Political Glossary — Terms Explained Simply | Team Whistle

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Adjournment motion: A motion to set aside the House’s normal business to discuss an urgent matter of public importance.
Affidavit (Form 26): A sworn statement every candidate files with their nomination, declaring assets, liabilities, education and criminal cases.
Alliance: Parties that agree to contest an election or govern together.
Anti-defection law: The Tenth Schedule — disqualifies legislators who switch parties or defy the whip.
Appropriation Bill: The law that authorises the government to spend money from the state or central treasury.
Assent: The approval of the President or Governor that turns a passed Bill into an Act.

Basic structure: Core features of the Constitution that Parliament cannot amend away (Kesavananda Bharati, 1973).
Bicameral: A legislature with two Houses, like Parliament. Tamil Nadu’s is unicameral.
Bill: A draft law placed before the legislature.
BLO: Booth Level Officer — the local official who maintains the voter list for a polling booth.
By-election: An election to fill a seat that falls vacant between general elections.

Cabinet: The senior ministers who take the main decisions of the government.
Calling attention: A notice by which a member draws a minister’s attention to an urgent matter.
Coalition government: A government formed by more than one party.
Collective responsibility: The whole Council of Ministers stands or falls together in the House.
Concurrent List: Subjects on which both Parliament and state Assemblies can make laws.
Constituency: The area that elects one representative.
Council of Ministers: All ministers, headed by the Chief Minister or Prime Minister.

Delimitation: Redrawing constituency boundaries and fixing the number of seats, based on population.
Demands for grants: Department-wise spending requests in the budget, debated and voted by the House.
Deposit forfeited: When a candidate gets less than one-sixth of valid votes, the security deposit is lost.
Directive Principles: Goals for the state in Articles 36–51 — not enforceable in court.
Dissolution: Ending the life of the Lok Sabha or an Assembly before fresh elections.

Electoral roll: The official voter list.
EPIC: Electors Photo Identity Card — the voter ID card.
EVM: Electronic Voting Machine.
Exit poll: A survey of voters after they vote; cannot be published until polling ends.

First past the post: The candidate with the most votes wins, even without a majority.
Floor test: A vote in the House to show that the government has majority support.

G.O.: Government Order — the official written decision of the state government.
Gazette: The official government publication where Acts and notifications are published.
Governor: The constitutional head of a state, appointed by the President.
Gram Sabha: The meeting of all voters of a village panchayat.

Leader of the Opposition: The leader of the largest party not in government, if it has enough seats.

Majority mark: Half the House plus one — 118 in Tamil Nadu’s 234-seat Assembly.
Manifesto: A party’s list of promises before an election.
Model Code of Conduct: Election Commission guidelines in force from the announcement of an election until results.
Money Bill: A Bill only about taxes and spending; it can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha or Assembly.

No-confidence motion: A motion stating that the House has lost confidence in the government.
NOTA: “None of the Above” — the option to reject all candidates.

Office of profit: A paid government post that can disqualify a legislator.
Ordinance: A temporary law issued by the President or Governor when the legislature is not in session.

Panchayat union: The block-level tier of rural local government in Tamil Nadu.
PIO: Public Information Officer — the officer who answers RTI applications.
Polling agent: A person appointed by a candidate to watch the polling at a booth.
Portfolio: The departments assigned to a minister.
President’s Rule: Central rule in a state under Article 356.
Pro-tem Speaker: A temporary Speaker who swears in new members until the Speaker is elected.

Question Hour: The first hour of a sitting, when ministers answer members’ questions.
Quorum: The minimum number of members needed for a sitting — one-tenth of the House.

Reserved constituency: A seat that only SC or ST candidates can contest.
Returning Officer: The official who conducts the election in a constituency and declares the result.
RTI: Right to Information Act, 2005.

Speaker: The presiding officer of the Lok Sabha or an Assembly.
State party: A party recognised by the Election Commission in a particular state, with a reserved symbol.

Tenth Schedule: The part of the Constitution containing the anti-defection law.

VVPAT: Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail — the slip printer attached to the EVM.

Whip: A party direction to its members on how to vote; also the officer who issues it.