Electoral Process

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/H4LgnbVebGL2vZULBBP3WM/Representation-every-time.html

The recently concluded elections have brought the issue of the election system into the discussion. While I don't completely agree with the first past the post system that we have in India - I have an issue with the timing of these articles. I did not see any of these authors complain in 2009.

Anyway, I feel a system whereby seats are allocated proportional to number of votes you win irrespective of whether you finis first or second is a useful system. For example, you could 543 seats being decided by who wins - but then have a set of seats (around 543 to be meaningful) that are allocated to various parties based on vote %s with a minimum  - may be 5-10% in the region the party contests. So this way a party like BSP with 4% vote share will end up with 25 seats in the proportion allocated seats. So this will ensure better representation of the electorate. More importantly voters can stop worrying about the value of their vote. Currently every vote to the losing candidate us a wasted vote - but in the proportional system you can still contribute to the party of your choice. The system is in place in Germany and has been around for sometime. If we apply this system to the current election - BJP will not get such a resounding majority. Of course, in a country like India it will keep throwing up coalition after coalition - so that is the downside to providing improved representation. But it is a process that needs to be discussed in public forums.