How the national government selected and how does the parliament perform this function of electing government? (5points)

The Parliament in India consists of the President and its two houses- the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. After the Lok Sabha elections, the party that gets the majority votes forms the government. This means it must have a majority of the elected MPs. Since there are 543 elected and nominated members in the Lok Sabha, to have a majority a party should have a minimum of half the number, i.e., 272 members or more. The Opposition in Parliament is formed by all the political parties other than the majority party/coalition. The largest among these parties becomes the Opposition party.

The Parliament, which is made up of representatives of the people, controls and guides the government. In this sense people, through their elected representatives, form the government and also control it. 

One of the most crucial functions of the Lok Sabha is to select the executive. The executive is a group of elected members who work together to implement the laws made by Parliament. The Prime Minister of India is the head of the government and leader of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha. From the MPs who belong to his/her party, the Prime Minister selects ministers to work with him/her to implement decisions. These ministers then take charge of different areas of government functioning like defence, transport, health, education etc.

The Rajya Sabha functions mainly as the council of the states of India in the Parliament. The Rajya Sabha can also initiate legislation and a bill has to pass through the Rajya Sabha in order to become a law. Hence, it has an important role in reviewing and amending the laws initiated by the Lok Sabha. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of various states. There are a total of 245 members- 233 elected members plus 12 members nominated by the President.

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