3.3.3. How does PR work in Rajya Sabha elections

A third variant of PR, the Single Transferable Vote system (STV), is followed for Rajya Sabha elections. Every State has a specific quota of seats in the Rajya Sabha. The members are elected by the respective State legislative assemblies. The voters are the MLAs in that State.

The Rajya Sabha elections use a system called STV, which stands for Single Transferable Vote. In these elections, the members of the Rajya Sabha are not elected directly by the public, but by the elected members of the State legislative assemblies (the MLAs). Each state is allotted a certain number of seats in the Rajya Sabha based on its population and representation needs. Therefore, when someone votes in these elections, they are actually voting for a candidate chosen by their local assembly representatives, not for a candidate directly like in other elections.

Imagine that the MLAs are like delegates at a conference choosing a leader to represent them in a larger organization. Each MLA votes on the best candidate based on their preferences, and this leader will then have a say as part of a committee representing all of them.

Every voter is required to rank candidates according to her or his preference. To be declared the winner, a candidate must secure a minimum quota of votes, which is determined by a formula: (Total votes polled / (Total number of candidates to be elected + 1)) + 1.

In the Rajya Sabha elections, each voter does not simply choose one candidate but ranks all the candidates in the order of their preferences. This means they indicate who their first choice is, second choice, and so on. A candidate needs to obtain a certain number of votes, calculated using a specific formula. For example, if a state has 200 MLAs and 4 members must be elected, the quota is determined as follows: if all 200 voters participate, dividing that by 4 (the number of members to be elected) plus one gives us 41 votes needed to win. This system ensures that the elected representatives have wider support within the assembly.

Think of a group project where classmates have to choose a project leader. Instead of voting for one person, each student writes down their top three choices. If the first choice doesn’t get enough votes, the lowest-ranked choice is eliminated, and those votes are redistributed until someone achieves a majority. This way, the chosen leader is likely to have support from a larger group.

When the votes are counted, it is done based on the first preference votes secured by each candidate. If after the counting of all first preference votes, the required number of candidates fails to fulfil the quota, the candidate who secured the lowest votes of first preference is eliminated and his/her votes are transferred to those who are mentioned as second preference on those ballot papers.

After the votes are counted, if not enough candidates meet the required quota based on first preferences, the candidate with the least number of votes is removed from the race. The votes they received are not wasted; instead, these votes go to the second-choice candidates that those voters preferred. This process continues until the required number of candidates are elected.

Imagine a game where you try to find a new class representative. If the least popular candidate doesn’t get enough votes to win, their voters' secondary choices are considered. This allows someone who aligns with more people's second choices to eventually win, rather than just the most popular person right away.

If you have carefully read the box explaining the Rajya Sabha elections, you would have noticed that it is a complicated system which may work in a small country, but would be difficult to work in a sub-continental country like India. The reason for the popularity and success of the FPTP system is its simplicity.

While Proportional Representation offers fair representation based on votes, its complexity may not be suitable for a large and diverse country like India. The First Past the Post (FPTP) system, on the other hand, is much simpler. In FPTP, the voter selects one candidate, and the candidate with the most votes wins, which can be easily understood and managed across various states and constituencies.

Think of a cooking competition where judges can each give only one vote to a dish they liked the most. This is straightforward and allows the most favored dish to be easily identified. In contrast, a more complicated judging system where everyone has to rank their top five dishes might lead to confusion and prolonged discussions to determine a winner.

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