PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Statutory & Constitutional Bodies
“The success of electoral democracy can partly be attributed to the status and role of the Election Commission of India.” Explain.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
Rr! world's largest elections in a poor, diverse society → trust traced to one institution → Article 324 status rR2 ECI not a government department but a constitutional authority → independence (Seshan case) → standing to act against power
Body flow
Article 324 status → SC-level rank + equal Commissioners (Seshan v. Union) → core functions (rolls, schedules, parties, symbols, expenditure, MCC) → Seshan / Gill / Lyngdoh: conductor → regulatory referee → modernisation (EVM / VVPAT / NOTA / EPIC / SVEEP) → reaching marginalised voters → Khilnani: link between state and society → Quraishi: An Undocumented Wonder
Counter-view
"partly" is honest → voters' own commitment also sustains democracy → institution incomplete: opaque appointments (Ambedkar's fear), staff dependence, weak Model Code enforcement
Conclusion routes
rR) status + role a central, not sole, cause of success ceases R2 strengthening autonomy preserves ECI as guardian of that success
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
