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India has a parliamentary system as defined by its constitution, with power distributed between the union government and the states. India's democracy is the largest democracy in the world.[1]
The President of India is the ceremonial head of state of the country and supreme commander-in-chief for all defense forces in India. However, it is the Prime Minister of India, who is the leader of the party or political alliance having a majority in the national elections to the Lok Sabha (Lower house of the Parliament). The Prime Minister is the leader of the legislative branch of the Government of India. The Prime Minister is the chief adviser to the President of India and the head of the Union Council of Ministers.
India is regionally divided into States (and Union Territories) and each State has a Governor who is the state's head, but the executive authority rests with the Chief Minister who is the leader of the party or political alliance that has won a majority in the regional elections otherwise known as State Assembly Elections that exercises executive powers in that State. The respective State's Chief Minister has executive powers within the State and works jointly with the Prime Minister of India or their ministers on matters that require both State and Central attention. Some Union Territories also elect an Assembly and have a territorial government and other (mainly smaller) Union Territories are governed by an administrator/lieutenant governor appointed by the President of India.
The President of India monitors the rule of law through their appointed governors in each State and on their recommendation can take over the executive powers from the Chief Minister of the State, temporarily when the elected representatives of the State government have failed to create a peaceful environment and has deteriorated into chaos. The President of India dissolves the existing State government if necessary, and a new election is conducted.
The Republic of India has instituted universal suffrage (known as "universal adult franchise") since independence from the British Raj, with the adoption of the Constitution of India in 1949.[2][3][4]
- ^ Richetta, Cécile; Harbers, Imke; van Wingerden, Enrike (2023). "The subnational electoral coercion in India (SECI) data set, 1985–2015" (PDF). Electoral Studies. 85. doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2023.102662. ISSN 0261-3794.
- ^ "Lok Sabha polls 2024: What is universal adult franchise?". Deccan Herald.
- ^ "Did the British Empire resist women's suffrage in India?". BBC News. 22 February 2018.
- ^ Bhatia, Gautam (27 February 2018). "The 1947 singularity: on India's adoption of universal suffrage". The Hindu.