India's Domestic Political Setting [Updated May 31, 2019]   [open pdf - 615KB]

From the Document: "India, the world's most populous democracy, is, according to its Constitution, a 'sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic' where the bulk of executive power rests with the prime minister and his Council of Ministers (the Indian president is a ceremonial chief of state with limited executive powers). Since its 1947 independence, most of India's 14 prime ministers have come from the country's Hindi-speaking northern regions, and all but 3 have been upper-caste Hindus. The 543-seat Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the locus of national power, with directly elected representatives from each of the country's 29 states and 7 union territories. The president has the power to dissolve this body. A smaller upper house of a maximum 250 seats, the Rajya Sabha (Council of States), may review, but not veto, revenue legislation, and has no power over the prime minister or his/her cabinet. Lok Sabha and state legislators are elected to five-year terms. Rajya Sabha legislators are elected by state assemblies to six-year terms; 12 are appointed by the president."