Correct answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Explanation
- A
1 only
Option (a) is 1 only. India uses first-past-the-post for Lok Sabha and Assembly seats: the candidate with the most votes wins, even with far less than 50 percent. Statement 1 is false. This option is not the key.
- B
2 only
Option (b) is 2 only. The Constitution does not assign Speaker to the majority and Deputy Speaker to the Opposition; that is at most a political convention, not a constitutional rule. Statement 2 is false. This option is not the key.
- C
Both 1 and 2
Option (c) is both. Both statements fail. This option is therefore wrong.
- D
Neither 1 nor 2
Neither statement is correct: FPTP does not require 50 percent, and Speaker/Deputy Speaker posts are not constitutionally partitioned between majority and Opposition. That is why (d) is the official key.
Summary. Official key is (d) Neither 1 nor 2. Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are plurality contests, not majority-runoff. Articles 93 and 178 provide for Speaker and Deputy Speaker but do not reserve one post for the Opposition. Conventions may encourage a Deputy Speakership for the Opposition; they are not constitutional mandates. Both statements are therefore wrong.
Same topic · past papers
UPSC has asked this before
These previous-year questions sit on the same topic. Open one to practise the earlier ask.