Class 9 Civics Chapter 3 HOTS Questions - Electoral Politics

Q.1. What is the age of a person who can contest the election for Lok Sabha in India?

Answer: The minimum age must be 25 years, who can contest for Lok Sabha in India.

Q.2. On which day is the Voters' Day celebrated?

Answer: Voters' Day is celebrated on 25th January.

Q.3. Who appoints Chief Electoral Officer?

Answer: Chief Election Commissioner in consultation with State Government appoints Chief Electoral Officer. 

Q.4. What is the official name of voters' list?

Answer: Voters' list is officially known as Electoral Roll. 

Q.5. How many seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) in the Lok Sabha?

Answer: Currently, in the Lok Sabha, 84 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes. (SCs) 

Q.6. What is the Code of Conduct for election?

Answer: A set of norms and guidelines to be followed by political parties and contesting candidates during election time is known as the Code of Conduct. 

Q.7. What does the term rigging mean?

Answer: The term 'rigging' means fraud and malpractices indulged by a party or candidate to increase its votes. 

Q.8. When does the by-election occur?

Answer: When any vacancy occurs due to the death or resignation of a candidate, the election becomes necessary and it is known as a by-election. 

Q.9. What is the number of Lok Sabha constituencies at present?

Answer: The number of Lok Sabha constituencies at present is 543. 

Q.10. What is 'Defection?

Answer: Changing party allegiance from the party for which a person got elected to a different party is called 'Defection'. 

Q.11. What is a two-party system?

Answer: A country where two major political parties dominate voting in all election is known as a two-party system. 

Q.12. What do you mean by voters?

Answer: People who have the right to vote or participate in the election of representatives are known as voters. 

Q.13. What is a mid-term election?

Answer: If the Lok Sabha or any State Legislative Assembly is dissolved before the expiry of its normal term, the election held to constitute a new House is known as a mid-term election. 

Q.14. What is an election petition?

Answer: If any candidate or voter feels that election in his constituency has not been held properly or if he has any objection against the result he can file an election petition in the court.

Q.15. Which is the largest Legislative Assembly in India?

Answer: Uttar Pradesh is the largest Legislative Assembly in India. 

Q.16. What is the motive behind reserved constituencies?

Answer: The motive behind reserved constituencies is to ensure proper representation to the weaker sections like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. 

Q.17. Which party gave the slogan 'Garibi Hatao'?

Answer: The Congress Party led by Indira Gandhi gave the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao' (Remove Poverty) in the Lok Sabha election of 1971. 

Q.18. Who used the slogan of 'Land to the Tiller'?

Answer: The Left Front used the slogan of 'Land to the Tiller' in the West Bengal elections held in 1977.

Q.19. Which states have more than 30 Lok Sabha constituencies?

Answer: The states which have more than 30 Lok Sabha constituencies are Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal. 

Q.20. Why do some states have a large number of constituencies?

Answer: Some states have a large number of constituencies because of their population, i.e., a large number of voters. 

Q.21. What is a Democratic Election? 

Answer: Election should be conducted in a free and fair manner where people can choose as they really wish and this type of election is known as Democratic Election.

Q.22. Like in Panchayats should we not have at least one-third of seats in the Parliament and Assemblies reserved for women?

Answer: One-third of the seats are reserved for women in the Panchayats,  but unfortunately even today representation of women in the State Assemblies and Parliament is very low. Women constitute 50% of our society. So, we need to reserve at least one-third of the seats in the Assemblies and the Parliament for women. This helps them to uplift their status in society. 

Q.23. (a) What is a ballot paper? (b) Name the machine by which these papers have been replaced. (c) Why is there no educational qualification required for the candidates for contesting the election?

Answer:

(a) A ballot paper is a sheet of paper on which the names of the contesting candidates along with party name and symbols are listed. The voters put a stamp on the name of the candidate whom they want to elect.
(b) Nowadays Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are used instead of ballot papers.
(c) The relevant qualification for being an MLA or an MP is the ability to understand people's concerns, problems and to represent their interests. Educational qualification is not relevant to them. Fixed educational qualification will deprive a large section of people to contest the election. 

Q.24. "During elections many political parties and candidates take resort to illegal means to win." In the light of the above statement, name the values and rights that are ignored.

Answer: The following values and rights are ignored in the above statement
(i) Moral values are ignored.
(ii) People are deprived of choosing a candidate of their choice.
(iii) Faith in democracy is affected. (iv) The spirit of a free and fair election is ignored.
(v) Provision to provide fair change to get elected is ignored.

Q.25. "One final test of the free and fairness of election lies in the outcome itself". Justify the statement with the help of the outcomes of India's elections.

Answer: Outcomes of India's elections justify the statement in the following ways  
(i) The ruling parties routinely lose elections in India both at the national and state levels. In fact in every two out of the three elections held in the last fifteen years, the ruling party lost.
(ii) Candidates who are known to have spent a lot of money on 'buying votes' and those with known criminal connections often lose elections.  
(iii) Barring very few disputed elections, the electoral outcomes are usually accepted as 'peoples' verdict' by defeated party,  

Q.26. Highlight any three issues which bring many limitations and challenges of Indian elections to our attention.

Answer: Important three issues are following
(i) Candidates and parties with a lot of money enjoy a big and unfair advantage over smaller parties or independent candidates.
(ii) Candidates with criminal records have been able to push others out of the electoral race and secure a ticket from major parties.
(iii) Some families tend to dominate political parties and secure tickets for their own family members. (iv) Smaller parties and independents suffer a huge disadvantage compared to bigger parties. 

Q.27. We have seen why democracies need to have elections. But why do rulers in non-democratic countries need to hold elections?

Answer: Rulers in non-democratic countries need to hold elections because they want to show the world that they are not unpopular and they have the support of the people of the country and so that their image improves in the eyes of the world. Secondly, they want to show that their government and position has been achieved legally and accordingly to the constitutional provisions. 

Q.28. Why are the candidates required to give a detailed statement of their property?

Answer: Candidates are required to give a detailed statement of their property at the time of election because the Election Commission is trying to control the misuse of money power in elections. The candidate has to give information about his assets movable and immovable, debts to a financial institution, tax status, income and wealth. With this information, the voters will be able to know more about the candidates and make their own choices. 

Q.29. What makes an election democratic?

Answer:  There are  as follows
(i)Election must be held regularly every few years.
(ii) Every eligible voter must have one vote with equal value.
(iii) There should be more than one party so that voters can get some real choice.
(iv) Elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner and people should have full freedom to vote for any candidate they like. 

Q.30. Mention any two provisions which ensure the independence of the Election Commission.

Answer:  In our country, the Election Commission has wide-ranging powers.
(i) Election Commission takes decisions of every aspect of conduct and control of elections from the announcement of elections to the declaration of results.
(ii) During the election time, the Election Commission can order the government to follow some guidelines to prevent the use and misuse of governmental power to enhance its chances to win elections or to transfer some government officials. 

Q.31. (a) What is the Election Manifesto? (b) What is an Election Symbol?

Answer:

(a) The booklet or pamphlet issued by a political party that tells people about their policies and programmes is known as Election Manifesto.
(b) All major political parties are allotted election symbols by the Election Commission. Independent candidates are also allotted symbols at the time of election. The symbols are allotted so that even the ordinary illiterate voters can recognise the different parties and candidates very easily can cast their vote according to their choice. 

Q.32. In our country, all the citizens aged 18 years and above can vote in an election. Every citizen has the right to vote, regardless of his or her caste, religion or gender. Some criminals and persons with an unsound mind can be denied the right to vote, but only in rare situations. It is the responsibility of the government to get the names of all the eligible voters put on the voters' list. 
Read the passage and answer the following questions 
(a) Which fundamental political right is talked about in the passage? 
(b) Who are denied from casting their vote in rare situations? 
(c) What values you have learnt from the above passage?

Answer:  

(a) Right to Vote is talked about in this passage.          
(b) Some criminals and persons with an unsound mind can be denied from casting their vote in rare situations.                                        
(c) From the given passage I have learnt, the value of equality as every person in India has the right to vote, who attained the age of 18 years and every vote should have equal value.

Q.33. How has the interest of the voters in election-related activities increased in recent years in India?

Answer: The interest of the voters in election-related activities has been increasing over the year. During the 2004 elections, more than one-third of voters took part in a campaign-related activity. More than half of the people identified themselves as being close to one or the other political parties. One out of every seven voters is a member of a political party.

Q.34. (a) What is the importance of the election campaign? (b) Which values should contestants keep in mind during the election campaign 

Answer:  

(a) Election campaign is very important for election because.

• It is a time period when free and open discussion takes place between different political parties.  
• It is the time period when candidates contact their voters, political leaders address election meetings.
• It is the time period when newspapers and television news are full of election-related stories and debates. 
• This is also the period when people come to know the policies and programmes of various political parties. 

(b) Some values that the contestants should keep in mind are honesty, non-violence, patriotism, teamwork, etc. 

Q.35. Here are some facts on the Indian elections. Comment on each of these to say whether they reflect the strength or the weakness of our electoral system. The Lok Sabha has always had less than 10% women members. The Election Commission often refuses to accept the government's advice about when the elections should be held. (c) The current Lok Sabha has more than 145 members whose assets are more than Rs. 1 crore. After losing an election the Chief Minister said. 'I respect the people verdict'.

Answer: 
(a) It is the weakness of our electoral system which sends only 10% of women members to the Lok Sabha while the population of women is nearly 50% of the total population.
(b) It is the strength of our electoral system which has given the power to the Election Commission to refuse or to accept the advice of the ruling party about the election dates.
(c) This is the weakness of our electoral system, which does not give equal chance to both poor and rich. Those candidates, who are rich, have a better chance of winning than the poor in our country.
(d) This is the strength of our electoral system which enjoys the faith of both the defeated and winning candidates. Barring very few disputed elections, the electoral outcomes are usually accepted as 'people's verdict' by the defeated party. 

Q.36. Surekha is an officer in charge of ensuring free and fair elections in an Assembly constituency in a state. Describe what should she focus on for each of the following stages of the election. Election Campaign (b) Polling Day (c) Counting Day

Answer:  

(a) Election Campaign During the election, Surekha should ensure that candidates or their supporters do not

• use muscle power and threaten the voters.
• use money power to influence the voters.
• use government machinery and resources.
• spend more money than the limit fixed by the Election Commission.
• distribute money or other things (saris, sewing machines, umbrellas) among voters during the election campaign.
• ask for votes in the name of caste or religion.

(b) Polling Day On polling day Surekha has to ensure that booth capturing does not take place.   

• fake or bogus votes are not cast.
• poor and weaker sections of society are able to cast their vote freely and without fear.
• no unauthorised person should be allowed to enter the polling booth.

(c) Counting Day On the counting day, Surekha will have to ensure that

• the voting machines are intact.
• the counting should begin in the presence of the candidates and their agents.
• counting should be done carefully and accurately.
• no unauthorised person should be allowed into the counting centre.
• after the counting, results are declared by the authorised official.

Q.37. What is a Universal Adult Franchise? Why has it been adopted in India?

Answer:  Right to express one's choice by vote is called Franchise. When the right to vote or franchise is given to every adult in a state, it is known as the Universal Adult Franchise. In India, elections are held on the basis of Universal Adult Franchise. To elect their representatives, elections are held from time to time. In India, we have indirect democracy. The government is run by representatives, who are elected by the people. Every citizen of India, who has completed 18 years of age, has been given the right to vote irrespective of his caste, religion, sex, etc. Everybody, whether he is rich or poor, young or old, man or woman, learned or illiterate should have an equal voice in our democracy. One person, one vote makes our government responsible to all citizens.

Q.38. Here are some reports of malpractices in the Indian elections. Identify what the problem in each case is. What should be done to correct the situation? Following the announcement of elections, the minister promised to provide financial aid to reopen the closed sugar mill. Opposition parties alleged that their statements and campaign was not given due attention in Doordarshan and All India Radio. An inquiry by the Election Commission showed that the electoral rolls of a state contain the name of 20 lakh fake voters. The hoodlums of a political party were moving with guns, physically preventing supporters of other political parties to meet the voters and attacking meetings of other parties.

Answer:  

(a) The minister by promising to provide financial aid to the sugar mill broke the electoral code of conduct. According to the election law, no minister or member of the legislature can take decisions regarding projects which could influence the elections. The said minister should not be allowed to contest the election.
(b) All the parties should be given adequate time to express their views on Doordarshan and All India Radio. This has already been done by the Election Commission and time is fixed for different political parties.
(c) The electoral rolls of that state should be fully revised and names of all the fake voters should be removed from the voters' list.
(d) This is also malpractice adopted by a certain candidate and even by political parties during the elections. The movement of people with guns and other arms should be strictly banned. The hoodlums should be arrested and the party that use them could be warned or banned from contesting elections for a certain period. The candidates must be provided with security by the state and steps should be taken to ensure that the meeting of other parties is not disturbed or attacked. 

Q.39. How does our election law regulate campaigns?

Answer: In a democracy, it is best to leave political parties and candidates free to conduct an election campaign. But it is also necessary to regulate campaign to ensure that every political party and candidate gets a fair and equal chance to compete. According to our election law, no party or candidate can
(i) bribe or threaten voters.
(ii) use any place of worship or appeal to the voters in the name of religion or caste.
(iii) use government resources, government vehicles, air crafts for elections.
(iv) spend more than Rs. 25 lakh in a constituency for a Lok Sabha election and Rs. 10 lakh in a constituency in an Assembly election.
(v) once elections are announced no minister can lay foundation stones of any project or take any policy decision. 

Q.40. (a) What are Reserved Constituencies? Why do we have this system in our country? What values of our Constitution makers are highlighted in creating this policy?

Answer:

(a) Our Constitution entitles every citizen to elect his representatives or to be elected as a representative. So, they thought of a special system of reserved constituencies for the weaker section i.e. Scheduled Castes  (SCs)  and  Scheduled  Tribes  (STs). This system of Reserved constituencies (79 seats for the Scheduled Castes and 41 for the Scheduled Tribes in Lok Sabha) makes our democracy a real representative democracy. Such classes in our society were victims of discrimination for centuries. So, if the representatives among them had not been elected, our Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies would have been deprived of the voice of a significant section of our society. (b) The values of our Constitution makers highlighted in creating this policy is their desire to bring everyone in the society on the same platform. Hence, they advocated the value 'equality for all'.