UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — On rebels and mini-screen actors

Q1. Under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, what is the minimum proportion of the members of a legislature party that must agree to a merger so that the merging members escape disqualification on the ground of defection?

  • A. One-third of the members
  • B. One-half of the members
  • C. Two-thirds of the members
  • D. Three-fourths of the members

Q2. Under the Tenth Schedule, the question whether a member of a House has become subject to disqualification on the ground of defection is decided primarily by which one of the following?

  • A. The Election Commission of India
  • B. The Presiding Officer (Speaker/Chairman) of the House concerned
  • C. The Governor or the President, as the case may be
  • D. A bench of the High Court having jurisdiction

Q3. If a candidate's nomination is improperly rejected at scrutiny, the dispute is, in the first instance, adjudicated by which one of the following authorities?

  • A. The Election Commission of India
  • B. The Supreme Court of India
  • C. The High Court, through an election petition
  • D. The returning officer's appellate officer

Q4. Consider the following pairs of provision and the body for whose membership it prescribes qualifications: 1. Article 84 — Parliament 2. Article 173 — State Legislature 3. Section 4, RPA 1951 — House of the People (Lok Sabha) 4. Section 5, RPA 1951 — Council of States (Rajya Sabha) Which of the above pairs are correctly matched?

  1. Article 84 — Parliament
  2. Article 173 — State Legislature
  3. Section 4, RPA 1951 — House of the People (Lok Sabha)
  4. Section 5, RPA 1951 — Council of States (Rajya Sabha)
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2 and 4

Q5. The preparation, superintendence and revision of the electoral rolls on which a candidate must be enrolled to contest an Assembly election are entrusted to which one of the following?

  • A. The Election Commission of India
  • B. The State Election Commission of the State concerned
  • C. The Ministry of Home Affairs through the Registrar General of India
  • D. The Ministry of Law and Justice

Q6. Under Section 182 of the Companies Act, 2013, a company is permitted to make a contribution to a political party only if it has been in existence for at least how many financial years?

  • A. One financial year
  • B. Two financial years
  • C. Three financial years
  • D. Five financial years

Q7. With reference to the ceiling on corporate political contributions before and after the Supreme Court's 2024 electoral bonds judgment, consider the following statements: 1. Before the Finance Act, 2017, a company's political contribution in a financial year was capped at 7.5% of its average net profits of the three immediately preceding financial years. 2. The Finance Act, 2017 removed this percentage ceiling on corporate contributions. 3. The 2024 Supreme Court judgment retained the removal of the ceiling while striking down only the anonymity of electoral bonds. Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. Before the Finance Act, 2017, a company's political contribution in a financial year was capped at 7.5% of its average net profits of the three immediately preceding financial years.
  2. The Finance Act, 2017 removed this percentage ceiling on corporate contributions.
  3. The 2024 Supreme Court judgment retained the removal of the ceiling while striking down only the anonymity of electoral bonds.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q8. With reference to Kerala's coalition politics ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, which of the following statements is/are correctly identified?

  1. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
  2. The United Democratic Front (UDF) is led by the Indian National Congress.
  3. The Twenty20 party joined the United Democratic Front (UDF) ahead of the elections.
  4. The Twenty20 party's entry into the BJP-led NDA was finalised in the run-up to the 2026 Assembly polls.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 2 and 4 only

Q9. The recommendation that a person be disqualified from contesting elections once a court has framed charges against him for specified serious offences — advanced to curb the criminalisation of politics — is most directly associated with which one of the following?

  • A. The 255th Report of the Law Commission of India
  • B. The Dinesh Goswami Committee on Electoral Reforms
  • C. The Vohra Committee
  • D. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission

Q10. The Corporate Social Responsibility provisions of Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 — under which CSR-origin welfare initiatives such as that preceding the Twenty20 party operate — are administered by which one of the following?

  • A. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs
  • B. The Ministry of Finance
  • C. The Ministry of Home Affairs
  • D. NITI Aayog

Q11. With reference to the anti-defection framework and floor-crossing norms in India, consider the following statements: 1. The Tenth Schedule prescribes no mandatory 'cooling-off period' before a legislator who resigns may join another party before an election. 2. By virtue of the 91st Amendment, a member disqualified for defection cannot be appointed a Minister until re-elected or until the term expires, whichever is earlier. 3. The Tenth Schedule itself fixes a statutory period of ninety days within which the Presiding Officer must decide a defection petition. 4. The Tenth Schedule applies to members of both Houses of Parliament and of the State Legislatures. Which of the above statements is/are NOT correct?

  1. The Tenth Schedule prescribes no mandatory 'cooling-off period' before a legislator who resigns may join another party before an election.
  2. By virtue of the 91st Amendment, a member disqualified for defection cannot be appointed a Minister until re-elected or until the term expires, whichever is earlier.
  3. The Tenth Schedule itself fixes a statutory period of ninety days within which the Presiding Officer must decide a defection petition.
  4. The Tenth Schedule applies to members of both Houses of Parliament and of the State Legislatures.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 3 and 4 only