The Constitution of India provides for a Parliamentary system of government, where the Cabinet, headed by a Prime Minister, forms the de facto executive. Unlike most western countries, the elections are conducted by an independent constitutional body, the Election Commission of India. For the first general election, this commission was single-membered body. Sukumar Sen was the first election commissioner of India.
India had 17.32 crore voters (excluding Jammu and Kashmir) in 1951 general elections.All Indian citizens over the age of 21 were eligible to vote. Around 85% of the population could not read or write. This widespread illiteracy posed a challenge to the commission in organising the election. This was overcome by allotting each candidate a differently-coloured ballot box at the polling booth, on which each candidates name and symbol were written. 16,500 clerks were appointed on a contract of 6 months to type and collate the electorate rolls and 380,000 reams of paper were used for printing the rolls.
Due to the harsh climate and challenging logistics, the election was held in 68 phases.A total of 196,084 polling booths were set up, of which 27,527 booths were reserved for women. All states except Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir voted in February–March 1952; no polls were held for Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir until 1967. Himachal Pradesh voted in 1951 for the first Lok Sabha weather tends to be inclement in February and March, heavy snow impending free movement. The very first votes of the election were cast in the tehsil (district) of Chini in Himachal Pradesh.
Voters elected 489 members to the lower house of the Parliament of India. These were allotted across 401 constituencies in 25 Indian states. There were 314 constituencies electing one member using first-past-the-post system. 86 constituencies elected two members, one from general category and one from Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.There was one constituency with three elected representatives.These multi-seat constituencies were present to fulfill the reservations granted to backward sections of the society by the Constitution. They were later abolished in the 1960s.
The Constitution also provides for 2 Anglo-Indian members to be nominated by the President of India.
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Answer:
The Constitution of India provides for a Parliamentary system of government, where the Cabinet, headed by a Prime Minister, forms the de facto executive. Unlike most western countries, the elections are conducted by an independent constitutional body, the Election Commission of India. For the first general election, this commission was single-membered body. Sukumar Sen was the first election commissioner of India.
India had 17.32 crore voters (excluding Jammu and Kashmir) in 1951 general elections.All Indian citizens over the age of 21 were eligible to vote. Around 85% of the population could not read or write. This widespread illiteracy posed a challenge to the commission in organising the election. This was overcome by allotting each candidate a differently-coloured ballot box at the polling booth, on which each candidates name and symbol were written. 16,500 clerks were appointed on a contract of 6 months to type and collate the electorate rolls and 380,000 reams of paper were used for printing the rolls.
Due to the harsh climate and challenging logistics, the election was held in 68 phases.A total of 196,084 polling booths were set up, of which 27,527 booths were reserved for women. All states except Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir voted in February–March 1952; no polls were held for Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir until 1967. Himachal Pradesh voted in 1951 for the first Lok Sabha weather tends to be inclement in February and March, heavy snow impending free movement. The very first votes of the election were cast in the tehsil (district) of Chini in Himachal Pradesh.
Voters elected 489 members to the lower house of the Parliament of India. These were allotted across 401 constituencies in 25 Indian states. There were 314 constituencies electing one member using first-past-the-post system. 86 constituencies elected two members, one from general category and one from Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.There was one constituency with three elected representatives.These multi-seat constituencies were present to fulfill the reservations granted to backward sections of the society by the Constitution. They were later abolished in the 1960s.
The Constitution also provides for 2 Anglo-Indian members to be nominated by the President of India.