Who was the first Chief Election Commissioner of India?

The correct answer is D, the President of India. Article 324(2) says the Chief Election Commissioner and the other Election Commissioners shall be appointed by the President, and under the Act of 2023 the President acts on the recommendation of a Selection Committee of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Option A is wrong because the Central Government only advises or recommends; the warrant of appointment is issued by the President, and the office is a constitutional one, not a departmental post. Option B is wrong because a State Government has no role at all in the Union Election Commission; it appoints nothing beyond its own State Election Commissioner, which is done by the Governor. Option C is wrong because the Chief Justice of India has no part in the appointment, although he is on the collegium for judges; the Supreme Court is relevant here only for removal, because the Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only in the same manner as a judge of the Supreme Court.

The correct answer is C, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail. A VVPAT unit is attached to the balloting unit of an electronic voting machine and prints a slip showing the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate the voter has chosen; the slip is visible through a window for about seven seconds and then drops into a sealed box, so the vote can be audited on paper without being traced to the voter. It was used for the first time in 2013 in the Noksen Assembly constituency of Nagaland. Options A, B and D are wrong because each changes one word of the expansion, and the changed word matters: the machine makes the vote verifiable by the voter, not merely visited or vivid, and what it leaves behind is an audit trail on paper, not an account. Remembering the four words in order, verifiable, paper, audit, trail, is enough to reject all three distractors.

The correct answer is B, Article 324. It is the first article of Part XV and places the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and of the conduct of all elections to Parliament, the State legislatures and the offices of the President and the Vice-President in the Election Commission of India. Option A is wrong because Article 320 is about the functions of the Public Service Commissions, which conduct recruitment examinations and have nothing to do with elections. Option C is wrong because Article 326 lays down that elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies shall be on the basis of adult suffrage; it fixes who may vote, not who runs the election. Option D is wrong because Article 329 bars the courts from interfering in electoral matters and confines a challenge to an election petition before the High Court. Fix 324 for the Commission and 326 for adult suffrage, and this pair of distractors stops working.

The correct answer is C, the 61st Amendment Act, passed in 1988, which amended Article 326 and lowered the voting age for elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies from 21 years to 18, so that the enlarged electorate voted in the general election of 1989. Option A is wrong because the 44th Amendment of 1978 undid several changes of the Emergency, removing the right to property from the Fundamental Rights and restoring safeguards on the proclamation of an emergency. Option B is wrong because the 52nd Amendment of 1985 inserted the Tenth Schedule, the anti-defection law, which disqualifies a legislator for defection. Option D is wrong because the 73rd Amendment of 1992 gave constitutional status to panchayats and added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule; it is connected with elections only in that it created the State Election Commission under Article 243K.

The correct answer is B, the State Election Commission. Article 243K, inserted by the 73rd Amendment, gives the superintendence, direction and control of panchayat elections to a State Election Commission consisting of a State Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor, and Article 243ZA does the same for municipalities. Option A is wrong because the Election Commission of India is confined by Article 324 to elections to Parliament, the State legislatures and the offices of the President and the Vice-President; local body elections were deliberately kept outside its charge. Option C is wrong because a District Collector works as District Election Officer or Returning Officer under whichever commission is holding the poll, but has no authority of his own to conduct an election. Option D is wrong because a ministry frames policy and releases funds; it cannot conduct elections, which must be in the hands of an independent commission.