Consider the following statements: 1. The minimum age prescribed for any person to be a member of Panchayat is 25 years. 2. A Panchayat reconstituted after premature dissolution continues only for the remainder period. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Statement 2 is correct and statement 1 is wrong, so the answer is B) 2 only.

• Statement 1 is wrong. The Constitution (Article 243F) lays down disqualifications for Panchayat membership but leaves the minimum age to state Panchayat laws. In most states it is 21 years, the same as the voting age at the time. The figure 25 belongs to Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha membership under Article 84 and Article 173.
• Statement 2 is correct. Under Article 243E(3), a Panchayat reconstituted after premature dissolution continues only for the remainder of the period for which the dissolved body would have run. Under Article 243E(2), a Panchayat's normal term is five years, and elections must be held before the term ends or within six months of dissolution.

The core concept is the constitutional framework of Panchayati Raj under the 73rd Amendment, which is a recurring Polity topic and links to Mains questions on decentralisation and the working of local bodies.

Trap: Aspirants often carry over the age of 25 from Parliament and legislative assemblies and mark statement 1 as correct.