RAS question
Which of the following is NOT part of the election process supervised by the Election Commission under Article 324?
Correct answer: (B) Elections to Panchayats and Municipalities.
Elections to Panchayats and Municipalities are not supervised by the Election Commission under Article 324; they fall under the State Election Commission through Articles 243K and 243ZA.
Explanation
Article 324 vests the superintendence, direction and control of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections in the Election Commission for elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President. That is why options covering those elections fall within Article 324. Panchayat and Municipality elections are treated separately in the Constitution. Article 243K vests the preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of all Panchayat elections in a State Election Commission, while Article 243ZA applies the same control to Municipality elections through the State Election Commission referred to in Article 243K. Therefore, Panchayat and Municipality elections are outside the Article 324 Election Commission process.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The election of the President and Vice-President is expressly included in Article 324, so it is part of the Election Commission's supervised process.
- (C) Elections to Parliament are expressly covered by Article 324, which vests their electoral-roll preparation and conduct in the Election Commission.
- (D) Elections to the Legislature of every State are expressly included in Article 324, so they are not excluded from the Election Commission's supervision.
Concept
This tests the constitutional distribution of election authority between the Election Commission of India and State Election Commissions. It recurs in RAS because local self-government, constitutional bodies, and electoral administration are standard governance themes.