Worksheet Solution: Electoral Politics Class 9 Worksheet Civics Chapter 1

Multiple Choice Questions

Q1: Our country is divided into
(a) 500 constituencies
(b) 543 constituencies
(c) 550 constituencies
(d) 552 constituencies
Ans: (b)

Q2: The number of Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi is
(a) 2
(b) 4
(c) 6
(d) 7
Ans: (d)

Q3: Who appoints the Chief Election Commissioner of India?
(a) The Chief Justice of India
(b) The Prime Minister of India
(c) The President of India
(d) The Law Minister of India
Ans: (c)
Q4: Which of these is not a feature of Indian democracy?
(a) India has the largest number of voters in the world
(b) India’s Election Commission is very powerful
(c) In India, everyone above the age of 18 has a right to vote
(d) In India, the losing parties refuse to accept the electoral verdict
Ans: (d)
Q5: In India, elections for which of these bodies are held after every five years?
(a) Rajya Sabha
(b) Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha
(c) Vidhan Parishad
(d) Only Lok Sabha
Ans: (b)

Q6: Constituencies called ‘wards’ are made for the election to
(a) Parliament
(b) State Legislative Assembly
(c) State Legislative Council
(d) Panchayats and municipal bodies
Ans: (d)

Q7: Which of these is not a part of the district and local level bodies?
(a) Panchayats
(b) Municipalities
(c) Corporations
(d) Lok Sabha
Ans: (d)

Q8: What is the details the candidates have to give in the legal declaration before contesting the elections?
(a) Serious criminal cases pending against them
(b) Details of assets and liabilities of the candidate and his or her family
(c) Educational qualification of the candidate
(d) All the above
Ans: (d)

Q9: When on election duty, under whose control does the government officers work?
(a) Central Government
(b) Election Commission
(c) District Magistrate
(d) District Court
Ans: (b)

Q10: Which of the following statement is incorrect?
(a) All citizens above the age of 21 can vote in an election
(b) Every citizen has the right to vote regardless of caste religion or gender
(c) Some criminals and persons with unsound mind can be denied the right to vote in rare situations
(d) It is the responsibility of the government to get the names of all eligible voters put in the voters list
Ans: (a)

Fill in the Blanks

Q1: In India, Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections are held regularly after every _______ .
Ans: In India, Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections are held regularly after every Five years.

Q2: In India, we follow area based system of representation. The country is divided into different areas for purposes of elections. These areas are called _______ .
Ans: In India, we follow area based system of representation. The country is divided into different areas for purposes of elections. These areas are called Electoral constituency.

Q3:  The list of those people who are eligible to vote is officially called the Electoral Roll and is commonly known as _______ .
Ans: The list of those people who are eligible to vote is officially called the Electoral Roll and is commonly known as Voters List.

Q4: According to our election law, no party or candidate can _______ .
Ans: According to our election law, no party or candidate can Bribe or threaten voters and appeal to them in the name of caste/religion.

Q5: The members of Election Commission are appointed by the _______ .
Ans: The members of Election Commission are appointed by the President of India.

Very Short Answer Questions

Q.1. Who formed the new party named as Lok Dal?
Ans: Choudhary Devi Lal.

Q.2. How many Lok Sabha Constituencies are there in Indian Parliament?
Ans: 543 seats.

Q.3. What is an Electoral Roll?
Ans: It is the list which contains the particulars of eligible voters.

Q.4. What is a Mid Term electron?
Ans: Elections held before the expiry of the full term of any house.

Q.5. How many seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes in Lok Sabha?
Ans: 41 seats are reserved for Scheduled tribes.

Q.6. What is party ticket?
Ans: Political Parties nominate their candidates who get party symbol and support during election from a particular constituency.

Q.7. What is EVM?
Ans: Electronic Voting Machine.

Q.8. What do you mean by Turn Out?
Ans: Turnout indicates the percent of eligible voters who actually cast their vote.

Q.9. Who appoints the Chief Election Commissioner of India? What powers are exercised by Election Commission of India?
Ans: The Chief Election Commissioner of India is appointed by President of India. Following are the powers of the Election Commission of India. Election Commission takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections from the announcement of elections to the declaration of results. It implements the Code of Conduct and punishes any candidate or party that violates. On election duty, government officers work under the control of the Election Commission and not under government.

Q.10. Why do we need elections?
Ans: Democracy is incomplete without elections. Thus, we need elections. Through elections the legitimate government is established. Through elections people can choose the party whose policies will guide the government and Law-Making.

Short Answer Questions

Q1: What are the drawbacks of elections?
Ans: Able and intelligent persons are afraid of contesting elections. Elections are a very expensive process which is a heavy burden on the people. Sometimes the dynastic trends emerged in the elections. Tickets are distributed to nears and dears of the leaders.

Q2: How would you explain the different forms of political competition?
Ans: The most obvious form is the competition among political parties. At the constituency level, it takes the form of competition among several candidates. It there is no competition, elections will become pointless. It creates the sense of disunity and factionalism in every locality. It creates party politics among political parties.

Q3: What is a constituency?
Ans: Voters in a geographical area who elect a representative to the legislative bodies. The country is divided into different areas for the purpose of elections. Hence these areas are termed as electoral constituencies. The voters of a particular constituency elect one representative. The area or size of constituencies for Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies are different. There are 543 constituencies for Lok Sahba.

Q4: What is an election campaign?
Ans: The main purpose of elections is to give a chance to choose the representatives, the government and the policies they prefer. Therefore it is necessary to have a free and open discussion about who is better representative, which party will make a better government or what is good policy. This is what happens during election campaign.

Q5: What is election Manifesto?
Ans: It is a vision and mission of political parties. All political parties release their agenda for upcoming election. This agenda is called the election manifesto. The agenda is the promise made by the political parties with the voters. If any political party wins the election it is compulsory to implement the agenda of election manifesto.

Long Answer Questions

Q1: How the system of declaration is made the Election process more sound and informative?
Ans: Recently, a new system of declaration has been introduced on the direction from the Supreme Court. Every candidate has to make a legal declaration, giving full details. It has been made mandatory by the Supreme Court that every candidate who is contesting election, has to file an affidavit. Serious criminal cases pending against the candidate. Details of the assets and liabilities of the candidate and his or her family. Education qualification of the candidate. This information has to be made public. This provides an opportunity to the voters to make their decision on the basis of the information provided by the candidate.

Q2: Can you explain why is there no educational qualification required for contesting elections in India?
Ans: There is no educational qualification is required for contesting elections in India. Educational qualifications are not required to all kinds of Jobs. The relevant qualification for selection to the Indian cricket team, for example is not the attainment of educational degrees but the ability to play cricket well. Similarly the relevant qualification for being an MLA and MP is the ability to understand people’s concerns, problems and to represent their interests. Whether they can do so or not is examined by lakhs of examiners-their voters-after every five years. Even if education was relevant, it should be left to the people to decide how much importance they give to educational qualification. In our country putting an educational qualification would go against the spirit of democracy for yet another reason. It would mean depriving a majority of the country’s population the right to contest elections.

Q3: Describe any five unfair means practices which are adopted during elections.
Ans: Sometimes political parties and candidates are involved in fraud and malpractices to stay ahead of the others. During the elections a party or candidates distribute money to voters.

They also distribute wine and gifts to obtain the favour of voters. The candidates appeal the voters in the name of caste and religion. The political party that is in power uses government machinery to won the elections. Sometimes political parties hired musclemen and tried to capture the booth.

Q4: “One final test of the free and fair election lies in the outcome itself”. Justify the statement with the help of the outcomes of India’s elections.
Ans: The ruling party routinely loses elections in India both at the national level. In fact in every two out of the three elections held in the last fifteen years, the ruling party lost. In India about half of the sitting MPs or MLAs lose elections. Candidates who are known to have spent a lot of money on buying votes and those with known criminal connections often lose elections. Barring very few disputed elections, the electoral outcomes are usually accepted as people’s verdict by the defeated party.

Q5: Highlight the benefits of political parties in democracy.
Ans: Political parties make an environment of completion. Political helps in the formation of public opinion. Political parties help in spreading political awareness among people. A Political party who won maximum no of seats or gain majority forms the government of a democratic country. A political party, who loses, sits in the opposition and stops the political party who is in power to become a dictator. All the political parties are necessary for the democracies and democracies cannot exist without political parties.