Key facts

  • Part XV spans Articles 324-329; Article 324 gives the Election Commission superintendence, direction and control over specified elections.
  • Article 326 provides adult suffrage; the 61st Amendment, 1988 reduced voting age from 21 to 18.
  • RPA 1950 mainly concerns electoral rolls, seat allocation and delimitation-linked arrangements; RPA 1951 governs conduct, offences and disputes.
  • Lily Thomas, 2013 removed the protective effect of Section 8(4) for convicted sitting legislators.
  • The Tenth Schedule was inserted by the 52nd Amendment, 1985; the 91st Amendment, 2003 deleted the one-third split exception.

Key Points at a Glance

  1. 1

    Part XV spans Articles 324-329; Article 324 gives the Election Commission superintendence, direction and control over specified elections.

  2. 2

    Article 326 provides adult suffrage; the 61st Amendment, 1988 reduced voting age from 21 to 18.

  3. 3

    RPA 1950 mainly concerns electoral rolls, seat allocation and delimitation-linked arrangements; RPA 1951 governs conduct, offences and disputes.

  4. 4

    Lily Thomas, 2013 removed the protective effect of Section 8(4) for convicted sitting legislators.

  5. 5

    The Tenth Schedule was inserted by the 52nd Amendment, 1985; the 91st Amendment, 2003 deleted the one-third split exception.

  6. 6

    Kihoto Hollohan, 1992 upheld anti-defection law but allowed judicial review of presiding officers' decisions.

  7. 7

    MCC is not a single statute; ECI enforces it through Article 324, election law and administrative directions.

  8. 8

    Electoral Bonds were struck down in ADR, 2024 for impairing voters' right to information.

  9. 9

    ECI conducts Parliament, state legislature, President and Vice-President elections; State Election Commissions conduct local-body polls.

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Constitutional map of Indian elections

Free and fair elections are treated as a constitutional condition for representative government, not merely as an administrative exercise.

  • Part XV is the starting point: Article 324 vests superintendence, direction and control of electoral rolls and conduct of elections in the Election Commission of India for Parliament, state legislatures, President and Vice-President.
  • Article 325 bars special electoral rolls: no person can be excluded from the general electoral roll, or claim a separate roll, only on religion, race, caste or sex. UPSC often tests this with minority-representation traps.
  • Article 326 constitutionalises adult suffrage: Lok Sabha and state assembly elections are based on adult suffrage, subject to citizenship, age and statutory disqualifications such as non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt/illegal practice.
  • Articles 327 and 328 divide law-making power: Parliament may legislate for elections to Parliament and state legislatures; state legislatures may legislate for state-legislature elections only where Parliament has not made provision.
  • Article 329 restricts judicial interruption: delimitation/allocation matters are shielded from ordinary challenge, and election disputes are normally raised only through election petitions after the election.
  • Article 329A is historical: it was inserted by the 39th Amendment, 1975 to protect certain high offices from ordinary election challenge, but the Supreme Court invalidated key parts in Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain, 1975; the 44th Amendment, 1978 later omitted it.
  • The Constitution does not run the entire election code itself: it creates the democratic frame, an independent election authority, adult suffrage and judicial-channel rules; Parliament then fills operational detail through ordinary laws.
  • Related provisions matter: Articles 84 and 173 give qualifications for Parliament and state legislatures; Articles 102 and 191 give disqualifications; Articles 102(2) and 191(2) connect to the Tenth Schedule.
  • Local body contrast: Panchayat and municipality elections are under Articles 243K and 243ZA through State Election Commissions, not the Election Commission of India.
  • Exam trap: the Election Commission of India conducts elections to Parliament, state legislatures, President and Vice-President; it does not conduct panchayat, municipal, cooperative-society or party-internal elections.

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PredictedPredicted Questions

Use these prompts to test answer structure before moving to practice.

1MCQConsider the following statements about Part XV of the Constitution: 1. Article 325 permits separate electoral rolls for linguistic minorities. 2. Article 326 bases Lok Sabha and state assembly elections on adult suffrage. 3. Article 329 generally channels election disputes into election petitions. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?1 marks · 50 words
  1. A1 and 2 only
  2. B2 and 3 onlyCorrect
  3. C1 and 3 only
  4. D1, 2 and 3

Explanation

Article 325 bars exclusion or special rolls on specified grounds; it does not permit separate rolls. Articles 326 and 329 are correctly described.

~50 words · 1 marks