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File 02 of 05 · THE MANDATE · roles only

From a vote to a Prime Minister

A voter marks one candidate in one constituency. Five steps later a Prime Minister is sworn in, and none of them is a direct vote for that office. This traces the path from the ballot to the oath.

A voter marks one candidate in one constituency. Five steps later a Prime Minister takes the oath, and none of them was a vote for that office.

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01

Nobody votes for a Prime Minister

The ballot names a candidate for one seat. The office at the end of the chain is filled by appointment, on the basis of who can command the confidence of the elected House.

ONE BALLOT, ONE SEAT

02

The floor is the test

A government is not made by a press conference or a swearing-in. It exists only while it can demonstrate a majority on the floor of the House, and it ends when it cannot.

CONFIDENCE, NOT PROCLAMATION

03

The same rule in every state

A Chief Minister reaches office by the identical path, with the Governor in the appointing role and the Legislative Assembly as the House whose confidence decides.

ARTICLES 75 · 164

FILE 02 OF 05 · SELECTION AND FORMATIONFrom a vote to a Prime Minister

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Civics series  ·  File 02 of 05
File 02 — selection and formation

From a vote to a Prime Minister

Nobody votes for a Prime Minister or a Chief Minister. Voters elect legislators; the legislators' arithmetic produces the leader. This is that chain, in the order it happens.
Part one  becoming a legislator
Part two  the two routes into a House
Part three  how a leader is chosen
A

Becoming an MP or an MLA

The Election Commission runs every step of this
01
The constituency
The country is divided into 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, each returning one member; every state is divided the same way into assembly constituencies. Boundaries are fixed by a Delimitation Commission, not by the government of the day.
02
Nomination
A candidate files nomination papers with the Returning Officer, with proposers, a security deposit and a sworn affidavit declaring assets, liabilities and any criminal cases. Parties allot their ticket and symbol; anyone else stands as an independent. The officer scrutinises and may reject a paper.
03
Campaign
From the day the schedule is announced the Model Code of Conduct binds candidates and governments alike. Spending per candidate is capped and accounted for. Campaigning stops 48 hours before polling closes.
04
Poll and count
Secret ballot on electronic voting machines with a paper trail. First past the post: the candidate with the most votes wins, whether or not that is a majority. The Returning Officer declares the result; the term is five years.
Who may stand
A citizen of India, a registered voter, and at least 25 years old for the Lok Sabha or a Legislative Assembly — 30 for the Rajya Sabha or a Legislative Council. Reserved constituencies are open only to candidates from the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.
Who may not
Anyone holding an office of profit under the government, an undischarged insolvent, a person of unsound mind so declared, or anyone convicted and sentenced to two years or more. A sitting member convicted on that scale loses the seat.
B

Two routes into a House

A minister may come from either one
Direct election
Lok Sabha MP  ·  MLA
Elected by the voters of one constituency, for five years. This is the route that decides who forms the government: only the directly elected House can make or unmake it.
Indirect election and nomination
Rajya Sabha MP  ·  MLC
Rajya Sabha members are elected by the MLAs of each state by proportional representation with a single transferable vote; twelve are nominated by the President for distinction in literature, science, art or social service. Council members are elected by local bodies, graduates and teachers, by MLAs, or nominated by the Governor. Six-year terms, a third retiring every two years.
Membership is the qualification for office
Every minister, including the Prime Minister or Chief Minister, must be a member of one of the Houses. Someone appointed from outside has six months to win a seat, or the office falls vacant.
C

How the leader is chosen

Read the same way for a Chief Minister, one level down
05
The numbers are counted
Winning candidates become MPs. A party or a pre-poll alliance needs more than half the Lok Sabha to govern alone; short of that, parties negotiate a coalition and pool their members.
543 elected seats
272 for a majority
06
The winning side picks its leader
The elected members of the party or alliance meet as a legislature party and choose the person who will lead the government. This is a party decision, not a constitutional procedure, and it is usually settled before the results are formally in.
07
The invitation and the oath
The President invites the leader who appears able to command a majority and appoints them Prime Minister, then administers the oath of office and of secrecy. In a state the Governor does the same for the Chief Minister.
08
The Cabinet is built
Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's advice alone, and the portfolios are the Prime Minister's to allot and to take back. The whole Council is capped at 15% of Lok Sabha strength.
Cabinet Minister
Full portfolio, sits in Cabinet
Minister of State
Independent charge, or assisting
Deputy Minister
Assists, without a portfolio
09
The floor test
The new government proves its majority by a vote in the House. It holds office only as long as it keeps that majority: a successful no-confidence motion ends it at any point in the five years. Members who vote against their party's whip can be disqualified under the anti-defection law.
In office
Prime Minister and Council of Ministers
Collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha — the House the voters elected in step 04. In a state, the Chief Minister and the state Council of Ministers, answerable to the Legislative Assembly.
D

The same chain for a Chief Minister

Where the state version differs from the Union one
Step one
Assembly election
Voters elect MLAs, one per constituency, first past the post. The majority mark is half the Assembly, so it differs by state — 145 of 288, 202 of 403, and so on.
Step two
Legislature party
The winning party's or alliance's MLAs name their leader. The national party leadership often has the decisive say here.
Step three
Governor invites
The Governor appoints that leader Chief Minister and administers the oath — the same act the President performs at the Union.
Step four
Council and floor test
Ministers are appointed on the CM's advice; the Council is capped at 15% of Assembly strength, with a floor of twelve. A majority is then proved in the Assembly.
If no one has a majority
President's rule
The Governor reports that no government can be formed and the state is administered from the centre under Article 356 until a fresh government or a fresh election. There is no Union equivalent.
A CM may sit in either state House where a Council exists, and, like the Prime Minister, has six months to win a seat if appointed from outside the legislature.
Roles and procedure only; no officeholders named.
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