As the name suggests, the Chief Election Commissioner heads over the election commission of India. A chief election commissioner is generally from the civil services background; a person from the Indian administrative service is given priority. The primary duties of the election commission of India include the conduct of free and fair elections in the nation. Most of the polls in the country, be it for the position of a president, vice president, national or state legislatures, are under the direct control of the election commission of India.

Duties of The Chief election Commissioner

1. The chief election commissioner should ensure no discrimination or biases towards anyone while on election duty.
2. He should ensure that elections are held under complete transparency, and nothing is hidden from the people, i.e. the citizens of India who are the backbone behind India’s elections. 
3. The Chief election Commissioner should make sure that there is no manipulation or partisanship during the conduct of elections at his election duty.
4.  The Chief election commissioner has to present a list of all the eligible voters.
5. They should supervise the nomination of a candidate for becoming a part of the elections or a political party.
6. Registration of different political parties.
7.  Monitoring an election campaign and keeping a check on misbehavior or false practices are taken up, if any, while on election duty.
8. Helps the media in covering the elections and the process thoroughly.
9. Keep an eye on the counting of votes.
10.  Organizes polling booths for the conduct of elections and reaches the booth for election duty.
11. Declaration of the results of the election.
12. The chief election commissioner ensures that all election commission rules are followed.

Powers of the Chief Election Commissioner of India

A chief election commissioner of India leads the election commission, a body responsible for the conduct of free and fair elections throughout the country. He needs to ensure that all the election commission rules are followed. The primary duties include:

1.  Determining the territories of electoral constituencies based on the Delimitation Commission Act of the Parliament.
2. Preparing and revising electoral rolls and managing the registration of all the eligible voters.
3. Notifying the date and schedule of elections and keeping an eye on the process during election duty.
4. Granting recognition to different political parties and assigning election symbols to them.
5.  Appointment of officers for control of disputes regarding the arrangement of elections.
6.  Determination of a code of conduct that all the political parties and their candidates must follow.
7. Preparation of programs to help to publicize the policies of all the political parties during the election on social media and television.
8. Advising the President about disqualification of MPs and MLAs 
9. Requesting the governor or the President for appointing staff required for conducting elections.

Importance of the Election Commission and the Chief Election Commissioner

1.  The conduct of national and state elections is done under the guidance and monitoring of the election commission.
2.  The chief election commissioner ensures that all the political parties function during the following discipline. If parties fail to maintain inner-party democracy’, it can be derecognised by the chief election commissioner.
3.  A chief election commissioner keeps an eye on the conduct of fair, transparent, credible, autonomous elections while maintaining professionalism. 
4. The Chief Election Commissioner and the election commission describe the procedure of voting on the polling day.
5.  All political parties and stakeholders in the process of elections are taken care of by the Chief election Commissioner.

Conclusion

The Chief election commissioner is generally a member of civil services, preferably an IAS, who manages the Election commission of our country.  A person works as the election commissioner for six years or by the time they attain the age of 65 years. 

The election commission pays complete attention to the way elections are held in our country and ensures free and fair conduct. The Chief election Commissioner monitors the conduct of elections and makes sure that no violation of rules takes place in any possible way. He also makes sure to fulfill election duty at the polling booths. He also keeps a check on various political parties and their agendas. The chief election commissioner also checks working Maps and MLAs and may ask the President to remove them if the need arises.