Study the following statements and select the correct answer from the code given below: Assertion (A): The State Election Commission is a constitutional authority. Reason (R): Elections to rural local bodies are Overseen by the Election Commission of Inida.

The correct answer is D. Assertion (A) is true and Reason (R) is false.

Why A is true: The State Election Commission is a constitutional body. Article 243K, inserted by the 73rd Amendment (1992), creates it for Panchayats, and Article 243ZA does the same for Municipalities. Its tenure and removal are protected in the same way as those of the State Election Commissioner.

Why R is false: Elections to rural local bodies are not overseen by the Election Commission of India. Under Article 243K, superintendence, direction and control of panchayat elections vest in the State Election Commission. The ECI's role is limited to assistance on request, such as help with electoral rolls. The Union body is not the authority that conducts these polls.

Concept and Mains link: This question tests the constitutional architecture of local self-government in Part IX and Part IXA. For Mains, it ties into decentralisation, the reasons for weak fiscal and functional devolution, and the debate over state-level control of local polls.

Trap: Aspirants see the words 'Election Commission' and assume the Union ECI runs every election. Local body polls are run by the State Election Commission, not the ECI.