Who among the following women won the by-election in 2017 for the one Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh?
- (a)Jamuna Devi
- (b)Radha Devi
- (c)Sampatiya Uikey
- (d)Kavita Uikey
Correct — C, Sampatiya Uikey. The 2017 by-election filled the Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh that fell vacant on the death of Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave (May 2017). Sampatiya Uikey, a Gond tribal woman leader of the BJP from Mandla, was elected to the seat by the votes of Madhya Pradesh MLAs.
- (a)Jamuna Devi — A veteran Congress leader of Madhya Pradesh (former Deputy Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition). She died in 2010, so she could not have contested a 2017 election.
- (b)Radha Devi — Not the person elected to this seat; included only as a distractor name.
- (d)Kavita Uikey — Shares the surname 'Uikey' as a deliberate trap, but she was not the candidate elected to this Rajya Sabha seat.
Members of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) representing a state are not elected directly by the public. Under Article 80 they are chosen by the elected members of that state's Legislative Assembly through proportional representation by single transferable vote. When a seat falls vacant mid-term (by death or resignation), a by-election is held to fill only the remaining term.
The trap is built from two 'Uikey' surnames (Sampatiya vs Kavita) plus a famous but deceased Congress name (Jamuna Devi). Anchor on the BJP nominee who actually won the 2017 by-poll.
- The vacancy arose from the death of Anil Madhav Dave (Union Environment Minister) in May 2017.
- Sampatiya Uikey (BJP), a Gond tribal leader from Mandla, won the by-election.
- Rajya Sabha members of a state are elected by that state's MLAs (Article 80), by single transferable vote.
- A by-election fills only the unexpired remainder of the vacated term.
- Confusing the two similar surnames (Sampatiya Uikey vs Kavita Uikey)
- Picking a famous leader who was actually deceased by 2017
- Treating the Rajya Sabha as directly elected like the Lok Sabha
MPPSC asks the current-affairs 'who won this seat/election'; UPSC asks the constitutional mechanism — who elects the Rajya Sabha, by what voting method, and for what term.
Who among the following have the right to vote in the elections to both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha?
- (a) Elected members of the Lower House of the Parliament
- (b) Elected members of the Upper House of the Parliament
- (c) Elected members of the Upper House of the State Legislature
- (d) Elected members of the Lower House of the State Legislature
Answer(d) Elected members of the Lower House of the State Legislature
Same concept — elected MLAs (Lower House of the State Legislature) are the ones who elect Rajya Sabha members, exactly the electorate that returned this Madhya Pradesh by-election winner.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The elected members of the Rajya Sabha representing a state are chosen by:
- (a)direct election by the voters of the state
- (b)the elected members of the state Legislative Assembly
- (c)the Governor of the state
- (d)members of local bodies
Answer(b) the elected members of the state Legislative Assembly — by single transferable vote under Article 80.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Rajya Sabha is a permanent House; what fraction of its members retires every two years?
- (a)one-half
- (b)one-fourth
- (c)one-third
- (d)one-sixth
Answer(c) one-third — the House is never fully dissolved.