Question

Identify the TRUE statement from the following-
1. The first general elections were held in 1952
2. 16th general elections were held in 2012
3. Indian National Congress got victory in the first general election
4. Bharatiya Janata Party got victory in the 16th general elections.
A. 1, 3 and 4
B. 2, 3 and 4
C. 1, 4 and 2
D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer 1

Hint:
The general elections in India are held every five years to elect the members of the lok sabha. This is a very important event because it is the basis on which the head of the government is decided on. The first general election was held soon after the new Constitution of India was brought into effect.

Complete answer:
General elections are a huge governmental event in democratic countries. In India, it is held every five years when a new Lok Sabha is elected. This in turn decides which party or alliance forms the head of the government. Since it is a country wide process, it is held in several phases. To find out which of the given options is true, we first need to check the veracity of each of given statements-

1. The first general elections in India were held in 1952. India gained independence in the year 1947 and the new Constitution came into effect in 1950. The process of the first general election was started by the end of 1951 but the bulk of it was carried out in 1952. Thus the first statement is correct.

2. The 16th general elections were held in 2012. This statement is incorrect as the 16th general election of India was held in the year 2014. The significant election held in 2012 was the indirect election for the President of India.

3. Indian National Congress got the victory in the first general election. This is true since Jawaharlal Nehru from the INC went on to become the first democratically elected Prime Minister of India after winning a huge victory in the first general election.

4. Bharatiya Janata party got the victory in the 16th general elections. This is also true because though BJP did not gain majority themselves, the BJP led National Democratic Alliance won the majority and BJP went on to hold the chair of the Prime Minister of India.

So, we see that the first, third and fourth statements are correct. The second statement is false.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option A.

Note:
-The first general election of India had 53 parties and 533 independent candidates as contestants.
-The 16th general election of India was the largest election ever in the world with 814.5 million eligible voters.
-The 16th general election was also the Indian National Congress party's worst defeat. They won less than 10 seats in the Lok sabha, due to which India had no official opposition party for that term.