Universal Franchise and India's Electoral System

Why This Matters

Imagine your class has to pick one student to speak for everyone. This person will go to meetings with teachers, plan events, and carry the wishes of the whole class. How should the class choose this person?

You would probably say: let everyone vote. And let every student’s vote count the same. The boy who tops the class and the boy who struggles in maths should each get one vote. The rich student and the poor student should each get one vote.

That simple idea is the heart of this chapter. India runs the very same idea, but for a whole country of more than a billion people.

In the summer of 2024, India held a general election. About 980 million voters were eligible to vote. That is a huge number. To put it simply, the number of voters in India is about fifteen times the whole population of the United Kingdom. Running an election this big, fairly and freely, is one of the largest organised events on Earth.

In this chapter, we will find out who can vote, why every adult’s vote matters equally, who runs our elections, and exactly what happens when a person walks in to vote. By the end, you will understand why elections are called the “Festival of Democracy”.

The Big Idea

In India, every adult citizen gets one vote, and all votes have equal value. This is called universal adult franchise. “Franchise” just means the right to vote. “Universal” means it is for everyone aged 18 and above — whatever their caste, religion, gender, wealth or education. To run this huge exercise fairly, India has an independent body called the Election Commission of India (ECI). The country is divided into constituencies, and the voters of each constituency elect one representative. Voting is done by secret ballot on an electronic voting machine (EVM), so your choice stays private and the count stays honest. Free and fair elections are what let ordinary people decide who governs them.

Let’s Break It Down

What “universal adult franchise” means

Let us take this important phrase apart, word by word. It sounds difficult, but it is simple once you break it up.

• Franchise means the right to vote. It is a right that the Constitution gives you. (Another word for the same thing is suffrage. They mean the same.)
• Adult means a person who is 18 years or older. In India, you get the right to vote when you turn 18.
• Universal means for everyone, with nobody left out.

Put together, universal adult franchise means: every adult citizen of India, aged 18 and above, gets one vote — and all votes have equal value.

This means there is no test you must pass to vote. It does not matter if you are rich or poor. It does not matter if you went to school or never did. It does not matter what your caste, religion or gender is. If you are an Indian citizen aged 18 or above, you get one vote.

The Constitution makers chose this from the very start of our democracy. This is written in Article 326 of the Constitution. Elections to the Lok Sabha (our national parliament), to every state assembly, and to local bodies in villages and cities all run on universal adult franchise.

There is one fair limit. Nobody can vote on another person’s behalf — your vote is yours alone.

Also, a person found guilty of certain serious crimes can be barred from voting.

To actually use your vote, your name must be on the voter list of your area. We will see how that works soon.

Before we go on, let us refresh one word you have met in earlier classes, because the whole chapter rests on it.

Why one vote of equal value matters so much

Here is the deep question. Why should everyone’s vote count the same? Why not give a clever, educated person two votes and a poor farmer just one? NCERT states that all votes are equal — but let us understand why this is the right rule.

Think about what the government does. It decides which roads get built. It decides the price of food and fuel. It decides which schools and hospitals open. Every single one of these decisions touches every citizen’s life — the rich and the poor, the educated and the unschooled.

So here is the logic. If the government’s decisions affect everyone equally, then everyone should have an equal say in choosing that government. The farmer’s life is affected just as much as the businessman’s life. So the farmer’s vote should count just as much as the businessman’s vote.

There is a second reason. If only some people were allowed to vote, the rest would be ignored. A government only listens to the people who can vote it out. So if poor people could not vote, no government would care about their problems. Giving everyone the vote forces the government to care about everyone.

Figure 5.1 below shows this idea. Look at four very different Indians, and see how each one drops one equal vote into the same box.

Tap to zoom

This was a bold choice. In 1947, when India became free, only about 14 in every 100 Indians could read and write. Some people argued that only educated people should be allowed to vote. But the Constitution makers said no. They trusted the common person. They believed that a poor, unschooled farmer knows perfectly well what his family needs — clean water, fair prices, a road, a school. He does not need a degree to choose who can give him these things.

India was also ahead of much of the world in giving women the right to vote from the very beginning. In many countries, women had to fight for decades to win this right. In Switzerland, for example, women got the vote only in 1971. In India, women could vote from the very first election.

Here are the reasons universal franchise matters, gathered together. Take a moment to read each one.

The Election Commission of India — who runs our elections

An election with 980 million voters cannot run itself. Someone must organise it, fix the dates, make the rules, and make sure nobody cheats. In India, that job belongs to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The ECI is an independent constitutional body. Let us unpack that.

• Constitutional means it was created by the Constitution itself. So it is not an ordinary office that any leader can shut down.
• Independent means it does not take orders from the government in power. This is very important. If the ruling party controlled the ECI, it could cheat in elections to keep itself in power. Because the ECI is independent, it can be fair even to the party that is currently in charge.

The ECI was set up in 1950. The first general elections in free India were held in 1951–52. Since then it has run every national election.

Figure 5.2 below shows the main jobs the ECI does. Look at the centre, then follow each spoke out to one of its tasks.

Tap to zoom

One of the ECI’s most important jobs is to remove barriers so that no voter is left behind. In 2024, for the first time, very elderly people and people with disabilities could vote from home. The ECI provided braille-enabled voter cards, wheelchairs and ramps, and an app to request help. Election officials even travel to far-off villages and mountain areas. There have been polling stations set up for a single voter, so that one person in a remote place can still cast a vote. This is what “universal” truly means — the system bends to reach every single citizen.

Constituencies and representatives

India is huge. One leader cannot speak for everyone. So the country is divided into smaller areas, and each area picks its own representative. Each such area is called a constituency.

A constituency is an area whose voters elect one representative to a law-making body. For the Lok Sabha, India is divided into 543 constituencies. The voters of each constituency choose one person to represent them.

• A person elected to the Lok Sabha (the national parliament) is called a Member of Parliament (MP). MPs work on issues that affect the whole country.
• A person elected to a state assembly is called a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). MLAs work mainly on issues of their own state.

How does a constituency pick its one winner? India uses a system called First-Past-the-Post. The name sounds tricky, but the rule is simple: the candidate who gets the most votes wins. That is all. The winner does not need more than half of the votes — they just need more than every other candidate.

Here is a real example from the chapter’s class election. In a class of 33 students, three candidates stood. Ahmed got 8 votes, Gurmat got 12, and Ravi got 10. Gurmat won, because 12 is the highest number — even though 12 is less than half of 33. That is First-Past-the-Post.

Figure 5.3 below shows how one constituency turns its votes into one representative.

Tap to zoom

Some constituencies are reserved. Of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, 84 are reserved for people from the Scheduled Castes and 47 for Scheduled Tribes. Only candidates from these communities can stand in those seats. This makes sure these communities, who were left out for a very long time in history, always have a voice in Parliament.

After all the votes across the country are counted, the party or group of parties with the most seats forms the government. Its leader becomes the Prime Minister (at the national level) or the Chief Minister (at the state level). Sometimes no single party wins enough seats, so two or more parties join hands. A group of parties working together like this is called a coalition.

The steps of an election — what really happens when you vote

Let us now walk into a polling station and see exactly what happens. The process is carefully designed so that each voter votes once, secretly, and honestly.

Figure 5.4 below shows the four steps in order. Read it from top to bottom.

Tap to zoom

Why all these careful steps? Each one stops a different kind of cheating.

• Checking your name and ID stops someone from voting in another person’s place.
• The ink mark on your finger is the clever trick. The ink does not wash off for many days. So you cannot go to another booth and vote a second time — the ink gives you away. This single idea stops the same person voting many times.
• The chit and signature keep a careful record of who voted.

At the end, the voter presses a button on the EVM — the electronic voting machine. We will look at it more closely next.

What if you do not like any of the candidates? India gives you a last button called NOTA — None Of The Above. NOTA lets you reject every candidate. It does not change who wins, but it sends a quiet message: the voters want better choices.

Secret ballot and EVMs — voting privately and honestly

Two ideas make Indian voting both private and trustworthy: the secret ballot and the EVM.

A secret ballot means no one can find out whom you voted for. Your choice is completely private. Why does this matter so much? Think about it. If a powerful person could check how you voted, they could threaten you, bribe you, or punish you. They might say, “Vote for me, or lose your job.” With a secret ballot, no one can ever check — so no one can pressure you. You are free to vote with your heart. This is why the booth has a screen, and why nobody is allowed to watch you press the button.

In the old days, India voted on paper ballots. You marked an “X” next to your choice and dropped the paper in a sealed box. Today, India uses electronic voting machines (EVMs) instead. An EVM is a small machine with a button next to each candidate’s name and symbol. You press the button for your choice, and the machine beeps and stores your vote.

Why are EVMs better than paper? Let us see the difference clearly.

But how do we trust a machine? What if it secretly records the wrong vote? India added a clever check called the VVPAT — Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail. When you press the button, the VVPAT prints a small paper slip showing the symbol you chose. You see it through a glass window for a few seconds. So you can confirm with your own eyes that your vote went to the right candidate. The slip then drops into a sealed box. If there is ever a doubt about the result, officials can count these paper slips by hand to check the machine. So the EVM is fast, and the VVPAT keeps it honest.

India’s EVMs and VVPATs work so well that other countries, such as Namibia and Bhutan, have used them too, with help from the ECI.

Why free and fair elections matter

We have seen the how of elections. Now the why. Why does India work so hard — deploying over a million polling stations and many lakhs of staff — to keep elections free and fair?

A free election means people can vote without fear or pressure. A fair election means everyone plays by the same rules and no one cheats. Take away either one, and the result no longer shows the true wishes of the people. A government that wins by cheating does not really represent anyone. It only pretends to.

To keep elections fair, the ECI enforces a set of rules called the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). These are the dos and don’ts for leaders, parties and candidates. A few of its rules:

• The party already in power must not use government money or schemes to win votes. It cannot, for example, suddenly announce a big new scheme just before voting to please people.
• All candidates must behave with restraint, so that voting stays peaceful.
• Giving voters gifts or money in return for votes is a crime.

The story of T.N. Seshan shows why a strong, fair referee matters. He became Chief Election Commissioner in 1990. He brought in voter ID cards to stop people voting in others’ names, set strict rules on campaign spending, and made candidates follow the rules closely. He is remembered as the officer who made Indian elections fairer and more fearless.

India’s election system is celebrated as the world’s largest democratic exercise. But it still faces challenges: the growing power of money, some candidates with criminal records, and voter apathy — when people, especially in cities, do not bother to vote. In 2024, about 34 in every 100 eligible voters did not vote. The best answer to all of this is an aware and alert voter. When you turn 18, your one vote will be a real piece of the nation’s future. Use it wisely.

Common Mistakes

Here are some slip-ups students make about this topic. Read them once, and you will not be fooled.

Quick Check

Try these quick questions. Each one checks one idea from the chapter.

Practice Problems

Try each one on your own first. Only then tap to see the full answer.

Easy

Medium

Challenge

Summary

Here is everything you can now explain to a friend:

• Universal adult franchise means every citizen aged 18 and above gets one vote of equal value, whatever their caste, religion, gender, wealth or education. It is written in Article 326 of the Constitution.
• Everyone’s vote counts the same because the government’s decisions affect everyone equally, so everyone deserves an equal say. India trusted the common person and gave women the vote from the very start.
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) is the independent constitutional body that runs free and fair elections. It sets dates, registers parties, enforces the Model Code of Conduct, holds elections, and oversees the whole process.
• A constituency is an area whose voters elect one representative — an MP for the Lok Sabha or an MLA for a state assembly. India has 543 Lok Sabha constituencies.
• India uses First-Past-the-Post: the candidate with the most votes wins, even if it is less than half.
• Voting follows clear steps — name and ID check, an ink mark, a chit and signature, then pressing the button on the EVM. The ink mark stops double voting, and NOTA lets you reject all candidates.
• The secret ballot keeps your choice private so no one can pressure you. The EVM is fast, and the VVPAT paper slip keeps it honest.
• Free and fair elections are the heart of democracy. An aware, alert voter is the strongest safeguard of all.

What’s Next

Now you know how Indians choose the people who govern them. But once they are chosen, where do these representatives go, and how do they make the laws of our country?

In the next chapter, Chapter 6 — The Parliamentary System, we will step inside Parliament itself. We will see how the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha work, how a Prime Minister is chosen, and how a new law is born. Get ready to see democracy in action!