Overseas Indians can exercise franchise in an election to the Lok Sabha under which of the following conditions? 1. They must be citizens of India. 2. Their names must figure in the electoral roll. 3. They must be present in India to vote. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- (a)1, 2 and 3
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1 and 2 only
- (d)1 only
Correct — A, 1, 2 and 3. All three conditions hold together. Citizenship first: the franchise in India belongs to citizens, and an overseas Indian who has taken the nationality of another country loses it, because India does not permit dual citizenship — so a person holding an Overseas Citizen of India card is not an elector at all. Second, the name must be on the electoral roll. Since 2010 an Indian citizen living abroad may be enrolled as an overseas elector in the constituency of the address printed in the passport, and enrolment is what turns eligibility into a vote. Third, and this is where the question earns its marks, the overseas elector has to be there in person. There is no proxy and no postal ballot for this category, so voting means travelling back to the constituency and going to the polling station on poll day — a requirement that makes the right largely theoretical for most expatriates. Since all three statements survive, the answer is the all-of-them option.
- (b)2 and 3 only — Drops the citizenship condition, which is the most basic of the three. A person who has acquired another country's nationality is no longer an Indian citizen and cannot be enrolled at all.
- (c)1 and 2 only — The most attractive wrong answer, because it assumes some remote facility exists. It does not: proxy voting for overseas electors was proposed in a Bill that did not become law, and the electronically transmitted postal ballot is available to service voters, not to overseas electors.
- (d)1 only — Citizenship alone does not deliver a vote. No one in India votes without being on the roll of a constituency, and for the overseas elector that roll entry is the whole point of the special registration.
The category of overseas elector was created in 2010 by an amendment to the Representation of the People Act, 1950. An Indian citizen who is absent from the country for employment, education or any other reason, and who has not acquired another citizenship, may have the name entered on the electoral roll of the constituency in which the address given in the passport is located. The entry gives the same right as any other elector, and the same obligation to appear at the polling station.
Statements 1 and 2 are easy to accept, so the item is really a test of statement 3, and the temptation is to reject it — surely something must exist for people who cannot fly home. Nothing does. A Bill to allow proxy voting for overseas electors was introduced and lapsed, and the electronically transmitted postal ballot system covers armed forces and government servants posted away from their constituencies, not citizens living abroad. Anchor the answer to the position at the February 2020 exam and note the present-day line honestly: the requirement of personal presence has not changed since, and any remote facility for overseas electors would still need a change in the law or the rules before it could operate.
- Expatriate Indian citizens have been able to vote in Indian elections since 2010, provided they have not acquired the citizenship of another country.
- An overseas elector is registered in the constituency of the address given in the passport.
- Overseas electors must be physically present at the polling station in their constituency to vote; there is no proxy and no postal facility for them.
- India does not permit dual nationality, so an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder is not eligible to be an elector.
- The electronically transmitted postal ballot system serves service voters and government servants posted away from home, not citizens living abroad.
- Assuming a remote or postal option exists for overseas electors because one exists for service voters.
- Confusing an OCI cardholder with a citizen; the card carries no political rights.
- Thinking registration is automatic — the overseas elector has to apply to be entered on the roll.
As a statements-and-code item on eligibility conditions, or as a single-line question on who may be enrolled as an overseas elector.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
An overseas elector in India is registered on the electoral roll of the constituency in which
- (a)the Indian mission abroad is located
- (b)the address given in the passport is located
- (c)the applicant last paid income tax
- (d)any relative of the applicant resides
Answer(b) the address given in the passport is located — that address decides the constituency for an overseas elector's roll entry.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following persons is NOT eligible to be enrolled as an elector in India?
- (a)An Indian citizen studying abroad
- (b)An Indian citizen working abroad on a work visa
- (c)A person who has acquired the citizenship of another country
- (d)An Indian citizen posted abroad in government service
Answer(c) A person who has acquired the citizenship of another country — India does not allow dual nationality, and the franchise belongs to citizens.