Class 10 Civics Chapter 4 Previous Year Questions - Political Parties

Ans: (d)
Elections are the primary means by which political parties are held accountable to the public. Voters are able to assess the candidates' performance and decide whether or not to endorse them based on their deeds and statements.

Ans: Functions of Political Parties are: 
(1) They contest election.
(2) They put forward different policies and programmes.
(3) Parties form and run the government.
(4) Parties that lose in the election play the role of opposition.
(5) They shape public opinion.
(6) They provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes.

Ans: (c)
The United States operates under a two-party system, primarily dominated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. This means that most elections are primarily contested between these two parties, making it easier for voters to choose between two distinct options. In contrast, other countries like China and Russia have different political systems, and India has multiple parties, which is known as a multi-party system.

Ans: The merits of a multi-party system are as follows:
(i) It allows various intersets and opinions to enjoy political participation.
(ii) In a diverse country, this system cover all the aspects of different sections of society

Ans: The need of political parties in a democracy are as follows: 
(1) Parties contest elections. In most democracies, elections are fought mainly among the candidates put up by political parties. 
(2) Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country. They mould public opinion. 
(3) Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments.

Ans: The party which gets elected by winning the elections and forms a government is the ruling party. Playing opposition : A party which does not get majority or does not come under the majority coalition, needs to play the role of opposition

Ans: India is a democratic country and has adopted a multi-party system because of the social and geographical diversity of the nation which cannot be easily accommodated in one or two political parties. Through this system, variety of interests and opinions could enjoy different political representation

Ans: Political parties shape public opinion in the following ways: 
(i) They highlight and raise issues. 
(ii) Parties have lakhs of members spread all over the country. Often pressure groups are an extension of political parties, among different sections of the society. They help in taking up issues and forming public opinion. 
(iii) Sometimes, parties launch movements for solving the problems faced by the people

Ans: When societies develop and expand it becomes, more complex in terms of social, economic and political relations. They need political relations, and political parties to sustain governance. Political parties tend to provide the base on which the policies of representative government is built. They gather public views on various important issues, articulate them and then present them to the government. Parties bring various representatives together, support or restrain the government and its apparatus, develop policies and justify or oppose them in the public domain depending on their political ideology. These conditions are necessary for healthy development or representative democracies. Hence, it can be said that political parties are essential for this purpose.

Ans: Three features of one party system are as follows : 
(i) Only one party is allowed to control and rule the government. There is no change of government and power is concentrated in the hands of the party leader.
(ii) In this system electoral politics does not permit free competition for power.
(iii) There is absence of the checks and balances provided by democratic government.

Ans: We need political parties because of the functions that the political parties perform:
(i) They contest in elections.
(ii) They put forward different policies and programme for the betterment of society.
(iii) They play a decisive role in the making of laws that affect each of us.
(iv) They form and run the government.
(v) They play the role of opposition to the ruling party.
(vi) They shape public opinion, as they raise and highlight issues.
(vii) They provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by the government.

Ans: Indian democracy has a multi-party system, political parties perform a series of functions to strengthen our democracy in the following manners :
(i) Contesting elections : Political parties contest elections; A political party nominates its candidate for the electoral contest in various constituencies. This provides a variety of choice of personalities for the people to vote for.
(ii) Policies : Political parties put forward different policies and programmes so that the voters can choose from amongst them. A political party brings a large number of similar opinions under one umbrella. These opinions are channelised to form policies and programmes. The policies and programmes of the ruling party generally become the government policies.
(iii) Making law : Political parties play a decisive role in making laws for the country that benefits the v/hole population.
(iv) Playing opposition : A party which does not get majority or does not come under the majority coalition, needs to play the role of opposition. This forms the basis of checks and balances in a democracy.
(v) Shaping public opinion: Political parties shape public opinion. They do so by raising and highlighting issues in the legislature and in the media.
(vi) Providing access to government machinery: Political parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments. Parties need to be responsive to people’s needs and demands thus bring good governance. 

Political parties are as easily one of the most visible institutions in a democracy. For most ordinary citizens, democracy is equal to political parties.

Ans:  To strengthen political parties in India and enhance their functioning, several reforms have been implemented.
Here are some examples:
(i) Transparency and Accountability: Requiring political parties to disclose their funding sources and expenditures to ensure transparency and accountability. For example, the Election Commission of India has introduced guidelines for parties to submit annual audited reports.
(ii) Internal Democracy: Encouraging parties to adopt internal democratic processes such as holding regular elections for party leadership positions. This promotes inclusivity and fairness within the party structure.
(iii) Anti-defection Law: Implementing the Anti-defection law to prevent elected representatives from switching parties indiscriminately, thus promoting stability and party discipline.
(iv) State Funding of Elections: Providing state funding for elections to reduce the influence of money power and promote a level playing field for all parties, especially smaller ones with limited resources.
(v) Electoral Reforms: Introducing reforms like electronic voting machines (EVMs) to ensure free and fair elections, reducing malpractices and enhancing the credibility of the electoral process.
(vi) Strengthening Election Commission: Empowering the Election Commission to regulate and oversee the conduct of elections impartially, ensuring that parties adhere to the set guidelines and rules.
These reforms aim to strengthen political parties in India, enabling them to fulfill their functions effectively and serve the interests of the public better.

Ans: (a) 
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is recognized as a national party in India because it has a presence in multiple states and follows a unified policy and strategy set at the national level. It meets the criteria laid out by the Election Commission, which includes securing a specific percentage of votes and winning a certain number of seats in elections. In contrast, the other options, like the Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena, and Shiromani Akali Dal, are primarily focused on specific states and do not have the same national reach.

Ans: (c)
The Indian National Congress (INC) is not a regional party because it operates across the entire country and has units in multiple states. In contrast, the other options like Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Asom Gana Parishad, and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam are regional parties that primarily focus on specific areas or states in India.

Ans: (c)
In India, every political party must register with the Election Commission. This ensures that the party is recognized officially and can participate in elections. The Election Commission regulates the conduct of elections and maintains a fair electoral process in the country.

Ans: (b)
A party is recognized as a National Party in India if it secures at least 6% of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four states and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha. This recognition allows the party to have certain privileges, like using a unique election symbol across the country.

Ans: Partisan 

Ans: Indian democracy has a multi-party system, political parties perform a series of functions to strengthen our democracy in the following manners :
(i) Contesting elections : Political parties contest elections; A political party nominates its candidate for the electoral contest in various constituencies. This provides a variety of choice of personalities for the people to vote for.
(ii) Policies : Political parties put forward different policies and programmes so that the voters can choose from amongst them. A political party brings a large number of similar opinions under one umbrella. These opinions are channelised to form policies and programmes. The policies and programmes of the ruling party generally become the government policies.
(iii) Making law : Political parties play a decisive role in making laws for the country that benefits the v/hole population.
(iv) Playing opposition : A party which does not get majority or does not come under the majority coalition, needs to play the role of opposition. This forms the basis of checks and balances in a democracy.
(v) Shaping public opinion: Political parties shape public opinion. They do so by raising and highlighting issues in the legislature and in the media.
(vi) Providing access to government machinery: Political parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments. Parties need to be responsive to people’s needs and demands thus bring good governance. 

Political parties are as easily one of the most visible institutions in a democracy. For most ordinary citizens, democracy is equal to political parties.

Ans: Political parties: A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. Need of Political Parties in India:
(i) The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies.
(ii) As societies became large and complex, they also needed some agency to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government.
(iii) They needed some ways, to bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed.
(iv) They needed a mechanism to support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or oppose them.
(v) Political parties fulfill these needs that every representative government has.

Ans: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was formed under the leadership of Kanshi Ram. 

Ans: Political parties can be made more responsive through organised petitions, agitations and publicity by various groups. 
Explanation: This shall make political parties pay more attention to people’s needs to secure their support.

Ans: Following are the ways in which public participation in political parties can be promoted: 
(1) Parties should make their election process more transparent and elect more candidates from among the common people. 
(2) Various platforms like social media can be used to allocate them small responsibilities to maintain their interest in party activities.

Ans: 

The three components of a political party are as follows:

• The Leaders: The leaders are the ones who hold positions of power at various levels in the sphere of politics. They belong to different political parties. The leaders of the ruling party are responsible for the impact of various policies and processes and address issues of the people time and again.
• The Active members: Political parties comprise lakhs of members and political activists across the entire nation. They play an important role in promoting the agenda of the party including a focus on issues and various policies and party leadership.
• The Followers: The followers of a political party are the supporters of the ideas and agenda of that particular political party. They are the citizens of the general public who strongly believe in the ideas and approaches of the party and extend their support to the party, especially during elections.

Note: A political party is a group of people with similar ideologies who come together to form an organization in order to contest elections and hold power in the government.

Ans: India has a multi-party system, where political parties are classified as national, state or regional level parties. All parties are registered with the Election Commission.
The criterion for Recognition by The Election Commission as national or state-level parties.

National Party
(i) A party that secures at least six per cent of total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four States and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha is recognised as a national part.
(ii) Now, India has seven recognised national parties.
(iii) Indian National Congress, Bhartiya Janta Party.

State Party
(i) A party that secures at least 6 per cent of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a State and wins at least two seats is recognised as a State party.
(ii) There are 54, state recognised parties in India.
(iii) Biju Janta Dal, Mizo National Front

Ans: Two party system: In a democratic system power usually changes between two main parties, several other parties may exists but only the two main parties have a serious chance of winning majority of seats to form government is known as Two Party System.
Advantages: 
(1) Several other parties contest election. 
(2) Clarity of manifestoes and programs. 
Disadvantages: 
(1) Limited choice to the voters. 
(2) Limited representation.

Ans:

• In democracies, elections are contested by the political parties by putting up their candidates.
• Political parties put forward their programmes before the voters at the time of elections in the form of a manifesto.
• Laws are passed according to the directions of the ruling party.
• The political party or a group of parties that gets the majority in the legislature form the government. Iol Parliamentary democracy that government is known by the name of the party i.e., BJP government.
• The parties that lose elections, play the role of opposition to the government. They criticise the government for its failure and wrong policies.
• Political parties raise and highlight different issues of public importance. Thus, they help in shaping- public opinion.
• Ordinary citizens approach party leaders to get their grievances redressed. For them, it is easy to approach a party leader than a government officer.

Ans: Situations which display lack of internal democracy within a political party: 
(1) Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organisational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly. 
(2) Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what happens inside the party. 
(3) They do not have the means or the connections needed to influence the decisions. As a result, the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party. 
(4) Since one or few leaders exercise paramount power in the party, those who disagree with the leadership find it difficult to continue in the party. 
(5) More than loyalty to party principles and policies, personal loyalty to the leader becomes more important.

Ans: The Election Commission of India is responsible for the task of recognizing political parties in India. Every party in India has to register with the Election Commission and it also lays down detailed criteria for state as well as national level parties to qualify as a particular 'party.'

Ans: Two Regional Political Parties of UP:
(i) S. E (Samajvadi Party)
(ii) Rashtriya Lok Dal

Ans: Importance of Political Parties:

• Parties contest elections to form a government.
• Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them.
• A party reduces a vast multitude of opinions into a few basic positions which it supports.
• Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country.
• Parties recruit leaders, trains them and then make them ministers to run the Government.
• Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments.

Ans: Political parties are a necessary condition for a democracy: If political parties don't exist then:

• Every candidate in the elections will be independent.
• No one will be able to make any promise to the people about any major policy changes. 
• The government may be formed, but its utility will remain ever uncertain.
• Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the locality.
• No one will be responsible for how the country will be run.
• Political parties are important for representative democracies as they bring representatives together to form the government.
• It consists of people seeking to achieve their objectives through constitutional means and aims at promoting national interest.

Ans: India adopted multi-party system because

• It strengthens democracy.
• India is geographically a very large country.
• India is socially a very diverse country.
• India is culturally and religiously a diverse country.
• All these diversities can be accommodated if there is a multi-party system and just 1 party or 2 party system will not help in more representation and participation of people in democratic processes.

Ans:

• 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. 
• 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. 
• 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 a mere formality. It is not clear if this step has led to greater internal democracy in political parties.

Ans: Recent efforts to reform political parties and their leaders are as given below:

• Anti-defection law: In India, many elected representatives started indulging in changing party allegiance from the party to which a person had got elected to a different party in order to become ministers or for cash rewards. So in order to curb this tendency, anti-defection law was passed. According to it, if any MLA or MP changes parties, he or she will lose the seat in the legislature. Now MPs and MLAs have to obey the decisions of the party.
• Filing of an affidavit: The Supreme Court has made it mandatory for every candidate who contests an election to file an affidavit giving details of his property and criminal cases pending against him. This has been done to reduce the influence of money and criminals.
• Hold organisational elections: The Election Commission has made it necessary for political parties to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns.

Ans: The growing role of money and muscle power in political parties can be controlled in the following ways: 
(1) There should be state funding of elections. 
(2) Rath yatras, rallies and processions should be banned. 
(3) All types of elections should be held at the same time. 
(4) It should be mandatory for every candidate contesting elections to file an affidavit giving details of his/her property and criminal cases pending against him/her, if any. 
(5) Political parties should hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns

Ans: Recent efforts made to reform political parties in India are: 
(1) Anti-defection law has been introduced, under which a member can be disqualified if he/she goes against the instructions issued by the party for monetary benefits. 
(2) To reduce the influence of money and muscle power in the parties, funding of political parties has been made transparent and democratic. Funds can only be accepted if complete documentation has been attached and miscreants are likely to be punished. 
(3) It is mandatory for any candidate to file an affidavit giving details of his property and cases pending against him/her before nomination.

Ans: A one-party system is not considered a good democratic system because it does not provide any democratic options or alternative viewpoints. It limits political competition and can lead to a lack of accountability and transparency. In a healthy democracy, multiple parties allow for a wider range of opinions and choices, fostering debate, checks and balances, and representation of diverse interests.

Ans: Samajwadi Party, Samata Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal

Ans: United Progressive Alliance (UPA)

Ans: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 

Ans: 

• The leaders: Who formulate policies and programs of the party and choose candidates for contesting elections.
• The active members: Who are involved in different committees of the party and participate directly in their activity.
• The followers: Who believe in the party’s ideology and support the party by casting their votes in favor of the party at the time of the election.

Ans: State parties like the Samajwadi Party, Samata party and Rashtriya Janata Dal have National level political organisations with units in several States but are not recognised as national parties.

Ans: The one-party system has no democratic option

Ans: National Political Party has units in the various states, they follow the same policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level.
Conditions required:
(i) A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in general elections of Lok Sabha or assembly elections in four states.
(ii) Wins at least 4 seats in Lok Sabha.

Ans: State parties seeking National level coalition: Before the general election of 2014, in three general elections, no one national party was able to secure on its own a majority in Lok Sabha. As a result, the national parties were compelled to form alliances with state or regional parties. Since 1996, nearly every one of the state parties has 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.

Ans: A regional Party is a party that is present only in some states. Conditions required for a party to be recognised as a regional political party are:

• Regional political party (or state party) is a party that has its presence only in one or some states.
• The regional parties may not always be regional in their ideology or outlook. Examples of some regional parties with units in several states include Samajwadi Party, Samata Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal etc. Parties such as Biju Janata Dal or Mizo National Front are conscious about their state identity.
• According to the criteria laid down by the Election Commission, a party that secures at least six per cent of the total votes in an election to the legislative assembly of a state and wins at least two seats is recognized as a state party.

Ans: A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. They agree on some policies and programmers for the society with a view to promoting the collective good.
The ideology of BJP:

• Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
• A uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion.
• Cultural nationalism.

Ans:

• India is a large country and has social and geographical diversities.
• It is easy to absorb different diversities in a multi-party system.

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.

• Dynastic succession: Since most political parties do not practice open 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 member.
• The growing role of money and muscle power in parties: Since parties are focused only on mining elections, they land to use shortcuts to win elections. They feed to nominate those considers who have or can raise a lot of mercy. Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have an influence on the policies and decisions of the party. In some cases, parties support climates that can win an election.
• There is not a meaningful choice to the voters: In recent years there has been a decline in the ideological parties of the world. Sometimes different leaders either because shifting from one party to another.

Ans:

• A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties. It should be made compulsory for political parties to maintain a register of its members, to follow its own constitution, to act as a judge in case of party disputes and to hold open elections to the highest post."
• It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets, about one-third to the women candidates. 
• There should be state funding for elections. The government should give parties money to support their election expenses. This support can be given in a way like; petrol, paper, telephone, etc. Or, it could be given in cash on the basis of votes, secured by the party in the last elections. It should be mandatory to hold their organisational elections. 
• People can put pressure on political parties through petitions, publicity and agitation. 
• Parties should reduce the influence of money and criminals. 
• The parties should select candidates for contesting elections who have a good record.

Ans: Political parties are a necessary condition for democracy.

• Without political parties, democracies cannot exist.
• If we do not have political parties - in such a situation every candidate in elections will be independent.
• No one will be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy changes.
• The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies. As we have seen, large societies need representative democracy.
• The government may be formed but its utility will remain uncertain. They needed some ways to bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed.
• They needed some mechanisms to support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or oppose them.
• Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in their locality.
• Political parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country. Formally laws are debated and passed in the legislature in which the ruling party plays a major role.
• Parties form and run governments. Parties recruit leaders, train them and then make them ministers to run the government in the way they want.
• Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition to the parties in power, by voicing different views and criticising for its failure or wrong policies.
• Parties shape public opinions. They raise and highlight issues. Parties have lakhs of members and activists spread all over the country. Parties sometimes also launch movements for the resolution of problems faced by people.
• But no one will be responsible for how the country will run.
• The role of the opposition party in a democracy necessitates the existence of political parties,
• As societies become large and complex, they also needed some agencies to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government, that is why political parties are needed.

Ans:

• All over the world, there is a tendency of political parties towards the concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top. 
• Parties do not keep membership register. 
• They do not regularly hold organisational meetings. 
• They do not conduct internal elections regularly. 
• Ordinary members of the party do not have sufficient information as to what happens inside the party. 
• As a result, the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party.

Ans: (a) Multi-party system: If several parties compete for power, and more than two parties have a feasoriaLhre chance of coming to power either on their own strength or in alliance with others, it is called a multi-party system.
(b) (i) Every country develops a party system that is conditional by its special circumstances.
(ii) India has evolved a multi-party system because the social and geographical diversity in such a large country is not easily observed by two or even three parties.

Ans: Parties follow different ideologies and people who support these ideologies passionately are its supporters. These supporters work hard to prove that their political party and its ideology is the only correct and ideal approach towards development of the country. In this process, they become staunch supporters of their parties which is called being a partisan.

Ans: Functions of Political Parties are: 
(1) They contest election. 
(2) They put forward different policies and programmes. 
(3) Parties form and run the government

Ans: The “Regional political parties” that are predominant in Jharkhand, Maharashtra and in Odisha respectively with their symbols are:

Ans: Indian National Congress (INC) espouses secularism and welfare of weaker sections and minorities. Four features of the party are as follows:
(1) It was found in 1885 and is one of the oldest parties in the world.
(2) It was the major party post-Independence which ruled both states and the centre.
(3) It is a centrist party.