Mainstream WeeklyINDIA NEEDS A new formula to bring about a rational and fair method of representation in Parliament. Every seat needs to have a value.
India is a federal country and has adopted parliamentary form of government with representative democracy. Elections to the Lok Sabha are conducted once in 5 years, and all citizens of India above the age of 18 participate in these elections and elect their representatives.
Each Member of the Lok Sabha is expected to represent more or less equal number of people in the Lok Sabha. Theoretically. In 1951, each MP represented just over 700,000 people. The Constitution of India, framed at approximately the same time when the very first election in independent India took place, mandated that seats be allocated to each State, based on its population. In 1951, India was home to 361 million people. This stands as the main criterion in drawing up the Constituencies for the Lok Sabha elections.
The first hurdles of Representative Democracy stood here. No one foresaw a population of 1.4 billion people. The wisdom of the day was