Q 1. There are 543 Parliamentary constituencies in India each electing one member. Who demarcates the boundaries of these constituencies?

Ans. Delimitation Commission. Under Article 82 of the Constitution, the Parliament by law enacts a Delimitation Act after every census. After coming into force commencement of the Act, the Central Government constitutes a Delimitation Commission. This Delimitation Commission demarcates the boundaries of the Parliamentary Constituencies as per provisions of the Delimitation Act. The present delimitation of constituencies has been done on the basis of 2001 census figures under the provisions of Delimitation Act, 2002. Notwithstanding the above, the Constitution of India was specifically amended in 2002 not to have delimitation of constituencies till the first census after 2026. Thus, the present Constituencies carved out on the basis of 2001 census shall continue to be in operation till the first census after 2026..

Q 2. What is the main basis for allocation of seats to various States in the Lok Sabha?

Ans. Population of the State. Population is the basis of allocation of seats of the Lok Sabha. As far as possible, every State gets representation in the Lok Sabha in proportion to its population as per census figures.

Q 3. Is there any reservation of seats for any special category in Lok Sabha?

Ans. Yes. In Lok Sabha there is reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Here also census figures are taken into account.

Q 4. On what basis is this reservation made?

Ans. Allocation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the Lok Sabha are made on the basis of proportion of Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the State concerned to that of the total population, vide provision contained in Article 330 of the Constitution of India read with Section 3 of the R. P. Act, 1950.

Q 5. How many seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes in Lok Sabha?

Ans. For Scheduled Castes, 84 seats are reserved in Lok Sabha.

Q 6. How many seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes in Lok Sabha?

Ans. For Scheduled Tribes, 47 seats are reserved in Lok Sabha.

Q 7. Which are the States having the minimum number of seats in Lok Sabha?

Ans. The following States and Union Territories have one seat each in the Lok Sabha
Mizoram
Nagaland
Sikkim
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Chandigarh
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Daman and Diu
Lakshadweep
Pondicherry

Q 8. How many States are there in India?

Ans. 28. There are 28 states in India viz. Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and West Bengal.

Q 9. How many Union Territories are in India?

Ans. There are 7 Union Territories in India. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry.

Q 10. For every State, there has to be a Legislative Assembly, but it is not so in the case of all Union Territories. Which are the U.Ts. having a Legislative Assembly?

Ans. Out of the 7 Union Territories, only Delhi and Pondicherry have Legislative Assemblies.

Though the Samajwadi Party virtually ended the possibility of an alliance with Sonia Gandhi's party, the Congress said it will wait till the last moment for an amicable seat sharing arrangement with the SP for the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier SP Leader Mulayam Singh Yadav had pulled the plug on any alliance by announcing that his party would contest all but six seats in UP.

UP is of course an important state in terms of number of MP’s it send to the loksabha, however, unfortunately, neither BJP nor congress have a strong ground in the state. Hence both the parties will have to seek a alliance to garner votes for them.

The SP-Congress duo was suppose to give best results since it would have combined the secular votes , however, both the parties are trying to ensure maximum candidates for themselves. It may not be a surprise if SP goes alone in the polls and may join congress camp for a post poll alliance. Everything is possible in war and politics !

SCHEDULE FOR GENERAL ELECTIONS, 2009

• The term of the 14th Lok Sabha will expire in the normal course on 1st June,
  2009. In terms of the constitutional provisions, a new Lok Sabha is required to be constituted before the 2nd June, 2009.
• Elections will be held over five phases.

                 - Phase I polls on April 16

                 - Phase II on April 23

                 - Phase III on April 30

                 - Phase IV polls on May 7

                 - Phase V polls on May 13

• Counting will take place on the 16th of May, 2009 and is expected to be
  completed on the same day
• Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh will vote in five phases, Bihar will have four-phase elections while Maharashtra and West Bengal will vote in three phases. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Punjab will hold the elections in two phases. Fifteen states and seven Union Territories will go in for one-phase voting
• All election related procedures will be completed before May 28.

Download General Elections 2009 Notification

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Welcome to the Loksabha online Blog. The blog would update you with latest happening on the 15th Loksabha elections, bring you the wittiest and extreme faces of election campaign and intrdouce you with the candidtaes in foray for leading India for next 5 years.