UPSC Prelims 1997 · General Studies
Question 66: Polity and Governance
In the Presidential election in India, every elected member of the Legislative Assembly of a State shall have as many votes as there are multiples of one thousand in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the State by the total number of the elected members of the Assembly. As at present (1997) the expression "population" here means the population as ascertained by the
AnswerThe answer is (c).
Under Article 55, the value of an MLA's vote in the Presidential election depends on the State's population divided by the number of elected MLAs. The population used is that of the 1971 Census, because the 42nd Amendment froze it until the census after 2000, and a later amendment extended the freeze until the first census after 2026. This avoids penalising States that controlled population growth.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) The 1991 Census is not the base; the freeze holds the 1971 figures.
- (b) The 1981 Census is not the base; the freeze holds the 1971 figures.
- (c) Right: the 1971 Census.
- (d) The 1961 Census is not the base; the freeze was fixed at 1971.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 1997, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.