RAS question
State Election Commission for Panchayat elections is under:
Correct answer: (C) Article 243-K.
The State Election Commission for Panchayat elections is provided under Article 243-K of the Constitution of India.
Explanation
Article 243-K is the specific Panchayat-election provision in Part IX of the Constitution. It vests the superintendence, direction and control of preparing electoral rolls for Panchayats, and conducting all elections to Panchayats, in a State Election Commission. That Commission consists of a State Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor. The article also supports the Commission's functioning by requiring the Governor, when requested, to make available the staff needed for discharging these election functions. So the answer is Article 243-K, not a general election provision or a finance/audit provision connected with Panchayats.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Article 243-I deals with the constitution of a Finance Commission to review the financial position of Panchayats, not with conducting Panchayat elections.
- (B) Article 243-O bars court interference in Panchayat electoral matters and says Panchayat elections can be questioned only by election petition, but it does not create the State Election Commission.
- (D) Article 324 vests election control in the Election Commission for Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President, not in the State Election Commission for Panchayats.
Concept
This tests the constitutional architecture of local self-government under Part IX, especially the election machinery created after the Panchayati Raj amendments. It recurs in RAS because Panchayat institutions, state-level constitutional bodies, and election administration are core governance themes.