Question

What are the major functions of the Election Commission of India? What are the major stages of election process?

Answer 1

Answer:

India is a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. Democracy runs like a golden thread in the social, economic and political fabric woven by the Constitution given by ‘We, the People of India’ unto ourselves. The concept of democracy as visualised by the Constitution pre-supposes the representation of the people in Parliament and State legislatures by the method of election. The Supreme Court has held that democracy is one of the inalienable basic features of the Constitution of India and forms part of its basic structure. The Constitution of India adopted a Parliamentary form of government. Parliament consists of the President of India and the two Houses — Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. India, being a Union of states, has separate state legislatures for each state. State legislatures consist of the Governor and two Houses — Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly — in seven states, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and of the Governor and the state Legislative Assembly in the remaining 22 states. Apart from the above, two out of the seven Union Territories, namely, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Puducherry, also have their Legislative Assemblies.