Electoral Politics..........Part III

Q6.What is meant by reserved constituency? Why the Constitution makers, feel the need of it in India? 

1. Some constituencies are reserved for people who belong to the Scheduled Castes [SC] and Scheduled Tribes [ST]. 
2. In a SC and ST reserved constituency only someone who belongs to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can contest elections. 
3. In the Lok Sabha, 84 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 47 for the Scheduled Tribes.
4. This number is in proportion to their share in the total population.
5. Thus the reserved seats for SC and ST do not take away the legitimate share of any other social group.
6. This system of reservation was extended to other weaker sections at the district and local level. 
7. In many states, seats in rural (panchayat) and urban (municipalities and corporations) local bodies are now reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBC) as well.
8. The proportion of seats reserved varies from state to state. 
9. Similarly, one-third of the seats are reserved in rural and urban local bodies for women candidates.