Political Parties

Each of the following questions is of 5 marks.

Q.1 “Lack of internal democracy within parties is the major challenge to political parties all over the world.” Analyse the statement.

OR

In what way lack of internal democracy is seen in the political parties?

Ans. (i) All over the world, there is a tendency of political parties towards the concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top.

(ii) Parties do not keep membership registers.

(iii) They do not regularly hold organisational meetings.

(iv) They do not conduct internal elections regularly.

(v) Ordinary members of the party do not have sufficient information as to what happens inside the party.

(vi) As a result, the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party.

Q.2 Highlight any five functions of political parties to strengthen democracy.

Ans. functions of political parties:

(i) Political parties contest elections.

(ii) Political parties put forward different policies and programmes.

(iii) Parties play a decisive role in making laws for the country.

(iv) Parties play a decisive role to form and run the government.

(v) Those parties that lose in the election play the role of opposition on the party in power.

(vi) Political parties shape the public opinion.

(vii) Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare scheme implemented by the governmnent.

Any other relevant points


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Q.3 Describe the various party systems existing in different countries.

Ans. Party system:

          (i) One-party system:

(a) In some countries, only one party is allowed to control and run the government. It is called one-party system.

(b) We cannot consider one-party system as a good option because this is not a democratic option.

(c) Any democratic system must allow at least two parties to compete in elections and provide a fair chance for the                            competing parties to come to power.

Example: Communist Party of China.

(ii) Two-party system: 

(a) In some countries, power usually changes betwwn two main parties.

(b) Here, only the two main parties have a serious chance of winning majority seats to form the  government.

Example: USA and UK.

(iii) Multi- party system:

(a) If several parties compete for power and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power, either on theri own or in alliance with others,it is called a multi-party system.

(b) The multi- party system often appears very messy and leads to political instability.

(c) At the same time, this system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.

Example: India.

Major coalitions – NDA, UPA, Left Front.


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Q.4. “Secularism is not an ideology of some political parties or persons, but it is one of the foundations of our country.” Examine the statement.

Ans. Introduction : Secularism is the foundation of our countrys our constitution clearly states that India is a secular country .in articles- 25 to 28 part -3 of constitution.

(a) There is no official religion of India like the status of islam In Pakistan, christianity in England and Buddhism in Sri lanka.

(b) Every individual is given the right to profess, propagate and practice religion of their choice or not to follow any.

(c) There is no discrimination on the the grounds at religion.

Conclusion : Thus, communalism threatens the very idea of democracy.

Q.5. How are political parties recognised as regional and National parties in India? Explain with examples.

Ans. India has a multi – party system, where political parties are classified as national, state or regional level parties. All parties are registered by the election commission.

Criterion for Recognition by the Election commossion as national or state level parties:

National party 

National political party have units in various states they follow the same policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level.

(i) It has to win a minimum of two per cent of the seats in the lok sabha from at least three different states.

(ii) In General Elections, the party must manage to win six per cent of the votes and win at least four lok sabha seats as well.

(iii) The party is recognised as a ‘state level party ‘ in four or more states.

Examples: congress , BJP

State party 

A party that secures at least 6% of the totoal votes in an election to the legislative assembly of a state and wins at least two seats is recognised as a state party.

Examples: Janata dal 

Despite the large number of political parties operating in India, very few are able to make their presence felt at the national level except when it comes to alliances.

Q.6 Describe the role of political parties in Indian democracy.

                                                                                                                OR

Expain the role of political parties in a democracy.

OR

Assess the importance of political parties in democracy.

OR

Describe the role of political parties in india.

Ans The role of political parties are-

(i) Political parties contest elections. Election in contemporary democracies are fought among the various candidates put forward by the political parties .

(ii) Political parties shape public opinion with the help of pressure groups , they launch movements for the asolving of the problems faced by the public.

(iii) political parties put forward policies and programme people make choices on the basis of these .

(iv) Political parties form and run the goverment the major policies for the government comes from the political party that won the election.

(v) parties that lose the elections form the opposition they critisze the government for its lailures, paint out laults and mobilise  opposition to the government.

(vi) political parties play a major role in decision making they recruit leackers train them and appoint them as ministers.

(vii) Ppolitical parties help people to access government machinery and welfare schemes.

Q.7. What are recognised political parties?

Ans.(i) National parties are some countrywide parties and almost follow similar policies and programmes at the national level.

(ii) Every party in the country has to register with the Election commission . the commission offers some special facilities to the large and established parties . These parties are given a unique symbol – only the official candidates of that party can use that election symbol.

(iii) parties that get this privilege and some other special facilities are ‘recognised’ by the elcection commission for this purpose. that is why these parties are called ‘recognised political parties’.

(iv) The election commission has laid down detailed criteria of the proportion of votes and seats that a party must get in order to be a recognised party .

Q.8. What is the status of regional parties in India?

Ans. (i) Some of the regional parties have succeeded only in some states.

(ii) parties like the samajwadi party , samata party and Rashtriya janata dal have national level political organisation with units in several states.

(iii) Over the years , the number and strength of these parties have expanded .

(iv) No single natonal party is able to secure majority on its own in lok sabha . as a result , the national parties are compelled to form alliances with state parties.

(v) Since 1996, nearly everyone of the state parties got an opportunity to be a part of one or the other national level coalition government . this has contributed to the strengthening of federalism and democracy in our country.

Q.9. The first challenge faced by political parties is lack of internal democracy with parties .what do you understand by the statement ? explain.

Ans. (i) All over the world there is a tendency in political parties towards the concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top .

(ii) parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organisational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly.

(iii) Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what happens inside the party .

(iv) they do not have the means or the connections needed to influence the the decisions . as a result , the leaders assuse greater power to make decisions in the name of the party.

(v) Since one or few leaders exercise paramount power in the party , those who disagree with the leadership finds it difficult to continue in the party .

(vi) More than loyalty to party principle and policies , personal loyalty to the leader becomes more important.

Q.10. Elucidate some of the recent efforts taken in our country to reform political parties and its leaders.   

OR 

Examine any two institutional amendments made by different institutions to reform political parties and thier leaders.

Ans.(i). The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties. This was done because many elected representatives were indulging in DEFECTION in order to become ministers or for cash rewards. Now, if any MLA or MP changes parties, he or she will lose the seat in the legislature.

(ii). The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals. Now, it is mandatory for every candidate who contests elections to file an AFFIDAVIT giving details of his property and criminal cases pending against him. The new system has made a lot of information available to the public. But there is no system of check if the information given by the candidates is true.

(iii) The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns. The parties have started doing so but sometimes it is mere formality. It is not clear if this step has led to greater internal democracy in political parties.

Q11. “All over the world, people express their dissatisfacation with the failure of political parties to perform their functions well.”analyse the statement with argument. 

Ans. Popular dissatisfaction and criticism: It has focused on four areas in the working of political parties, need to face and overcome these challenges in order to remain effective instruments of democracy. Lack of internal democracy within parties.

(i) Dynastic succession: Since most political parties do not practice transparent procedures for their functioning, there are very few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party. Those who happen to be leaders are in a position of unfair advantage to favour people close to them or even their family members.

(ii) Growing role of money and muscle power in parties: Since parties are focused only on winning elections, they tend to use shortcuts to win elections. They tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise a lot of money. Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have influence on the policies and decisions of the party. In some cases parties support candidates who can win elections.

(iii) No meaningful choice to the voters: In recent years there has been a decline in the ideological parties of the world. Sometimes same leaders win because they shift from one party to another.

Q.12. What suggestions are often made to reform political parties?

OR

Suggest any five effective measures to reform political parties.

Ans. To reform political parties some stepshave been taken such as-

  • To avoid defections, MLAs and MPs will lose their seat if they change party after winning elections
  • Candidates have to submit their afidansits which tells about their property and criminal records.
  • Parties have to hold internal elections regularly and file their income tax return.

EFFECTIVE MEASURES:

  • Parties should hold free internal elections and should have a word to look  into disputes.
  • women should be given 1/3rd reserased seats and also should be present in decission making body of the parties .
  • parties should be given compansations according to their performance in last elections in the form of petrol for transportation or cash ,etc.
  • people should also form pressure/ movement groups to enfluence parties to have reforms.
  • people should themselves take part in polities to bring reforms.

Q.13. “Political parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.” Analyse the statement with examples.

                                                                                                          OR

“About hundred years ago there were a few countries that had hardly any political party . now, there are a few countries that do not have political parties.”Examine this statement.

                                                                                                          OR

Explain the nescessity of political parties in a demcracry.

Ans. Necessity or utility of political parties:

(i) Elected representative will be accountanle to their constituency for what they do in the locality .

(ii) The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies.

(iii) In large and complex societies some agency is needed to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government.

(iv) They are needed to bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed.

(v) They needed a mechanism to support or restrain the government .

(vi) To make policies , justify or oppose them.

(vii) Parties are a neccessary condition for a demcracy.

Any other relevant point.

Q.14. What is the role of an ordinary citizen in reforming the political parties?

                                                                                     OR

Examine critically the role of an ordinary citizen in strengthening and deepening democracy.

Ans. (i) People can put pressure on political parties .this can be done through petitions, publicity and agitations. Ordinary citizens, pressure group , movements and the media can play an important role .

(ii) In a democracy, everybody has been given the right to speak, right to express his ideas and right to agitate.

(iii) Political parties can improve if those who are interestes, also join the political parties . the quality of democracy depends on the degree of public participation.

(iv) If political parties feel that they would lose public support by not taking up reforms, they would become more serious about reforms.

It is difficult to reform politics if ordinary citizens do not take part in it and simply criticise it from outside. the problem of bad polities can be solved by more and better politics.

Q.15. Analyse the role of political parties in shaping public opinion.

Ans. Role of political parties in shaping public opinion:

(i) They raise and highlight issues of public interest.

(ii) Parties have lakhs of members and activists spread over the country.

(iii) Many of the pressure groups extensions of political parties.

(iv) parties sometimes also launch movements for the resolution of problems faced by people.

Q16. Which three challenges do you feel are being faced by political parties in india ? give your opinion.

Ans. The three challenges faced by political parties in India are:

 (i) Lack of internal democracy.

(a) All over the world, there is a tendency of political parties towards the concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top.

(b) Parties do not keep membership register.

(c) They do not conduct internal elections regularly.

(d) Ordinary members of the party do not have sufficient information as to what happens inside the party.

(ii) No Transparency

(a) Since most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning, there are very few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party.

(b) Those who happen to be the leaders are in a position of unfair advantage to famous people close to them or even their family members.

(c) In many parties, the top positions are always controlled by members of one family.

(iii) Money and Muscle Power

(a) Since parties are focussed only on winning elections, they tend to use shortcuts to win elections.

(b) They tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise a lot of money.

(c) Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have influence on the policies and decisions of the party.

Q17. What are the main features of BJP manifesto? 

Ans. (i) It was founded in 1980 by reviving Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

(ii) It wants to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values. Cultural nationalism is an important element of its manifesto.

(iii) It also promotes a Uniform Civil Code for all people living in the country, irrespective of religion and ban on religious conversions.

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