ABSTRACT
In a multi-party democracy with elections taking place under first past the post electoral system, there is always this anxiety about how representative are our elected representatives. A large number of candidates get elected with barely 30% of votes polled, and very few candidates get elected with more than 50% votes. The story remains the same both for the Lok Sabha elections and for the state assembly elections in various states, though the victory margins are bigger in states which witness a bipolar contest. With Indian elections registering a 60% turnout in a large number of elections, there is always this anxiety that those who get elected with 30% votes in an election with 60% turnout only represent about 20% of their total voting population. The chapter presents a comprehensive analysis on this issue of representation looking at victory margins at the constituency level for all Lok Sabha elections held so far and for various state assembly elections.
