The Election Commission of India does NOT conduct the elections of

Concept

The Constitution separates election administration by level. Article 324 vests the Election Commission of India with supervision, direction and control of elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President. Local-body elections are assigned to State Election Commissions under Articles 243K and 243ZA.

Application

Panchayat and municipal elections belong to the local-body tier, so they are conducted under the authority of the respective State Election Commission rather than the Election Commission of India.

Contrast

• The President is elected through the constitutional process supervised by the Election Commission of India under Article 324.

• Elections to State Legislatures fall within the Election Commission of India’s Article 324 mandate.

• The Vice-President is elected through the constitutional process supervised by the Election Commission of India under Article 324.

Therefore, the Election Commission of India does not conduct elections to Panchayats and Municipalities.