PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Party System & Electoral Politics

The decision to conduct Population Census-2027 has

How the answer moves

The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.

Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes

Route 1 delimitation not routine sets each state’s Lok Sabha share decides who holds power in a federation

Route 2 decades-long freeze on seats 2027 census lifts it contest is population vs federal trust

Body flow

delimitation = boundaries + seat distribution Commissions 1952 / 1963 / 1973 / 2002 42nd + 84th Amendment freeze (until first census after 2026) seats fixed while population grew disparities: North grew faster, large + urban constituencies, unequal vote value, heavy service burden 2027 turns it political North may gain / South fears penalty for population control reserved seats + women’s reservation recalibrated fairness reaches within states, not just across them

Counter-view

strict democratic equality (seats track population) vs federal trust + unfairness of penalising states that met a national goal

Conclusion routes

Route 1 balance democratic equality, federal trust and population justice

Route 2 let representation follow population without breaking federal trust

Model answer

Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.

Handwritten model answer — UPSC PSIR 2025, Party System & Electoral Politics