10 Aug, 2019

Last edited: 04 Nov, 2019, 1:48 PM

Upcoming Indian elections

Tyes of elections#

There are multiple types of elections in India: General Elections (Lok sabha), State Assembly Elections, Rajya sabha Elections (upper House), Local Body Elections, etc. India is a federation with a parliamentary system governed under the Constitution of India, which defines the power distribution among the central government and the states. 

1. Members of the Parliament in Lok Sabha
2. Members of State Legislative Assembly
3. Members of the Parliament in Rajya Sabha
4. Member of State Legislative Council
5. Members in local panchayat or city corporation council.
6. By-election is held when a person of a particular constituent dies or resigns

Schedule of all upcoming elections#

General elections#

Members of Lok Sabha (House of the People) or the lower house of India's Parliament are elected by being voted upon by all adult citizens of India, from a set of candidates who stand in their respective constituencies. Every adult citizen of India can vote only in their constituency. Candidates who win the Lok Sabha elections are called 'Member of Parliament' and hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers. Elections take place once in 5 years to elect 545 members. A party needs at least 272 MPs to be eligigble to form the Central Government. Leader of the party/alliance takes oath as the Prime Minister.

State Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) Elections#

Members of State Legislative Assembly, are elected directly by voting, from a set of candidates who stands in their respective constituencies. Every adult citizen of India can vote only in their constituency. Candidates who win the State Legislative Assemblies elections are called 'Member of Legislative Assembly' (MLA) and hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the Governor. Total strength of each assembly depends on each State, mostly based on size and population. Similar to Lok sabha elections, leader of the majority party/alliance takes oath as Chief Minister of the State.

Rajya Sabha (Upper House) Elections#

The Rajya Sabha, also known as the Council of States, is the upper house of India's Parliament. Candidates are not elected directly by the citizens, but by the Members of Legislative Assemblies and up to 12 can be nominated by the President of India for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. Members of the Parliament in Rajya Sabha get a tenure of six years, with one-third of the body facing re-election every two years. Rajya Sabha acts as a second-level review body before a bill becomes an act.

The Vice President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions.

By-election#

When a elected candidate to either the State Assembly, Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha leaves the office vacant before their term ends, a bye election is conducted to find a suitable replacement to fill the vacant position. It is often referred in India as Bypolls.

Common reasons for bye elections

• Sitting MLA resigns once he gets elected as MP
• Sitting MLA or MP expires
• Incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office (e.g. criminal conviction, or failure to maintain a minimum attendance in the office or due to election irregularities found later)
• When a candidate has contested and won from more than 1 constituency they have to vacate one