Question

Who fixes the dates for Elections in India?
A) President
B) Prime Minister
C) NITI Ayog
D) Election Commission

Answer 1

Hint:
- One of the most major features of the democratic policy in India is elections at regular time periods.
- Holding periodic, free and fair elections are crucial of a democratic system and a part of the basic formations of the Constitution.

Complete answer:
Election Commission fixes the dates for Elections in India. The Election Commission manages elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state Legislative Assemblies, state legislative Councils, and the workplace of the President and Vice President of the country. The Election Commission operates under the dominion of Constitution per Article 324, and later enacted Representation of the People Act.

The commission has the powers under the Constitution to act in an appropriate manner when the validated laws make insufficient provision to deal with a given situation in the conduct of an election.
Being a fundamental dominion, Election Commission is amid the few organizations which purpose with both independence and freedom, alongside the country’s higher judiciary, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

The Election Commission is regarded as the preserver of elections in the country. In every election, it issues a Model Code of Conduct for political parties and candidates to control elections in a free and fair manner. The commission issued the Code of Conduct for the first time in 1971 for the 5th Lok Sabha elections and has amended it from time to time. It lays down recommendations for the control of political parties and contenders during an election period.

However, there have been occasions of breach of the code by various political parties with complaints being received for misuse of official machinery by the candidatesThe code does not have any particular statutory basis but only a convincing effect. It contains the rules of electoral ethics. However, this lack of statutory backing does not stop the commission from imposing it.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘D’.

Note: i) The Election Commission of India is an independent constitutional dominion accountable for managing election procedure in India.
ii) The Election Commission of India is responsible for conducting the elections and fixing the dates for them.