In this article you will learn about meaning and forms of Representation in Political Science.
Representation
In each Modern Liberal Democratic State, the government is formed by elected representatives of the people who carry out all the work of the government on behalf of the people. That is why Modern Democracy is called Representative Democracy or Indirect Democracy.
Meaning of Representation
The system of representing the people is called representation. Representation means “Standing for, or acting on behalf of the people or a large body of people (The Electorate)”.
Democracy, as is currently in operation in almost all democratic countries of the world, is called Representative Democracy in which the people elect their representatives who exercise political power on their behalf. The elected representatives represent the views, needs, interests and demands of the people in Democracy.
Forms of Representation
There are mainly two types of representation (i) Territorial Representation (ii) Functional Representation. Representation can be Territorial Representation or Functional Representation. When all the persons (voters) living in a demarcated territory (constituency) together elect their representative or some representatives, the system is called Territorial Representation i.e. Representation on the basis of territorial constituencies. When the people belonging to different professions or functions or vocations are given the right to elect their respective representatives for exercising political power on their behalf, the system is called Functional Representation.
What is a Constituency?
Constituency is a unit of area or a demarcated group of people who constitute one unit for electing a representative or some representatives. In other words a constituency is a demarcated (delimited) area or group which is given representation. Election of representatives of the people is always done constituency wise.
There are two types of Territorial Constituencies :
(i) Single Member Constituency (ii) Multi-Member Constituency
Single Member Territorial Constituency : Meaning
When the country is divided into as many constituencies as is the number of representatives to be elected and from each constituency the elect one representative, it is called a single member constituency. For example, we in India elect 543 members of the Lok Sabha and for it we divide the country into 543 Lok Sabha constituencies. From each constituency in Lok Sabha one MP is elected. Usually in most of the elections and in most of the states of the world, single member constituencies are created.
Multi-member Territorial Constituency : Meaning
When from a single big constituency two or more than two representatives are elected, it is called a multi-member constituency. In several types of elections, for example elections on the basis of Proportional Representation only multi-member constituencies are used. Members of Odisha Vidhan Sabha together as a unit elect ten members of Rajya Sabha and hence it is an example of a multi-member constituency.
This article on Representation in Political Science is contributed by Dipshikha Anand. If you like LawStudyPoint.com do follow us on our Twitter handle.