Question

What is the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha provided by the Constitution?

Answer 1

Hint: In India’s parliamentary system of government, the President serves as the head of the state or the nominal executive and the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister serves as the head of the government or the real executive. The Indian legislative system is a bicameral one which means that there are two houses at the centre—the Lok Sabha or the House of People and the Rajya Sabha or the Council of States. The members of the lower house known as the Lok Sabha are elected directly by the people from constituencies around the country and two of its members are nominated by the President from among the Anglo-Indian community. Seats are reserved in the Lok Sabha for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their percentage in the population. The members of the Lok Sabha serve for a term of 5 years and have the right to re-election. Elections for the Lok Sabha follow Universal Adult Franchise which means that all citizens who have attained the minimum age of 18 have the right to vote.

Complete answer: The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha can be up to 552 which would include 550 directly elected members and 2 nominated members from the Anglo-Indian community. Out of the 550, 530 should be elected from constituencies of states and 20 from constituencies of union territories. The constituencies for the Lok Sabha general elections are drawn by the Delimitation Commission of India. The representation from each state is not changed during this process as they have been fixed according to the states’ population on the basis of the 1971 census but the constituencies are drawn on the basis of concentration of population. The number of reserved seats for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes can be changed according to their population in the most recent census conducted. Until 1950, the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha was 500. Currently, the total number of members in the Lok Sabha is 545— 543 are directly elected from each constituency across India and 2 are nominated by the President from the Anglo-Indian community in India.

Note: The leader of the party or coalition with the most seats in the Lok Sabha is appointed as the Prime Minister. The President also appoints the Council of Ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister who may belong to either of the two Houses. The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.