India is a federal and democratic country, hence , to elect leaders there is political competition around all the states of the country. These elections determine the composition of the government, the membership of the two houses of the Parliament, state and union territory legislative assemblies, and the presidency and vice-presidency.
Election Process
Elections in India are involving political mobilisation and a complex process of organisation.
India currently follows the FPTP (First Past The Post) system / plurality system to conduct elections.
Under this system the entire country is divided into 543 constituencies, each constituency elects one representative and the person with highest amount of votes in that constituency is elected. The candidate is not needed to secure the majority (51% or more) votes.
Another form of election system which India can adopt is PR system.
A Proportional Representation system would give regional parties and independent candidates a better chance of getting into parliament and introduce different voices to nation-building.
Is this electoral system fair?
Under the current ‘first past the post’ system, power tends to end up with one party, no matter how small its majority. Another consequence of the winner-takes-all nature of the FPTP system is that it rewards parties who target and treat preferentially specific segments of the electorate or “vote banks”, rather than the majority of electors.
The only democratic solution to address this issue is an electoral reform. We need to switch to a new electoral system known as ‘proportional representation’, wherein elections are held in a manner that ensures that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. This ensures wider representation of diverse opinions in an elected assembly, reflecting a true democracy.
The proportional representation system was turned down initially because it demanded literacy on a large scale, which was non-existent during that period, and many were apprehensive of achieving it in the immediate future.
Hence, there are still debates however it is advisable for India to function with the FPTP system and adopt some variants of the PR system.
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Source: class 11 NCERT
Indian Politics From The Views Of A Minor Citizen 