Election Commission of India: Indian Constitution has an independent and permanent body to guarantee free and honest elections in the country. This body is nothing but the Election Commission. There are various responsibilities of the election commission of India like keeping the Lok Sabha elections in India, etc.
Moreover, Article 324 of the Indian Constitution grants that the power of superintendence, direction, and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, the office of president of India, and the office of vice-president of India shall be authorized in the election commission. The election commission does the election model code of conduct for free and fair elections in the country.
In this article, you will find the complete details about the Election commission of India like structure, tenure, appointment, powers, functions, responsibilities, list of all chief EC’s of India from 1950 to 2021. For a quick reference, we have provided the direct links below so go through them & jump into the main content of what you are looking for. Also, get more topics related to India GK or Static GK from our provided General Knowledge Article on this site.
This Blog Includes:
- What is the Election Commission of India?
- Composition of Election Commission
- Tenure of Election Commission Officers
- Powers, Functions, and Responsibilities of Election Commission
- List of Chief Election Commissioners in India
- Grievance Redressal Mechanisms
- FAQs on ECI
What is the Election Commission of India?
The Election Commission of India is an independent administration for conducting elections in India. It was instituted in 1950 that comes under the jurisdiction of the Government of India. The headquarters of ECI is located in New Delhi. The Commission manages the Union and State elections in the country administrating the elections for the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, and the offices of the President and Vice-President of the country.
Structure of Election Commission
Article 324 of the Indian Constitution has addressed the following requirements in respect to the formation of the election commission:
- The Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners are selected by the President of India.
- After appointing any other EC, the Chief Election Commissioner take over the post of Election Commission’s Chairman.
- The President of India can also appoint the regional commissioners to help the Commission. If needed after discussing with the Election Commission.
- The tenure of office and the provisions of service of all the commissioners shall be chosen by the President of the country.
Tenure of Election Commission Officers
The officers who are working mainly for the Election Commission of India like the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners can operate the office for six years or up to the age of 65 years. Also, they had a right to resign at any time by applying the resignation to the President of India. However, the president of India has the power to remove the Chief EC or other EC’s by following the procedure provided in the constitution.
Powers, Functions, and Responsibilities of Election Commission
Here are the major duties, powers, functions, and responsibilities of the Election Commission of India. Have a glimpse at the below points and get a grip on the details of the Election Commission and score high in various competitive exams.
- Based on the Delimitation Commission Act of Parliament, EC defines the Electoral Constituencies’ territorial areas in the whole Country.
- It develops and regularly revises the electoral rolling and enrollment of all eligible voters.
- The notification of the schedule and dates of elections along with scrutinizing nomination papers is done by the Election Commission.
- Also, EC permits recognition to the different political parties and designating them to election symbols.
- Not only granting the recognition also acts as a court to resolve the conflicts that affect giving recognition to political parties and allotting election symbols to the parties.
- EC appoints other officers for the inquiry of conflicts concerning electoral arrangements.
- Election Commission defines the code of conduct that is to be served by the political parties and applicants while elections.
- It prepares a plan to publicize the policies of all the political parties on several media like TV and radio at the time of elections.
- Election Commission Advises the Governor on subjects concerning the disqualification of MLAs.
- Election Commission advises the President on subjects concerning the disqualification of MPs.
- EC urges the President on whether elections can be kept in a state that is under the President’s rule, to prolong the period of emergency after 1 year.
- EC endures the power to Cancel polls in case of booth capturing, rigging, violence, and other irregularities.
- Election Commission controls the machinery of elections everywhere in the country to guarantee the conduct of free and fair elections.
- EC enrolls political parties and awarding them the status of national or state parties (on the basis of their poll performance).
List of Chief Election Commissioners in India
| Name | Date of Joining | Date of Leaving Office |
|---|---|---|
| Sukumar Sen | 21 March 1950 | 19 December 1958 |
| KVK Sundaram | 20 December 1958 | 30 December 1967 |
| S.P. Sen Varma | 01 October 1967 | 30 September 1972 |
| Dr. Nagendra Singh | 01 October 1972 | 6 February 1973 |
| T Swaminathan | 07 February 1973 | 17 June 1977 |
| S.L. Shakdhar | 18 June 1977 | 17 June 1982 |
| R.K. Trivedi | 18 June 1982 | 31 December 1985 |
| R.V.S. Peri Sastri | 01 January 1986 | 25 November 1990 |
| Smt V.S. Rama Devi | 26 November 1990 | 11 December 1990 |
| T.N. Sheshan | 12 December 1990 | 11 December 1996 |
| M.S. Gill | 12 December 1996 | 13 June 2001 |
| J.M. Lyngdoh | 14 June 2001 | 7 February 2004 |
| T.S. Krishna Murthy | 08 February 2004 | 15 May 2005 |
| B.B. Tandon | 16 May 2005 | 29 June 2006 |
| N Gopalaswamy | 30 June 2006 | 20 April 2009 |
| Navin Chawla | 21 April 2009 | 29 July 2010 |
| S.Y. Qureshi | 30 July 2010 | 10 June 2012 |
| V.S. Sampath | 11 June 2012 | 15 January 2015 |
| H.S. Brahma | 16 January 2015 | 18 April 2015 |
| Dr. Nasim Zaidi | 19 April 2015 | 05 July 2017 |
| Shri AK Joti | 06 July 2017 | 22 January 2018 |
| Shri Om Prakash Rawat | 23 January 2018 | 01 December 2018 |
| Shri Sunil Arora | 02 December 2019 | Ongoing |
Do Refer: List of RBI Governors of India
Grievance Redressal Mechanisms
If a voter has faced any problem related to elections, he may talk to some officials which are given in the below table:
| Officer | Level |
|---|---|
| Officer | Level |
| Chief Electoral Officer | State |
| District Election Officer | District |
| Returning Officer | Constituency |
| Assistant Returning Officer | Taluka |
| Electoral Registration Officer | Constituency |
| Presiding Officer | 1 Polling Station |
| Zonal Officer | Polling Stations |
Also Check: NSA Full Form
FAQs on Election Commission of India(ECI)
1. What is the full form of epic?
EPIC’s full form is an Electoral photo identity card.
2. What is the full form of EVM?
The full form of EVM is an Electronic Voting Machine used to vote in elections with the help of two electronic machine units. One is the control unit and the other one is the balloting unit.
3. Who can get voter ID in India?
All Indian Citizens who have crossed the age of 18 years are qualified to apply for the Voter ID and the government issue the voter card as a result he/she can vote in every election of India.
4. How many members are there in the Election Commission of India?
After 1st October 1993, the Election Commission of India has been a three-member body, include one Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
5. Who is the existing election commissioner of India 2021?
Shri Rajiv Kumar is the existing election commissioner of India who Functions the Election Commission of India.