How the Prime Minister is chosen: the President, the Lok Sabha and the number 272

Article 75(1) says: "The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President". Other ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's advice. Article 74(1) provides a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister to aid and advise the President, who acts in accordance with that advice, though a proviso lets the President ask the Council to reconsider once.

The check is Article 75(3): "The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People." A government that cannot command the Lok Sabha cannot survive, whoever the President appointed.

The Constitution does not say the Prime Minister must lead the majority party, and it does not mention the number 272. Both come from how the system works, not from the text.

Article 81(1) says the Lok Sabha has not more than 530 members from the states and not more than 20 from the Union territories, a maximum of 550. The strength in use is widely reported as 543, and more than half of 543 is 272. That is the "magic number" for a majority.

The 272 figure is arithmetic, not a constitutional requirement. Under Article 100(1), questions in the House are decided by a majority of members present and voting. A government can survive a confidence vote with fewer than 272 votes if members abstain or stay away.

For the people who have held the office, see the Prime Ministers page.

• A member of either House can be a minister. A minister who is not a member of either House of Parliament for six consecutive months ceases to be a minister (Article 75(5)).
• The minimum age to be a member is 25 for the Lok Sabha and 30 for the Rajya Sabha (Article 84).
• The total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, cannot exceed 15% of the members of the Lok Sabha (Article 75(1A), from the 91st Amendment, effective 1 January 2004).
• A member disqualified under the Tenth Schedule cannot be appointed a minister during the period of disqualification (Article 75(1B)).

When no party wins 272, the President has to judge who can command the House. There is no fixed rule. According to an overview by the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, Presidents Venkataraman (1989 and 1991), Sharma (1996) and Narayanan (1998) each made different choices. It notes that in 1996 Atal Bihari Vajpayee resigned after 13 days, and that in 1998 President Narayanan sought letters of support before Vajpayee was sworn in on 15 March with a confidence vote due within 10 days.

That account is from a secondary source, and we have not found a Supreme Court ruling that lays down how a President must choose in a hung Parliament. Treat this area as convention, not settled law.

The President can also dissolve the Lok Sabha (Article 85(2)(b)). Otherwise the House continues for five years from its first meeting (Article 83(2)), and during a Proclamation of Emergency Parliament can extend that by law for one year at a time.

The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 would have raised the maximum size of the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850, with a delimitation bill alongside. It was introduced on 16 April 2026 and was defeated in the Lok Sabha the next day, with 298 members in favour and 230 against out of 528 present and voting, short of the roughly two-thirds needed. Article 81 is therefore unchanged. This is a fast-moving subject, so check the sources below for updates.