Minimalist IAS
Polity & governance

Prelims · Polity & governance · 23 questions

Elections, rights issues & governance

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Elections, rights issues & governance questions per year: 2016: 0, 2017: 4, 2018: 0, 2019: 0, 2020: 3, 2021: 1, 2022: 0, 2023: 1, 2024: 1, 2025: 0, 2026: 4 Asked in 6 of 11 years · most in 2026 (4)

Practising Polity & governance? Take it as timed sets of 25 →

UPSC syllabus: “Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.” Sub-topics in the detailed syllabus →

भारत में दल-बदल विरोधी कानून के सन्दर्भ में, निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. 1.यह कानून विनिर्दिष्ट करता है कि कोई नामनिर्दिष्ट विधायक सदन में नियुक्त होने के छह मास के अन्दर किसी राजनीतिक दल में शामिल नहीं हो सकता ।
  2. 2.यह कानून कोई समयावधि नहीं देता जिसके अन्दर पीठासीन अधिकारी को दल-बदल मामला विनिश्चित करना होता है ।

उपर्युक्त कथनों में कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं ?

Read this question in English

With reference to anti-defection law in India, consider the following statements:

1. The law specifies that a nominated legislator cannot join any political party within six months of being appointed to the House.

2. The law does not provide any time-frame within which the presiding officer has to decide a defection case.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only · (b) 2 only · (c) Both 1 and 2 · (d) Neither 1 nor 2

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (b) केवल 2

The Tenth Schedule works the other way round for nominated members: they may join a party within six months of taking their seat and are disqualified only if they join after that. It leaves defection cases to the Speaker or Chairman but sets no deadline for deciding them.

  • ✗ 1. Paragraph 2(3) disqualifies a nominated member who joins a political party after the expiry of six months from taking the seat — so joining within the first six months is allowed.
  • ✓ 2. Paragraph 6 refers disqualification questions to the Chairman or Speaker, whose decision is final, but prescribes no time limit for the decision.

Remember · Tenth Schedule: nominated member may join a party within 6 months of taking seat; independents may never join one; Speaker/Chairman decides, with no statutory deadline.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

The Syllabus X-Ray of this topic

2 of its 8 sub-topics are High

0 Core · 2 High · 3 Steady · 3 Rare

  • HighElections & the Representation of the People Act · 5 questions
  • HighGovernance, transparency & e-governance · 5 questions

The X-Ray ranks all 928 sub-topics of the UPSC syllabus by what UPSC has asked since 2016. The 60 Prelims Core sub-topics are behind 51% of Prelims questions.

See the whole X-Ray →