All elections to the Panchayats are conducted by -

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — A, State Election Commission. Article 243K of the Constitution (inserted by the 73rd Amendment Act, 1992) vests the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of ALL elections to the Panchayats in a State Election Commission (SEC). The SEC consists of a State Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor of the state; he can be removed only in the same manner and on the same grounds as a Judge of a High Court, giving the office real independence. (Article 243ZA extends the same body's role to municipal elections.)

Why the other options are wrong — (b) The State Legislature ENACTS the laws that give effect to Panchayati Raj (state Panchayati Raj Acts) and can legislate on matters like elections, but it does not itself conduct the polls — that duty is constitutionally assigned to the State Election Commission.  (c) The Election Commission of India (Article 324) conducts elections to Parliament, the State Legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President — NOT to local bodies. Panchayat and municipal elections are outside its mandate.  (d) There is no constitutional body called the 'Panchayati Raj Commission' that conducts elections — the name is a plausible-sounding distractor with no basis in Part IX of the Constitution.

Concept: The 73rd Constitutional Amendment (1992) gave Panchayati Raj Institutions constitutional status through Part IX (Articles 243 to 243-O). To keep local-body elections free of state-government interference, it created a State Election Commission (Article 243K) as an independent authority in every state, distinct from the Election Commission of India.

State PCS 2023 Q21 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q21 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer