Shubham Pathak

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ELECTORAL POLITICS

CBSE CLASS 9: Part-2

 Ques.

What is a reserved constituency?

Why is there need for a reserved
constituency?

CBSE 2014
 Reserved Constituencies
● Some constituencies are reserved for people who
belong to the Scheduled Castes (SC) & Scheduled
Tribes (ST).

● In the Lok Sabha, 84 seats are reserved for the SC and

47 for the ST (as on 26 January 2019).

● No. is in proportion to their share in the total

population.
● This system of reservation was extended later to other
weaker sections at the district & local level.

● In many states, seats in rural (panchayat) & urban

(municipalities and corporations) local bodies are now
reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBC) as well.

● Similarly, one-third of the seats are reserved in rural &

urban local bodies for women candidates.
 Voters’ List
● In a democratic election, the list of persons eligible to
vote is prepared much before the election & given to
everyone.

● This list is officially known as Electoral Roll and is

commonly known as the Voters’ List.

● Responsibility of the government to get the names of

all the eligible voters put on the voters’ list.
● First condition of a democratic election: everyone
should get an equal opportunity to choose
representatives.

● 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.
A complete revision of the list takes place every 5 years.

A new system of Election Photo Identity Card [EPIC] has

been introduced.

However, the card is not yet compulsory for voting.

For voting, the voters can show many other proofs of

identity like the ration card or the driving licence.
 Nomination of Candidates

Anyone who can be a voter can also become a candidate

in elections.

Requirement- The candidate should be a minimum of 25

years age.

Political parties nominate their candidates who get the

party symbol & support.

Party’s nomination is
often called party ‘ticket’.

Candidate has to fill a

‘nomination form’ & give
some money as ‘security
deposit’.
Recently, a new system of declaration
has been introduced on direction from
the Supreme Court.

Every candidate has to make a legal declaration,

giving full details of :

1. Serious criminal cases pending against the candidate

Details of the assets & liabilities of the candidate and

2.
his or her family

3. Educational qualifications of the candidate.

How many seats are reserved in the
Lok Sabha for the Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes?

A. 47

B. 84

C. 100

D. 60
 Election Campaign
Main purpose of election- Give people a chance to
choose the representatives, the government & the
policies they prefer.

Why campaign conducted?- To have a free & open

discussion about who is a better representative and in
turn, which party will make a better government.

In India, such campaigns take place for a two-week

period between the announcement of the final list of
candidates and the date of polling.
During this period the candidates contact their voters,
political leaders address election meetings & political
parties mobilise their supporters.

In election campaigns, political parties try to focus

public attention on some big issues & get them to vote
for their party on that basis.
 Use of Slogan in Different Elections
Some of the successful slogans given by different political
parties in various elections:
Congress
party led Garibi Hatao (Remove poverty) in the
by Indira Lok Sabha elections of 1971.
Gandhi

Janata Party led

by Jayaprakash Save Democracy in the Lok Sabha
Narayan elections of 1977.

The Left Land to the Tiller West Bengal Assembly

Front elections held in 1977.

N. T. Rama Rao, ‘Protect the Self-Respect of the

the leader of the Telugus’ Andhra Pradesh Assembly
Telugu Desam elections held in 1983.
Party
According to our election law, no party or candidate
can:
Bribe or threaten voters

Appeal to them in the name of caste or religion

Use government resources for election campaign

Spend more than 25

lakh in a
constituency for a
Lok Sabha election
or 10 lakh in a
constituency in an
Assembly election
● If an Political Party does so, their election can
be rejected by the court.

● In addition to the laws, all the political parties

in our country have agreed to a Model Code
of Conduct for election campaigns.
 Code of Conduct

A set of norms &

guidelines to be followed
by political parties and
contesting candidates
during election time.
● Use any place of worship for election propaganda.

● Use government vehicles, aircraft & officials for

elections.

● Once elections are announced, Ministers shall not lay

foundation stones of any projects, take any big policy
decisions or make any promises of providing public
facilities.
 Polling and counting of votes

The day when the voters cast or ‘poll’ their vote is called
the election day.

The voting is done in the

following manner:

1. Every person whose name is on

the voters’ list can go to a
nearby ‘polling booth’.

2. Once the voter goes inside the

booth, the election officials
identify her, put a mark on her
finger and allow her to cast her
vote.

3. An agent of each candidate is

allowed to sit inside the polling
booth & ensure that the voting
takes place in a fair way.
Earlier the voters used to indicate who they wanted to
vote for by putting a stamp on the ballot paper

A ballot paper is a sheet of paper on which the

names of the contesting candidates along with
party name & symbols are listed.

Nowadays, electronic voting machines (EVM) are

used to record votes.
 How does EVMs Work?
The machine shows the names of the candidates & the
party symbols.
The voter has to just press the button against the name
of the candidate she wants to give her vote.
Once the polling is over, all the EVMs are sealed &
taken to a secure place.

A few days later, all the EVMs are

opened & the votes secured by
each candidate are counted.

The candidate who secures the

highest number of votes from a
constituency is declared elected.
In a general election,
usually the counting
of votes in all the
constituencies takes
place at the same
time, on the same
day.

Television channels,
radio & newspapers
report this event.

Within a few hours of

counting,all the
results are declared
 Ques.

Explain the role of the Election

Commission in conducting the
free and fair elections.
WHAT MAKES ELECTIONS
IN INDIA DEMOCRATIC?
 Unfair Practices in Elections
Newspapers, TV news channels often report about the
malpractices such as :

● Inclusion of false names & exclusion of genuine

names in the voters’ list;

● Misuse of government facilities and officials by the

ruling party;

● Excessive use of money by rich candidates and big

parties; and

● Intimidation of voters and rigging on the polling day

Independent Election Commission

In our country elections are conducted by an

independent & very powerful Election
Commission (EC).

It enjoys the same kind of independence that

the judiciary enjoys.

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) is

appointed by the President of India.

Election Commission is independent & has a

wide-range of powers.
Powers of Election Commission
of India

Takes decisions on every aspect of conduct &

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 it.

During the election period, it can order the

government to follow some guidelines, to
prevent the use & misuse of governmental power
to enhance its chances to win elections, or to
transfer some government officials

When on election duty, government officers work

under the control of the EC & not the government.
 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

 Popular Participation

It is a way to check the truth of free and fair elections.

1. People’s participation in the election is

measured by voter turnout figures.

Turnout indicates the percent of eligible

voters who actually cast their vote.
2. In India, large proportion of votes- the poor,
illiterate & underprivileged people as compared
to the rich and privileged sections.

3. Common people in India feel that through

elections they can bring pressure on political
parties to adopt policies and programmes
favourable to them.

4. The interest of voters in election related

activities has been increasing over the years.
Acceptance of Election Outcome

One final test of the free and fairness of the election is

the outcome of the election.

The ruling parties routinely lose elections

1
in India both at the national & state level

In the US, an incumbent or ‘sitting’ elected

representative rarely loses an election. In
2 India, about half of the sitting MPs or MLAs
lose elections.
 Candidates who are known to have spent a lot of
3 money on ‘buying votes’ & those with known
criminal connections often lose elections.

Barring very few disputed elections, the

4 electoral outcomes are usually accepted as
‘people’s verdict’ by the defeated party.
 Ques.

What are the challenges to free

and fair elections in India?
CHALLENGES TO FREE AND
FAIR ELECTIONS
● Elections in India are essentially free and fair.

● Sometimes this may not be true for every

constituency.

● There are many limitations & challenges to Indian

elections.
1 Candidates & parties with a lot of money enjoy a
big and unfair advantage over smaller parties.

2 Candidates with criminal connections have been

able to push others out of the electoral race and to
secure a ‘ticket’ from major parties.

3 Tickets are distributed to relatives from their

families.
4 Elections offer little choice to ordinary citizens as
major parties are quite similar to each other, both
in policies & practice

5 Smaller parties & independent candidates suffer a

huge disadvantage compared to bigger parties.
 The percentage of eligible
voters who cast their votes in
an election is:

A. Turnout

B. Impersonation

C. Rigging

D. None of the Above

HOMEWORK
 What does the term
‘incumbent’ mean?

A. The outgoing candidate of the

dissolved House
B. The current holder of a political
office
C. The candidate contesting the
election

D. None of the Above

 Voter’s List is also known as:

A. Electoral Roll

B. Voter Identity Card

C. Election Number

D. None of the Above

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