Which of the following Articles of the Constitution provides that the Speaker shall have and exercise a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes?

The correct answer is Article 100. Clause (1) says that the Speaker, or the person acting as chairman, does not vote in the first instance but has and exercises a casting vote when votes are equal. The idea is that the presiding officer stays neutral during ordinary voting and breaks a tie only when a decision would otherwise be impossible.

• Article 99 prescribes the oath or affirmation that members take before taking their seats.
• Article 102 lists the grounds of disqualification for membership of Parliament, such as holding an office of profit.
• Article 103 deals with the decision on disqualification, which the President takes on the opinion of the Election Commission.

Core concept: the neutrality of the presiding officer, which links to Mains questions on the autonomy and impartiality of the Speaker and other constitutional offices. Note that the casting vote is only a tie-breaker and not a second vote.

Trap: candidates mix up Articles 99 to 103 because they sit together in Chapter II of Part V. Remember the sequence: 99 oath, 100 voting and casting vote, 101 vacation of seats, 102 and 103 disqualification.