Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) elections are held regularly every five years. After five years the term of all the elected representatives comes to an end. The Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha stands ‘dissolved’. Elections are held in all constituencies at the same time, either on the same day or within a few days. This is called a general election. Sometimes an election is held only for one constituency to fill the vacancy caused by death or resignation of a member. This is called a by-election.
The general elections
In our country, we follow an area-based system of representation. The country is divided into different areas for purposes of elections. These areas are called electoral constituencies. The voters who live in an area elect one representative.
For the Lok Sabha elections, the country is divided into 543 constituencies. The representative elected from each constituency is called a Member of Parliament or an MP. One of the features of a democratic election is that every vote should have equal value. That is why our Constitution requires that each constituency should have a roughly equal population living within it.
Similarly, each state is divided into a specific number of Assembly constituencies. In this case, the elected representative is called a member of the Legislative Assembly or an MLA. Each Parliamentary constituency has within it several assemblies constituencies. The same principle applies to Panchayat and Municipal elections. Each village or town is divided into several ‘wards’ that are like constituencies. Each ward elects one member of the village or the urban local body. Sometimes these constituencies are counted as ‘seats’, for each constituency represents one seat in the assembly.
