What is the duty of the Chief Minister, as mentioned under Article 167 of the Indian Constitution?

The correct answer is A, 1951. The Representation of the People Act was passed in 1951, before the first general election.

Parliament made two laws under Articles 327 and 328. The Act of 1950 fixed the allocation of seats and the preparation of electoral rolls. The Act of 1951 is the bigger one: it deals with the actual conduct of elections, the qualifications and disqualifications of members, corrupt practices, election expenses, election petitions and by-elections. Dr B. R. Ambedkar, as law minister, piloted it through the provisional Parliament, and India's first general election was held in 1951 and 1952 under it.

Option B, 1945, is before independence, when no Indian Parliament existed. Option D, 1949, is the year the Constitution was adopted, on 26 November. Option C, 1955, is the year of the Citizenship Act and the Hindu Marriage Act, not of this law.

Exam tip: RPA 1950 for rolls and seats, RPA 1951 for conduct and disqualification.

The correct answer is B, Article 171. It lays down the composition of a state's Legislative Council.

Under Article 171 the Council cannot have more than one third of the strength of the Legislative Assembly and never fewer than forty members. Its seats are filled in a fixed way: one third elected by local bodies, one twelfth by graduates, one twelfth by teachers, one third by members of the Assembly, and the rest nominated by the Governor from people distinguished in literature, science, art, the cooperative movement or social service. The Council is a permanent house whose members serve six years, with one third retiring every two years.

Option A, Article 168, says what a state legislature consists of. Option D, Article 169, lets Parliament create or abolish a Council if the Assembly passes a special majority resolution. Option C, Article 181, concerns the Speaker or Chairman not presiding when a resolution for removal is being considered.

Exam tip: 168 constitution, 169 creation and abolition, 171 composition.

The correct answer is C, Janata Party. The Janata Party government led by Morarji Desai set up the Second Backward Classes Commission in 1978.

It is better known as the Mandal Commission, after its chairman B. P. Mandal, and it was appointed under Article 340, which lets the President name a commission to study the condition of socially and educationally backward classes. The commission reported in 1980 and recommended 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes in central government jobs. V. P. Singh's government announced its implementation in 1990, and the Supreme Court upheld it in the Indra Sawhney case of 1992.

Option A is wrong because the Congress set up the first such commission, under Kaka Kalelkar, in 1953. Option B is wrong as the BJP was founded only in 1980. Option D names a regional party that never formed a union government.

Exam tip: first commission - Kaka Kalelkar, 1953; second - B. P. Mandal, 1978.

The correct answer is A, 1951. The Constitution (First Amendment) Act was passed in 1951, a little over a year after the Constitution came into force.

It was enacted by the Provisional Parliament when Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister, before the first general election. The amendment added the Ninth Schedule to protect land reform laws from judicial review, inserted Articles 31A and 31B, allowed the state to make special provision for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes, and added public order, friendly relations with foreign states and incitement to an offence as grounds for restricting the freedom of speech under Article 19.

B is wrong: 1952 is the year of the first general election, not of the first amendment. C is wrong: 1950 is when the Constitution came into force, on 26 January. D is wrong: the Second and Third Amendments belong to 1952 and 1954.

Exam tip: First Amendment, 1951 - Ninth Schedule, Articles 31A and 31B, new limits on free speech.

The correct answer is B, Article 324. This article vests the superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission of India.

Article 324 falls in Part XV of the Constitution, which covers elections. The Commission handles elections to Parliament, to the state legislatures, and to the offices of President and Vice President; elections to panchayats and municipalities are conducted by State Election Commissions under Articles 243K and 243ZA. The Election Commission began as a single-member body on 25 January 1950 and the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners hold a fixed tenure fixed by law.

A is wrong: Article 356 provides for President's rule in a state. C is wrong: Article 352 deals with the proclamation of a National Emergency. D is wrong: Article 101 lists the grounds on which a seat in Parliament becomes vacant.

Exam tip: Article 324 - Election Commission; Articles 243K and 243ZA - State Election Commissions.