Editing Elections in India (section)

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{About||the last general election|2024 Indian general election}}
{{Politics of India}}
{{Elections}} 
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
[[India]] has a [[parliamentary system]] as defined by its [[Constitution of India|constitution]], with power distributed between the [[Government of India|union government]] and the [[States and territories of India|states]]. [[Democracy in India|India's democracy]] is the largest [[democracy]] in the world.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Richetta |first1=Cécile |last2=Harbers |first2=Imke |last3=van Wingerden |first3=Enrike |date=2023 |title=The subnational electoral coercion in India (SECI) data set, 1985–2015 |url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/120358/1/1_s2.0_S0261379423000847_main.pdf |journal=Electoral Studies |volume=85 |doi=10.1016/j.electstud.2023.102662 |issn=0261-3794|doi-access=free }}</ref>

The [[President of India]] is the ceremonial head of state of the country and supreme commander-in-chief for all [[Indian Armed Forces|defense forces]] in India. However, it is the [[Prime Minister of India]], who is the leader of the [[political party|party]] or [[political alliance]] having a majority in the national elections to the [[Lok Sabha]] (Lower house of the [[Parliament of India|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 territory|Union Territories]]) and each State has a [[Governor (India)|Governor]] who is the state's head, but the executive authority rests with the [[Chief Minister (India)|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/[[Governor (India)|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 it 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]] since independence from the [[British Raj]], with the adoption of the [[Constitution of India]] in 1949.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lok Sabha polls 2024: What is universal adult franchise? |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/elections/india/lok-sabha-polls-2024-what-is-universal-adult-franchise-2-2956461 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Did the British Empire resist women’s suffrage in India? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-43081429 |website=BBC News |date=22 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bhatia |first1=Gautam |title=The 1947 singularity: on India's adoption of universal suffrage |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-1947-singularity/article22870618.ece |website=The Hindu |language=en-IN |date=27 February 2018}}</ref>