Previous Year Question
According to the Constitution of India, what is the maximum number of members of the Lok Sabha?
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Under Article 81(1) of the Constitution, the Lok Sabha may consist of—
not more than 530 members elected from the States, and
not more than 20 members representing the Union Territories.
Therefore, the constitutional maximum is:
530 + 20 = 550 members.
Older books commonly give the figure 552 because Article 331 permitted the President to nominate up to 2 members of the Anglo-Indian community. Hence, the older calculation was 530 + 20 + 2 = 552.
However, the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019, effective from 25 January 2020, extended the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes but did not extend the special representation of the Anglo-Indian community by nomination. Under Article 334(b), that special representation ceased after 70 years from the commencement of the Constitution.