Political Parties

Long Answer Questions.

Each of the following questions is of 5 marks.
1. "Lack of internal democracy within parties is the major challenge to political
parties all over
In way what 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.
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 to 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 government.
3. Describe the various party systems existing in different countries.
Ans. Party systems:
(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 between 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 their 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.
4. State any two advantages of the multi-party system. In what way is an
alliance different from a coalition government?
Ans. Two advantages of multi-party system:
(i) It offers a wider choice to voters during elections.
(ii) It absorbs social and geographical diversity in a better way.
Alliance
When several political parties join hands for the purpose of fighting an election,
it is called an
alliance. For example, the National Democratic Alliance and United Progressive
Alliance.
Coalition
When no single party enjoys majority support of the members in a legislature, in
such a situation the government is formed by two or more parties coming
together. It is called a coalition government. It reduces the dominance of any one
party within that coalition.
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 Commission 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 total 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.
6. 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 Election 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.
7. 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 national 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.
8. The first challenge faced by political parties is lack of internal democracy
within 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
decisions. As a result, the leaders assume 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 principles and policies, personal loyalty to the
leader becomes more important.
9. 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 their 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.
10. "All over the world, people express their dissatisfaction with the failure of
political parties to perform their functions well." Analyse the statement with
arguments.
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.
11. "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 necessity of Political parties in a Democracy.
Ans. Necessity or utility of Political Parties:
(i) Elected representative will be accountable 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 necessary condition for a democracy.
12. 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 groups,
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 interested, 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 politics can be solved by more and
better politics.
13. 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.
(ii) Many of the pressure groups are extensions of political parties.
(iv) Parties sometimes also launch movements for the resolution of problems
faced by people.
14.Describe the role of political parties in Indian Democracy.
OR
Explain 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-
(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 movement for the resolving 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 farm and run the government. The major policies for the
government comes from the political party that win the election .
(v) Parties that lose the elections form the opposition. They criticise the
government for its failures, point out faults and mobilise opposition to the
government.
(vi) Political parties play a major role in decision making .They recruit leaders,
train them and appoint them as ministers.
(vii) Political parties help people to access government machinery and welfare
Schemes.
15. What suggestions are often made to reform political parties.
OR
Suggest any five effective measures to reform political parties.
Short Answer Questions
Each of the following questions is of 3 marks.
1. How do state or regional political parties contribute in strengthening
federalism and democracy in India? Explain with examples.
Ans. State and regional political parties contribute in strengthening federalism
and democracy in India in the following ways.
(i) State and regional political parties provide a variety of choices to people as
each of them has different agendas and focuses on different issues.
(i) They provide a platform for different pressure and social groups, and
communities to put forward their demands.
(ii) They help in power sharing by sharing power of government with the help of
coalition government.
2. What is a multi-party system? Why has India adopted a multi-party system?
Explain.
Ans-(i) If several parties compete for power, and more than two parties have a
reasonable chance of coming for power either on their own strength or in
alliance with other, we call it a multi-party system.
(ii) India has evolved a multi-party system. It is because the social and
geographical diversity in such a large country is not easily absorbed by two or
even three parties.
(iii) Party system is not something any country can choose. It evolves over a long
time depending on the nature of society, its social and regional divisions, its
history of politics and its system of elections.
Q. 3. What is the role of the opposition party in a democracy?
OR
Explain three functions of opposition political parties.
Ans. Those parties that lose elections play the role of opposition to the parties in
power. Role played by opposition is:
(i) It gives its own opinion which may oppose the ruling party. (ii) Opposition
party mobilises opposition to the government.
Q.5. Explain the three components of a political party.
Ans.
[CBSE Delhi 2019 (32/1/2)] (i) The leaders: A political party consists of leaders
who contest elections and if they win, perform the administrative job.
(ii) The active members: They are the ones who climb a ladder from being the
follower and become the assistants of the leaders to gain knowledge about
politics.
(iii) The followers: They are simply the ardent followers of the leaders and work
under the able guidance of the active members.
Q.6. How do parties perform the job of making laws for the country?
Ans.
(i) Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country.
(ii) Formally, laws are debated in the form of first, second and third readings and
then by popular voting, the bill is passed.
(ii) But since most of the members belong to a party, they follow what their
leader says, irrespective of their personal opinions.
Q.7. How is a government of alliances formed?
Ans.
(i) When several parties in a multi-party system join hands for the purpose of
contesting elections and winning power, it is called an alliance or front.
(ii) In India, there were three major alliances in 2004 parliamentary elections.
(iii) These were the National Democratic Alliance or NDA formed by BJP and its
allies. Then the United Progressive Alliance or UPA led by Congress and its allies.
The third one was the Left Front, which is formed by Communists or their parties
like CPI and CPI(M).
Q. 8. "Nearly every one of the state parties wants to get an opportunity to be a
part of one or the other national level coalition." Support the statement with
arguments. [CBSE (AI) 2019] Ans. State Parties Seeking National Level Coalition:
Before general election of 2014, in three general elections, no one national party
was able to secure on its own a majority in Lok Sabha. With the 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.
Q. 9. What is meant by regional political party? State the conditions required to
be recognised as a 'regional political party'.
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:
(1) A party that secures at least six per cent of the total votes in an election to
the legislative Assembly of a state.
(i) Party should win atleast two seats in the Legislative Assembly.
Q. 10. Name the 'National Parties' of India.
Ans.
(i) Indian National Congress
(i) Bharatiya Janata Party
(ii) Bahujan Samaj Party
(iv) Communist Party of India (Marxist)
(v) Communist Party of India (CPI)
(vi) National Congress Party (NCP)
Q. 11. It is said that, "No meaningful choice is given to the voters." Explain.
Ans. It means, in recent years, there has been a decline in the ideological
differences among parties in most parts of the world. Parties are no longer
significantly different. Sometimes people cannot even elect very different leaders
either, because the same set of leaders keep shifting from one party to another.
For example, the difference between the labour party and the conservative party
in Britain is very low.