RAS question
The State Election Commission for Panchayat elections is provided for under:
Correct answer: (D) Article 243-K.
Article 243K of the Constitution provides for the State Election Commission that supervises, directs and controls Panchayat elections.
Explanation
Article 243K is the dedicated provision for elections to Panchayats under Part IX of the Constitution. It vests the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls, as well as the conduct of all Panchayat elections, in a State Election Commission. The commission consists of a State Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor. Its independence is protected through the removal rule: the State Election Commissioner cannot be removed except in the same manner and on the same grounds as a Judge of a High Court. So the answer is Article 243K, not a general election provision or a Panchayat finance provision.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Article 324 is not the Panchayat-specific State Election Commission provision; Article 243K is the provision that vests Panchayat electoral control in the State Election Commission.
- (B) Article 243-O deals with election matters around Panchayats, but it is not the article that creates and empowers the State Election Commission for Panchayat elections.
- (C) Article 243-I concerns the Panchayat Finance Commission, so it belongs to fiscal review rather than the conduct of Panchayat elections.
Concept
This tests Part IX of the Constitution, especially the constitutional machinery for Panchayati Raj elections. RAS returns to such article-based questions because local self-government and State-level election administration are core Rajasthan polity areas.