Context:

• This article is based on an Editorial “Enhancing representation, for a just electoral system” which was published in the Hindu. The article discusses various challenges faced by the Indian political system as well as solutions to them.

What challenges does the Indian Political System face in terms of its representation system?

• Lack of adequate legislators: An Indian Member of Parliament (MP) is said to represent 2.5 million citizens, on average.
  • This year so far, India has around 4,126 Members of the Legislative Assembly, 543 Lok Sabha MPs, and 245 Rajya Sabha MPs.
  • United States: The U.S. House of Representatives members represent approximately 7,00,000 citizens. 
• Lack of adequate grassroots-level representation: There is a clear deficit in terms of adequate representation in order to raise critical issues and enable law-making.
• Unequal representation in Rajya Sabha/UnIssue of Malapportionment: It is currently elected by State legislatures, giving disproportionately more representation to larger/more populous States. 
• • Malapportionment: It refers to a discrepancy between the share of legislative seats and the share of the population.
  • Case in US: Unlike India, the United States has a political system where each State is given two senators in the U.S. Senate. Thus, giving equal powers to all states.
  • Constitutional reforms: These can be pursued to give each state the same number of Rajya Sabha MPs.

The Possible Solutions:

• Need for Proportional representation: India’s first-past-the-post system ensures quicker election results but in this system, a legislator represents a constituency without a majority of votes.
  • Thus, Proportional representation can be considered, especially for the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections. 
  • Direct elections for Rajya Sabha MPs: These should be promoted while ensuring that a domicile requirement is added and stringently adhered to.
• Need for more states: India needs to have more States from 28 to around 50/75. For example, Uttar Pradesh is too big to be governed well as a single unit. 
  • Case in the US:  its largest state California, has a population of just 39 million. In contrast, around 22 Indian States/Union Territories have a population higher than that. 
  • New State Reorganisation Commission:  It may be set up to evaluate the socio-economic and administrative viability of select to-be States.
• Having a fixed tenure mayor:  India has 8,000-plus urban settlements, but very few number mayors are selected in cities.
  • Every Census town may have a fixed-tenure mayor elected in direct elections. 
  • Empowering Mayors: Such mayors must be provided with decision-making powers of over 18 critical functions. 
• Increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats:  The 84th Amendment Act of the Constitution froze the number of Lok Sabha seats until the first Census after 2026 (i.e., 2031).
  • Conducting delimitation: The 2021 Census is currently expected to take place in 2024 with findings anticipated to be published by 2026. Thus, delimitation may be carried out sooner.
  • Delimitation not based on population: Geographical determinism, economic productivity, linguistic history, and a sense of fairness should be considered.

Also Read: Decoding Political Funding in India: Electoral Bonds, Challenges, and Reform Perspectives

Conclusion:

• Enhancing local democratic representation:  This will help strengthen India’s democracy. 
• Promoting democracy: This might help alleviate the concerns of citizens and enhance democracy.