First General Elections in India FAQs

1. Provisions of the Constitution relating to citizenship and the Election Commission (Article 324) were brought into force on which date?

2. The office of the Election Commission was set up on which date?

3. Who was the first Chief Election Commissioner of India?

4. Under which Article has the Election Commission of India been vested with the power of superintendence, direction, and control of elections?

5. Consider the following statements: (I) The Representation of the People Act, 1950 provided for the qualifications of voters and preparation of electoral rolls. (II) The Representation of the People Act, 1951 laid down provisions relating to conduct of elections, poll expenses, and counting of votes. (III) Both Acts were passed before the first phase of elections began. Which of the above is/are correct?

6. The first phase of India's first general elections was held starting from which date?

7. Of the 489 seats in the House of the People, how many were reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Tribes?

8. What was the total number of seats in the Legislative Assemblies of the states, of which 477 were reserved for Scheduled Castes?

9. Elections to the first Lok Sabha were held on the basis of universal adult franchise, with voting rights granted to citizens of what minimum age?

10. Approximately what percentage of India's total 1951 population (excluding Jammu and Kashmir) was enrolled as voters?

11. The electoral exercise before the first general elections was described by some observers as which of the following?

12. Which of the following was cited as a reason many eligible voters could not be included in the electoral rolls?

13. According to Sukumar Sen's report, women voters in several states had been enrolled not by their own names but by their relationship to male relatives, due to which reason?

14. Approximately how many women voters, out of nearly 80 million, could not be registered because they failed to disclose their proper names?

15. Which of the following states was NOT among those most affected by the women's-name registration problem?

16. Consider the following statements: (I) The Election Commission faced a major registration problem regarding displaced persons who had migrated from Pakistan. (II) This problem was significant in West Bengal, Punjab, and Delhi. (III) Political parties in India actively assisted in preparing the electoral rolls due to their maturity at the time. Which of the above is/are correct?

17. Why was it necessary for candidates to be identified by symbols in the first general elections?

18. How many political parties were formed and contested around the time of the first general elections, many later proving to be short-lived?

19. In the first general elections, symbols were initially painted where, before later being changed to ballot papers?

20. Who authored the book "An Undocumented Wonder: The Making of the Great Indian Election," cited regarding the voting procedure?

21. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, who had served as industries minister under Nehru, broke away to set up which party in October 1951?

22. Consider the following pairs of leaders and the parties they were associated with before the first general elections: (I) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar – Scheduled Castes Federation (II) J.B. Kripalani – Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (III) Ram Manohar Lohia and Jaya Prakash Narayan – Socialist Party Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

23. How many political parties in total participated in the first general elections for the Lok Sabha?

24. Of the total 1,874 candidates who contested the first Lok Sabha elections, how many were independents?

25. Which of the following was one of the 14 national parties recognised in the first general elections?

26. In the first general elections, how many constituencies had two seats each?

27. Approximately how many polling booths were set up for the first general elections?

28. What was the purpose of introducing indelible ink during the first general elections?

29. Under the first-past-the-post system used in the elections, what determined the winning candidate?

30. What was the voter turnout in India's first general elections?

31. Consider the following statements about the results of the first Lok Sabha elections: (I) The Indian National Congress contested 472 seats and won 364. (II) The CPI was the only other party besides the Socialist Party to win a two-digit number of seats. (III) The Congress polled close to 45 per cent of the total vote. Which of the above is/are correct?

32. As per the results of the first general elections, which party secured the third-highest number of seats in the Lok Sabha?

33. In the Bombay (North Central) reserved constituency, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, contesting as a Scheduled Castes Federation candidate, was defeated by whom?

34. Acharya Kripalani, contesting as the KMPP candidate, lost from Faizabad, but his wife Sucheta Kripalani won her seat by defeating which Congress candidate in Delhi?

35. The first Lok Sabha (House of the People) was constituted by the Election Commission on which date?

36. Who was the Speaker of the first Lok Sabha?

37. In how many states did the Indian National Congress fail to secure a majority on its own in the state legislature elections?

38. How many total seats did the Indian National Congress win across all state legislatures?

62. First General Elections in India