Can a person who is not a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe be elected to a seat that has been reserved for one of these groups?
No, a person who is not a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe cannot be elected to a seat that has been reserved for one of these groups. The Constitution mandates reservation of seats in every Municipality for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Article 243T(1)). Additionally, not less than one-third of these reserved seats must be for women belonging to either group (Article 243T(2)). Therefore, only eligible candidates from the designated groups can be elected to the reserved seats.