ParliamentPresidential elections: The race heats up!Rohit- June 14, 2012The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the election of the President of India.  The last date for nominations is June 30, elections will be held on July 19, and counting will take place on July 22.  The BJD and AIADMK have proposed the name of Mr. P.A. Sangma.  The Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress have suggested three names.  Other parties or alliances have not announced any contenders.  Our calculations show that no single party or alliance has the numbers to unilaterally elect candidates of its choice. A candidate will need 5,48,507 votes to be elected as the President.  If the UPA were to vote as a consolidated block, its vote tally would reach 4,49,847 (41% of the total votes).  Among the Congress allies, Trinamool holds the largest number of votes (47,898). If Trinamool decides to support some other candidate, the UPA tally will fall to 4,01,949 votes (37% of the total). The votes held by the major alliances are given in the table below:CoalitionValue of votesPercentage of total votesUPA4,49,84741.0%NDA3,03,91227.7%Left52,2824.8%Bahujan Samaj Party43,7234.0%Samajwadi Party68,9436.3%Biju Janata Dal30,2152.8%AIADMK36,2163.3%Others1,11,87410.2%Total10,97,012Minimum required to be elected5,48,507A detailed break-up of votes held by each party is given in the table below:PartyValue of votesPercentage of total votesIndian National Congress3,31,85530.30%Bharatiya Janata Party2,32,45421.20%Samajwadi Party68,9436.30%All India Trinamool Congress47,8984.40%Bahujan Samaj Party43,7234.00%Janata Dal (United)41,5743.80%All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)36,2163.30%Communist Party of India (Marxist)35,7343.30%Biju Janata Dal30,2152.80%Nationalist Congress Party24,0582.20%Independent23,8302.20%Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)21,7802.00%Telugu Desam Party21,2561.90%Shiv Sena18,3201.70%Shiromani Akali Dal11,5641.10%Communist Party of India9,7580.90%Rashtriya Janata Dal8,8160.80%Others7,4200.70%Janata Dal (Secular)6,1380.60%Jammu and Kashmir National Conference5,5560.50%Rashtriya Lok Dal5,4120.50%Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhaga (DMDK)5,1040.50%Jharkhand Mukti Morcha4,5840.40%Muslim League Kerala State Committee4,4560.40%Indian National Lok Dal4,0680.40%All India Forward Bloc3,9610.40%Jharkhand Vikas Morcha3,3520.30%Asom Gana Parishad3,2840.30%Telangana Rashtra Samiti3,0440.30%Revolutionary Socialist Party2,8290.30%Bodoland People's Front2,8080.30%All India United Democratic Front2,7960.30%Praja Rajyam Party2,6640.20%Maharashtra Navnirman Sena2,2750.20%Kerala Congress (M)2,0760.20%All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen1,7440.20%Nagaland People's Front1,7220.20%Sikkim Democratic Front1,6400.10%Peoples Democratic Party1,5120.10%Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi1,0580.10%Lok Janasakti Party9570.10%All Jharkhand Students Union8800.10%Haryana Janhit Congress8200.10%Mizo National Front7320.10%Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam7080.10%Swabhimani Paksha7080.10%Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi7080.10%YSR Congress Party7080.10%Peasants and Workers Party7000.10%Pattali Makkal Katchi5280.00%Manithaneya Makkal Katch3520.00%Puthiya Tamilaga3520.00%All India NR Congress2400.00%J&K National Panthers Party2160.00%Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)1760.00%United Democratic Party1530.00%Lok Satta Party1480.00%Loktantrik Samajwadi Party1290.00%J&K Democratic Party Nationalist720.00%People's Democratic Front720.00%Uttarakhand Kranti Dal640.00%Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party600.00%People's Party of Arunachal320.00%Total10,97,012Notes:The electoral  college for the Presidential election consists of the elected members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and all Legislative Assemblies. The winning candidate must secure at least 50% of the total value of votes polled.  Each MP/ MLA’s vote has a pre-determined value based on the population they represent. For instance, an MP’s vote has a value of 708, an MLA from UP has a vote value of 208 and an MLA from Sikkim has a vote value of 7(Note that all MPs, irrespective of the constituency or State they represent, have equal vote value).Parties in various coalitions:UPA:Congress, Trinamool, DMK, NCP,Rashtriya Lok Dal, J&K National Conference, Muslim League Kerala State Committee, Kerala Congress (M), All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Sikkim Democratic Front, Praja Rajyam Party, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal KatchiNDA:BJP, JD(U), Shiv Sena, Shiromani Akali Dal, Janata PartyLeft:CPI(M), CPI, Revolutionary Socialist Party, All India Forward BlocParliamentFirst no-confidence motion of the 17th Lok Sabha discussed todayNiranjana Menon- August 8, 2023Discussion on the first no-confidence motion of the 17thLok Sabha began today.  No-confidence motions and confidence motions are trust votes, used to test or demonstrate the support of Lok Sabha for the government in power.  Article 75(3) of the Constitution states that the government is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha.  This means that the government must always enjoy the support of a majority of the members of Lok Sabha.  Trust votes are used to examine this support.  The government resigns if a majority of members support a no-confidence motion, or reject a confidence motion.So far, 28 no-confidence motions (including the one being discussed today) and 11 confidence motions have beendiscussed.  Over the years, the number of such motions has reduced.  The mid-1960s and mid-1970s saw more no-confidence motions, whereas the 1990s saw more confidence motions.Figure1: Trust votes in ParliamentNote: *Term shorter than 5 years; **6-year term.Source: Statistical Handbook 2021, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; PRS.The no-confidence motion being discussed today wasmovedon July 26, 2023.  A motion of no-confidence is moved with the support of at least 50 members.   The Speaker has the discretion to allot time for discussion of the motion.  TheRules of Procedurestate that the motion must be discussed within 10 days of being introduced.  This year, the no-confidence motion wasdiscussed13 calendar days after introduction.  Since the introduction of the no-confidence motion on July 26, 12 Bills have been introduced and 18 Bills have been passed by Lok Sabha.  In the past, on four occasions, the discussion on no-confidence motions began seven days after their introduction.  On these occasions, Bills and other important issues were debated before the discussion on the no-confidence motion began.Figure2: Members rise in support of the motion of no-confidence in Lok SabhaSource: Sansad TV, Lok Sabha, July 26, 2023; PRS.Figure3: Number of days from introduction to discussion on no-confidence motionsNote: Number of days implies calendar days.Source: Statistical Handbook 2021, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; PRS.On average, no-confidence motions (excluding the one being discussed today) have been discussed for 13 hours over three days.  Discussions have lasted longer than 20 hours on four instances, most recently in 2003.  Today’s no-confidence motion was allotted 12 hours discussion time by theBusiness Advisory Committee.Following the discussion, the motion is put to vote.  26 out of 27 no-confidence motions (excluding the one being discussed today) have been voted upon and rejected.  This means that no government has ever had to resign following a vote of no-confidence.   On one occasion, in 1979, the discussion on a no-confidence motion against the Morarji Desai government remained inconclusive.  He resigned before the motion was put to vote.  50% of all no-confidence motions (14 out of 28) were discussed between 1965 and 1975.  Of these, 12 were against governments headed by Indira Gandhi.Figure4: Duration of discussion on no-confidence motionsNote: This graph excludes the no confidence motion moved on July 26, 2023.Source: Statistical Handbook 2021, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; PRS.In comparison, confidence motions have a more varied history.  The first motion, brought in 1979 to demonstrate confidence in Charan Singh’s government, was not discussed at all.  The Prime Minister resigned before the discussion could take place.  Since then, 11 confidence motions have been discussed in Lok Sabha, with nine occurring in the 1990s.  During this period, several coalition governments were formed, and Prime Ministers sought to prove their majority throughconfidence motions.   These motions have been discussed, on average, for 12 hours over two days.Figure5: Duration of discussion of confidence motionsSource: Statistical Handbook 2021, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; PRS.Of the 11 confidence motions discussed in Lok Sabha, seven were accepted.  On three instances, governments had to resign as they could not prove that they had the support of the majority.  On one instance in 1996, the motion was not put to vote.  Following an eleven-hour discussion on this confidence motion, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced his intention to resign on the floor of the House.  He resigned 16 days into his term.Vajpayee became Prime Minister again in 1999, and faced another confidence motion.   This time, it was put to vote.   The motion was defeated by a margin of one vote.  This has been the closest result on a trust vote in the history of Lok Sabha.  The next closest result was when a motion of no-confidence against P V Narasimha Rao’s government was defeated by 14 votes in 1993.  In most cases, results have been in favour of the government by a large margin.«12345678910»
ParliamentPresidential elections: The race heats up!Rohit- June 14, 2012