqualified from being a Member of Lok Sabha if he/she is so disqualified on the grounds of defection under the provisions of the Tenth Schedule.
• A member incurs disqualification under the Anti-Defection law:
  • if he/she voluntarily gives up the membership of the political party on whose ticket he/she is elected to the House,
  • if he/she votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction given by his/her political party,
  • if any independently elected member joins any political party,
  • if any nominated member joins any political party after the expiry of six months.

• Each Member of Lok Sabha has to make and subscribe to an Oath or Affirmation before the President or some person appointed by him/her for this purpose.
• In his/her Oath or Affirmation, a Member of Lok Sabha swears:
  • to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India,
  • to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India,
  • to faithfully discharge the duty upon which he/she is about to enter.
• A Member of Lok Sabha cannot vote and participate in the proceedings of the House and does not become eligible for parliamentary privileges and immunities unless he/she takes the oath.
• A person is liable to a penalty of Rs. 500 for each day he/she sits or votes as a Member in a House in the following conditions:
  • Before taking and subscribing to the prescribed Oath or Affirmation,
  • When he/she knows that he/she is not qualified or that he/she is disqualified for membership in Lok Sabha,
  • When he/she knows that he/she is prohibited from sitting or voting in the House by virtue of any parliamentary law.

• The Members of the Lok Sabha are entitled to receive such salaries and allowances as may be determined by Parliament.
• There is no provision of pension for the Members of Lok Sabha in the Indian Constitution.
  • However, in 1976, the Parliament has provided the provision of pension to the Members of the Lok Sabha.
• Moreover, the Members of Lok Sabha are also provided with travelling facilities, free accommodation, telephone, vehicle advance, medical facilities and so on.