Polity MCQs for UPSC Prelims — May 2026

Q1. SIR Phase-II (ordered on 27 October 2025), spread across 9 States and 3 UTs, covered approximately how many Assembly Constituencies?

  • A. 1,843
  • B. 321
  • C. 543
  • D. 4,123

Q2. Under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the Selection Committee that recommends appointments to the President consists of which of the following?

  • A. The Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition (or leader of the largest opposition party) in the Lok Sabha
  • B. The Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha
  • C. The President, the Prime Minister, and the Chief Justice of India
  • D. The Prime Minister, the Union Law Minister, and the Chief Justice of India

Q3. Before the 2025 exercise, the last Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar had been carried out in which year?

  • A. 2003
  • B. 2004
  • C. 1993
  • D. 2008

Q4. In the Bihar Special Intensive Revision, 2025, the 'qualifying date' (fixed as 1 July 2025) refers to which one of the following?

  • A. The reference date with respect to which a person's age and eligibility to be enrolled as an elector are determined
  • B. The date on which the draft electoral roll is published
  • C. The last date for filing claims and objections against the roll
  • D. The date on which the previous intensive revision was completed

Q5. With regard to the different revisions of electoral rolls in India, which one of the following statements is correct?

  • A. Both the Special Summary Revision and the Special Intensive Revision are carried out by the Election Commission of India under powers traceable to Article 324
  • B. Only the Special Intensive Revision, and never the Special Summary Revision, is conducted under any statutory authority
  • C. The Special Summary Revision alone is conducted by the ECI, while the SIR is conducted by the State Election Commissions
  • D. The Special Intensive Revision is conducted exclusively by the District Magistrate without any ECI involvement

Q6. Among the modes of revising electoral rolls used by the ECI, which one involves the most exhaustive, ground-up house-to-house re-verification of every elector?

  • A. Special Intensive Revision
  • B. Special Summary Revision
  • C. Special Revision
  • D. Continuous updation of the roll

Q7. In SIR Phase-III, the cut-off of 28 June 2026 denotes the date by which which of the following must take place?

  • A. Enumeration Forms must be received by the ERO for inclusion in the Draft Electoral Rolls
  • B. The final electoral roll must be published
  • C. Claims and objections against the draft roll must be filed
  • D. Booth Level Officers must complete all house-to-house visits

Q8. Under the ECI order of 14 May 2026, the Enumeration Phase of SIR Phase-III commenced on 30 May 2026 in which of the following groups of States?

  • A. Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim and Manipur
  • B. Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat and Kerala
  • C. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Rajasthan
  • D. Assam, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya

Q9. In its 2026 judgment on the SIR, the Supreme Court clarified that the Election Commission's power of inquiry into an elector can be exercised only for which limited purpose?

  • A. To decide whether a person's name should be included in or excluded from the electoral roll
  • B. To conclusively determine a person's citizenship status for all legal purposes
  • C. To assess a person's eligibility for government welfare schemes
  • D. To determine a person's liability under the Citizenship Act, 1955

Q10. The 2026 Supreme Court judgment upholding the Election Commission's power to conduct the Special Intensive Revision was delivered by a Bench led by which Chief Justice of India?

  • A. Surya Kant
  • B. Sanjiv Khanna
  • C. B. R. Gavai
  • D. D. Y. Chandrachud

Q11. Under Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, how many successive levels of appeal are available against an order of the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) during revision of electoral rolls?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. Three
  • D. Four

Q12. The Election Commission of India orders a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in exercise of its powers under which of the following?

  • A. Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950
  • B. Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951
  • C. Article 326 of the Constitution and Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950
  • D. Article 243K of the Constitution and Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950

Q13. Appointments to the posts of the three Service Chiefs, including the Chief of the Naval Staff, are approved by which of the following?

  • A. Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
  • B. Union Public Service Commission
  • C. Departmental Promotion Committee of the Ministry of Defence
  • D. Chiefs of Staff Committee

Q14. Under the present tri-service arrangement, the three Service Chiefs — including the Chief of the Naval Staff — render integrated military advice to the government principally through which single-point authority?

  • A. Chief of Defence Staff
  • B. National Security Adviser
  • C. Defence Secretary
  • D. Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee

Q15. The Chief of the Naval Staff and the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff discharge their staff and policy functions from which of the following?

  • A. Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy)
  • B. Ministry of Home Affairs
  • C. Cabinet Secretariat
  • D. Ministry of External Affairs

Q16. When the newly constituted West Bengal Council of Ministers is formed, the oath of office to the Chief Minister and other Ministers is administered by which single constitutional authority alone?

  • A. The Governor of West Bengal
  • B. The Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court
  • C. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
  • D. The Chief Secretary of the State

Q17. The CPI(M)-led Left Front that governed West Bengal from 1977 to 2011 is most notably distinguished as which one of the following?

  • A. The longest-serving democratically elected communist government in the world
  • B. India's first elected communist State government
  • C. The first non-Congress government formed in independent India
  • D. The longest-serving coalition government at the Union level

Q18. Unless sooner dissolved, for how many years does a State Legislative Assembly normally continue from the date appointed for its first meeting?

  • A. Four years
  • B. Five years
  • C. Six years
  • D. Seven years

Q19. The recommendation that a State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution — the basis for imposing President's Rule — is, in the first instance, made to the Union by which one of the following authorities?

  • A. The Governor of the State
  • B. The Chief Justice of the High Court
  • C. The State Election Commissioner
  • D. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly

Q20. Under Article 202, which single document is the primary statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the State that the Governor must cause to be laid before the House in respect of every financial year?

  • A. The Annual Financial Statement
  • B. The Appropriation Bill
  • C. The Finance Bill
  • D. The Demands for Grants

Q21. Which one of the following authorities is constitutionally responsible for conducting and supervising the general election to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly?

  • A. The Election Commission of India
  • B. The State Election Commission of West Bengal
  • C. The Governor of West Bengal
  • D. The Delimitation Commission

Q22. In the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election, to how many seats was the outgoing Trinamool Congress reduced?

  • A. 80
  • B. 118
  • C. 164
  • D. 211

Q23. The ceiling on the size of a State's Council of Ministers at 15% of the Legislative Assembly's strength was introduced into the Constitution by which one of the following Amendment Acts?

  • A. The 52nd Amendment Act
  • B. The 91st Amendment Act
  • C. The 97th Amendment Act
  • D. The 101st Amendment Act

Q24. With reference to the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, consider the following statements. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It inserted Article 164(1A) capping a State's Council of Ministers at 15% of the Assembly's total strength.
  2. It was enacted on the recommendation of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution.
  3. It capped the Union Council of Ministers at 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha.
  4. It fixed every State's Council of Ministers at exactly 15% of the Assembly strength, with no lower limit permitted.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 3 and 4

Q25. Under Article 164(1A), the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the West Bengal Council of Ministers (Legislative Assembly strength: 294) cannot exceed approximately how many?

  • A. 41
  • B. 44
  • C. 47
  • D. 59

Q26. With reference to the constitutional provisions governing the appointment of a State's Council of Ministers, consider the following statements. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Under Article 163 there is a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at its head to aid and advise the Governor.
  2. The Chief Minister of a State is appointed by the Governor.
  3. The Ministers hold office during the pleasure of the Governor.
  4. The Governor is bound to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers in every matter, without any exception.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 1 and 4

Q27. The India Meteorological Department, the nodal agency for heatwave monitoring, forecasting and warnings, functions under which one of the following Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • B. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • C. Ministry of Science and Technology
  • D. Ministry of Home Affairs

Q28. The restructuring and extension of PM SVANidhi's lending period was approved by which authority, and with what total outlay?

  • A. The Union Cabinet, with a total outlay of ₹7,332 crore
  • B. The Union Cabinet, with a total outlay of ₹600 crore
  • C. MoHUA, through an executive order, with a total outlay of ₹7,332 crore
  • D. NITI Aayog, with a total outlay of ₹5,000 crore

Q29. Which one of the following correctly describes the implementing arrangement and duration of the restructured PM SVANidhi Scheme?

  • A. Implemented jointly by MoHUA and the Department of Financial Services; lending period extended up to 31 March 2030
  • B. Implemented solely by MoHUA; lending period extended up to 31 December 2028
  • C. Implemented jointly by the Ministry of Finance and SIDBI; lending period extended up to 31 March 2030
  • D. Implemented jointly by MoHUA and the Department of Financial Services; lending period extended only up to 31 December 2024

Q30. Which of the following bodies is jointly responsible, alongside MoHUA, for facilitating access to PM SVANidhi loans and credit cards through banks and their ground-level functionaries?

  • A. Department of Financial Services
  • B. Department of Economic Affairs
  • C. Department of Expenditure
  • D. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)