Elections: Parties, Model Code and EVMs

Statement 2 is correct: candidates of registered unrecognised parties choose from the Election Commission's list of free symbols, as do independents. Statement 1 is incorrect: a reserved symbol belongs only to the recognised party it is reserved for, and no other candidate may be given it in a constituency where that party is contesting. The Commission notifies a list of free symbols before elections, and a candidate of a registered unrecognised party or an independent names a few in order of preference; the Returning Officer allots them, drawing lots if two candidates want the same symbol. Under paragraph 10B of the Symbols Order, a registered unrecognised party can sometimes get a common free symbol for all its candidates in a State if it fields candidates in a set minimum share of the seats. A reserved symbol, however, cannot be given to any other candidate in a constituency where its party is contesting.

Article 19(1)(c) guarantees the freedom to form associations or unions, and a political party is an association of this kind. The right is subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(4) in the interests of sovereignty, integrity, public order or morality. Article 19(1)(a) protects speech, Article 21 life and liberty, and Article 14 equality. The words 'sovereignty and integrity of India' were added to Article 19(4) by the 16th Amendment (1963), so even the freedom to form a party can be limited on those grounds. That is why an association may be declared unlawful under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The 97th Amendment (2011) also added co-operative societies to Article 19(1)(c). Note that the original Constitution did not mention political parties at all; the term entered only with the Tenth Schedule in 1985.

Statement 2 is correct: Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, added in 1989, provides for the registration of associations as political parties by the Election Commission. Statement 1 is incorrect: the Symbols Order, 1968 deals with the recognition of registered parties as national or State parties and with the reservation and allotment of symbols, not with registration. Section 29A was inserted by the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1988, which took effect in 1989. Registration brings concrete benefits: the right to receive contributions under Section 29B, income-tax exemption under Section 13A of the Income-tax Act, and preference over independents when free symbols are allotted. The Symbols Order, by contrast, was issued by the Commission under Article 324 read with the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, and it builds on registration by sorting registered parties into recognised and unrecognised ones.

Both statements are correct. Sadiq Ali (1971) arose from the 1969 Congress split and upheld the Commission's power, drawn from Article 324, to decide which group is the real party. Such disputes are decided under paragraph 15 of the Symbols Order, usually by testing which group has majority support in the party's organisation and legislature wing. Paragraph 15 has been used in many famous splits since 1969. More recently, in February 2023 the Commission awarded the Shiv Sena name and the bow-and-arrow symbol to the faction led by Eknath Shinde, and in February 2024 it recognised the faction led by Ajit Pawar as the Nationalist Congress Party, relying mainly on support among legislators. Sadiq Ali also clarified that Article 324's superintendence power lets the Commission fill gaps where the law is silent, so its orders on splits are not merely administrative.

Section 29A covers registration, Section 29C the declaration of donations above the set limit, paragraph 15 of the Symbols Order rival-group disputes, and Section 77 the account of election expenses, including the rule on star campaigners' travel. So the correct code is A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3. Sections 29B and 29C were inserted by the Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003, which also added Section 39A on sharing broadcast time on electronic media. Section 77 requires every candidate to keep an account of election expenses, and its Explanation says that travel expenses of the party's leaders named as star campaigners are not added to the candidate's account. The ceiling itself is fixed under Rule 90 of the Conduct of Election Rules; since 2022 it has been 95 lakh rupees for a Lok Sabha seat in the larger States.

Section 29A(2) requires an association that wants to be registered as a political party to apply to the Election Commission within thirty days of its formation. The application must be signed by the party's chief office-holder and include its memorandum or rules, with particulars such as its name, office-bearers and number of members. The Commission then decides whether to register it. Under the Commission's registration guidelines, the applicant also pays a processing fee and publishes the proposed party name in newspapers, so that objections can be raised before the Commission decides. Section 29A(7) then lets the Commission register the association or refuse, after hearing its representatives, and Section 29A(9) says that once registered, any change in the party's name, address or office-bearers must be communicated to the Commission without delay. The thirty-day window ensures that new outfits announce themselves quickly instead of appearing just before polling.

Both statements are incorrect. In Indian National Congress v. Institute of Social Welfare (2002), the Supreme Court held that registration under Section 29A is a quasi-judicial act, so the Commission cannot review it at will. The Act gives no general power to deregister; the Court allowed it only in narrow cases, such as registration obtained by fraud or a party being declared unlawful. Section 29A(8) makes the Commission's decision on registration final, and the Act contains no clause for cancelling it, which is why the 2002 judgment treated registration as quasi-judicial. The Commission does have a different, narrower tool: under paragraph 16A of the Symbols Order it may suspend or withdraw a party's recognition, not its registration, if the party fails to observe the Model Code of Conduct or the Commission's lawful directions. The Commission has repeatedly asked Parliament for an express power to deregister parties, but no such amendment has been made.

Only three. A recognised national party gets a reserved symbol, may name up to forty star campaigners under Section 77 (a registered unrecognised party may name twenty), and is given free broadcast time on Doordarshan and All India Radio during general elections. Its candidates are not exempt from the expenditure limit; the limit applies to every candidate. Section 39A, inserted in 2003, lets the Commission allocate time on electronic media among recognised parties, and the Commission does this through a formula that combines a base share with a share based on past performance. Under Section 77, a recognised party may name up to forty star campaigners and a registered unrecognised party up to twenty. The candidate's expenditure limit, fixed under Rule 90 of the Conduct of Election Rules, applies to every candidate equally, whether from a national party or an independent.

Only statement 3 is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong because the Election Commission has been a three-member body since 1993: the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. Statement 2 is wrong because the Commission itself fixes the schedule for general elections and by-elections, not the Home Ministry. Statement 3 is right because, under paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, it decides disputes between rival groups of a recognised party, as it did for the Shiv Sena and NCP in 2023–24.

Under the CEC and Other ECs Act, 2023, a panel of the PM, the Leader of the Opposition and a Union Minister chooses the members. Notice the earlier case Anoop Baranwal (2023), which had included the CJI on that panel.

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None of the statements is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong: Article 71(2) says acts done by the President before the election is declared void stay valid. Statement 2 is wrong: the election cannot be put off because some Assemblies stand dissolved, and under Article 71(4) the poll cannot be questioned on that ground. Statement 3 is wrong: Article 111 sets no time limit for assent. The President may give assent, withhold it, or return a non-money Bill once.

Notice the recent debate. In 2025, a Supreme Court bench set timelines for Governors in a Tamil Nadu case, but on a Presidential Reference later that year, a Constitution Bench held that courts cannot impose such fixed timelines. This is why people speak of the President's pocket veto.

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Only statement 4 is correct (a). Statement 1 is wrong: only elected members of Parliament and of State Assemblies, including Delhi and Puducherry, vote; nominated members are left out. Statement 2 is wrong: an MLA's vote value is the State's 1971 population divided by its elected seats, then by 1,000, so more seats for the same population means a lower value. Statement 3 is wrong: a Kerala MLA's vote (152) is worth more than a Madhya Pradesh MLA's (131). Statement 4 is right: Puducherry's value (16) is higher than Arunachal's (8), for the reason given.

Notice that Uttar Pradesh has the highest value, 208, and Sikkim the lowest, 7. An MP's vote is the total value of all MLAs divided by the number of elected MPs, about 700.

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Statements 1 and 3 are correct (a). Statement 1 is right: under Rule 8 of the Lok Sabha's Rules of Procedure, the election of the Deputy Speaker is held on a date the Speaker fixes. Statement 2 is wrong: no rule ties the post to the opposition or the ruling party; giving it to the opposition is only a custom. Statement 3 is right: when presiding, the Deputy Speaker has the Speaker's full powers, and no appeal lies against his rulings. Statement 4 is wrong: the motion is moved by a member, not by the Speaker.

Notice that Article 93 says the Lok Sabha "shall" choose a Deputy Speaker, yet the post stayed vacant through the whole 17th Lok Sabha (2019–24). The Deputy Speaker sends any resignation to the Speaker.

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UPSC dropped this question from evaluation, so no answer was scored. The likely trouble was statement 2: Devi Lal did contest from three Lok Sabha seats in 1991 (Sikar, Rohtak and Ferozepur), but the wording was disputed. The current law is clear. Statement 1 is wrong: since 1996, Section 33(7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 lets a candidate contest from at most two constituencies. Statement 3 is wrong: no rule makes the party pay for bye-elections; the Election Commission has only suggested that the candidate pay.

Notice that a winner of two seats must quit one within 14 days under Section 70. Before 1996, there was no limit on the number of seats.

UPSC dropped this question from evaluation; there is no official answer.

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Neither statement is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong because Article 164(4) lets a non-member be a State minister for six months, but that person must be qualified to become an MLA. That requires a minimum age of 25, not just being a voter, who can be 18. Statement 2 is wrong because, under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a person sentenced to two years or more is disqualified from the date of conviction for the period of the sentence plus six years after release, not permanently.

In Lily Thomas (2013), the Court removed the protection that let sitting MPs and MLAs keep their seats while appealing. Notice the 2025 debate on a lifetime ban for convicted politicians, which the Centre opposed.

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