Editing Elections in India (section)

== Election Commission of India ==
The [[Election Commission of India]] (ECI) is an autonomous authority of India that is enacted under the provisions of the [[Constitution of India|Constitution]], responsible for monitoring and administering [[Government of India|Union]] and [[State governments of India|State]] election processes in India. This body is responsible for ensuring elections are free and fair, without any bias.It derived its powers from A 324 of the constitution <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eci.gov.in/about-eci/the_setup.aspx |title=A Constitutional Body |publisher=Election Commission of India }}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The ECI, established as a permanent Constitutional Body, is entrusted by the Constitution with the superintendence, direction, and control of the entire electoral process for [[Parliament of India|Parliament]], [[State legislature (India)|State Legislatures]], and the offices of the [[President of India|President]] and [[Vice President of India]].

Elections ensure the conduct of members pre-elections, during elections, and post-elections is as per the statutory legislation.

All election-related disputes are handled by the Election Commission. The Supreme Court of India has held that where the enacted laws are silent or make insufficient provisions to deal with a given situation in the conduct of elections, the Election Commission has the residuary powers under the Constitution to act as appropriate. The first [[Chief Election Commissioner of India|chief election Commissioner]] was [[Sukumar Sen (civil servant)|Sukumar Sen]].

The elections for the [[President of India|President]] and [[Vice President of India]], the [[Rajya Sabha]] (''council of states'') and [[Lok Sabha]] (''house of the people''), [[State legislative assemblies of India|State Legislative Assemblies]] (including Union territories of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Delhi]] and [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]]), and [[State legislative councils of India|State Legislative Councils]] are conducted by the [[Election Commission of India]].

=== State Election Commissions ===
The [[State election commission (India)|State Election Commission]] (SEC) is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering elections to the 3rd tier of governance, i.e., the Local Government, which includes the [[Panchayati raj in India|Panchayati Raj Institutions]] and the [[Municipal governance in India|Urban Local Bodies]]. As per the constitutional provision, superintendence, direction, and control of the conduct of Elections to Urban & Rural Local bodies vest in State Election Commission.

State Election Commission consists of a State Election Commissioner, who is appointed by the [[Governor (India)|Governor]] for a fixed tenure of 5 years and cannot be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of a High Court.

The elections to local self-government institutions, such as [[Panchayati raj in India|panchayats]] and [[Municipal governance in India|municipalities]], are conducted by the respective [[State election commission (India)|State Election Commissions]] (SECs).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Role of SEC- State Election Commission, Maharashtra |url=https://mahasec.maharashtra.gov.in/Site/1376/Role-of-SEC?format=print |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=mahasec.maharashtra.gov.in}}</ref> 

==== List of State Election Commissions ====

* [[Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission]]

* [[Arunachal Pradesh State Election Commission]]

* [[Assam State Election Commission]]

* [[Bihar State Election Commission]]

* [[Chhattisgarh State Election Commission]]

* [[Delhi State Election Commission]]

* [[Goa State Election Commission]]

* [[Gujarat State Election Commission]]

* [[Haryana State Election Commission]]

* [[Himachal Pradesh State Election Commission]]

* [[Jammu and Kashmir State Election Commission]]

* [[Jharkhand State Election Commission]]

* [[Karnataka State Election Commission]]

* [[Kerala State Election Commission]]

* [[Madhya Pradesh State Election Commission]]

* [[Maharashtra State Election Commission]]

* [[Manipur State Election Commission]]

* [[Meghalaya State Election Commission]]

* [[Mizoram State Election Commission]]

* [[Nagaland State Election Commission]]

* [[Odisha State Election Commission]]

* [[Puducherry State Election Commission]]

* [[Punjab State Election Commission]]

* [[Rajasthan State Election Commission]]

* [[Sikkim State Election Commission]]

* [[Tamil Nadu State Election Commission]]

* [[Telangana State Election Commission]]

* [[Tripura State Election Commission]]

* [[Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission]]

* [[Uttarakhand State Election Commission]]

* [[West Bengal State Election Commission]]