RAS question
Chairman of Nagar Parishad elected:
Correct answer: (D) By elected councillors.
The Chairman of a Nagar Parishad is elected indirectly by the elected councillors, not by direct popular vote.
Explanation
For a Nagar Parishad, the chairman is chosen through an indirect election by the elected councillors. The Rajasthan Local Self Government Department's 2019 Gazette notification substituted Rule 78 of the Rajasthan Municipalities (Election) Rules, 1994, and states that the office of Chairperson of a Municipality shall be filled by a person chosen by the elected members of that municipality. The same rule explains that an elected member means a member elected from a ward, and it provides for a meeting of elected members where polling is held if required. This is why the answer is not direct election: voters elect councillors from wards, and those elected councillors then choose the chairman.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Collector may be involved after the chairperson is chosen for oath-related formalities, but the rule does not give the Collector the power to elect the chairman.
- (B) Direct election is wrong because Rule 78 says the chairperson is chosen by elected members of the municipality, with polling held in their meeting if necessary.
- (C) Nomination is only part of the candidature process under the rule; the office itself is filled by choice of the elected members, not by nomination.
Concept
This tests the municipal-government part of Rajasthan polity, especially how urban local bodies choose office-bearers. It recurs in RAS because election methods for local bodies are a compact way to test institutional design and statutory detail.