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UPPCS Polity Gap Sheet: Elections and Political Parties.

UPPCS has asked 8 of these. 6 have not been asked yet. Lock the first list, then read the second: it holds what UPPCS has not used yet.

First, the concept

Two laws run elections: the Representation of the People Act 1950 (seats, electoral rolls) and the 1951 Act (conduct of polls, qualifications, disputes, corrupt practices).

Most electoral reforms came from courts or commissions, not from Parliament: NOTA (2013), candidates' criminal records, the end of electoral bonds (2024).

✅ Already asked (8)

Laws and firsts

  • Representation of the People Act 1950 and 1951 · 1950: seats and rolls; 1951: conduct and disputes
  • Election petitions go to the High Court · For Lok Sabha and Assembly seats; President's and VP's to the Supreme Court
  • Seats frozen till after 2026 (84th Amendment) · Based on the 1971 census

Voting machines and reforms

  • NOTA (2013) · PUCL case; first used in the 2013 Assembly polls
  • Committees on reform · Tarkunde (1975), Dinesh Goswami (1990), Indrajit Gupta on state funding (1998)

Parties

  • Election Symbols Order 1968 · ECI recognises parties and allots symbols
  • National party test · 6% votes in four States plus four Lok Sabha seats; or 2% of Lok Sabha seats from three States; or a State party in four States
  • Anti-defection (Tenth Schedule) · Merger allowed if two-thirds of the party agree (91st removed the one-third 'split')

❌ Not asked yet (6)

Items marked 'asked in other exams' have come in UPSC or other state exams, not yet in UPPCS.

🔒 6 items not asked yet

Laws and firsts: 1 · Voting machines and reforms: 4 · Parties: 1

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⚠️ The 1950 Act is about seats and electoral rolls; the 1951 Act about the conduct of elections. Lok Sabha election disputes go to the High Court first. The first EVM was used in Kerala, the first VVPAT in Nagaland.

'Asked' and 'not asked' are checked against every UPPCS question on this site. 'Not asked yet' does not mean it will surely come.

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