Etectoral Politics Class 9 Notes Social Science Civics Chapter 4 In ademectacy people dernot govem cractly. They gover through the lacied- representatives, Gaverning through elected representativesic the most common form af democracy, Electoral politics s a! about understanding election of representatives, need of elections and how te make election democratic. It also mvolves examining the roe of the election commission in ensuring free anc fait elections Elections ‘The mechanism of procedure Dy which pecple choose tnetrrepresentatnes at requiar intervals Caled election ti people are not satisfied wih the working ofthe aovemment then they ean change the ‘overrmment i the next term of elections Procedure of Elections ‘The procedure of election can be understood by the real example of Haryana Assembly elections. il show haw candidates standing n clacton become reprecentatives and how poWEr can be removed from theirhande. ‘Assembly Election in Haryana, Formation of New Party Lok Da eryana had been ruled by Congress party shice 1982. At hat le, (Chaudhary Devi Lai was an opposition lexer Heed movernert called Nyaya Yudh (at Ugg lor justice) anc ferred new party Lok Dat lection Campagn of Devt Lal in éection campaign of 1987 Assembly election Dev Lai rome vorers that hs perty wn, he would ce loanste farmers and smaif businessmen, \oters favoured Lok Dal AS people were unhappy with the existing government, they ware attracted by Dev Lals promise. They voted in favour of ok Daland as pariners wan 76 out of a0 seats Results Announced Lok Dal won 60 seats thats why i hacia clear majanty inthe — Assembly. The party with a clear majority is invited by the gavemor to foer the government. Cangrese got cry § 2eats. Ae the lection result was announced, the exiting Chief Minister of Congres resigned, ena became Chief Minister The newy aiacted Members of Legitative Assembly (MLAs) of Lok Dal ‘Groce Dew La! a0 thee leader. The Governor ited’ Devi Lai tobe the new Chie Minister. After three ays f the election recut he tock the oath. Then hia Government issued 2 government order to give lens 10 mall farmers, agncutural labourers and amal businessmen, Congress again ferme Government Lok Dalauted die state for 4 years, 1991 election the party didnot \win peopicioouppart. This tmeCongreus won the tection and formes! the goverment Nooé for ications Elections are needed to cect rovresentatives. Thence elections can De understcad by magi of democracy without elections. {he absence of he election othe people have to st together every day and take ane decisions. But this i net possible in any large community Nor it is wossible for everyane io have the lime an knowledge to take decisions onal matters, Therefore, n mest emocraces, pecee fue trough thelr epresentatives. ‘The elctiens are needed fer any repesentatve democracy Because + They sole the problem of assessing people on the basis of education, knawiedge or experiance, + They hel in analysing that peop ike thet representatives ft + They ensure that the representatives nue es vor the wishes ofthe people and make sure thal those \aho ar not working forthe prope, donot remain ther tepresentatves, In en etbetion, ne veters make many choices the 1 They can chuoze who well make lan for them. +The 1 choose who wal frm the goverment andtake major decisions, + They can chooze the party whose poaes will que the goverment ard layenaning,What Makes An Election Democratic? Wig0 in most of the non-demoerati¢ countries in many Elections are held in all democratic countries and i which make an efeation demogratic IKE ways. But there ig a simple Ist of the minimum conditions «Everyone snould have the right to choose a representative. It means everyone hasan vote and every vote has equal value. pottical parties and candidates should be free Io contest efeotions and offer some reaf choiges fo me voters The choices should be offered at regular intervals. For that elections must be held regularly after 3 ‘certain period The candidates preferred by the people only should get elected Elections are conducted in a free and fair manner where people choose those representatives wham ney really wisn Political Competition Elections are ail about Gompétition, Without competition, elections would become meaningless. Political competition ‘akes place when cffierent political parties compete to gain confidence and ultimately the vole of the voters. They make premises and give incentives to motivate the voters. This electorel competition has many demerits like + Itereates a sense of disunity and factionaism (Groupism) and party nalitics in every lacality. Different poltical parties and candidates often use dirty tricks fixe booth capturing towin elections. + The pressure to win electoral fights does not allow to- form useful ieng term policies. + The competition leads to the idea of being dragged into the unhealthy competition. That's why good people do not enter and participate in poltical competition. The electoral competition also has some merits Hike + Regular electoral competition prowdes incentives to political parties and leaders. Mf they can satisfy the voters with their work they will be able to win again. * Ifa soltical party is motivated only by the desire to be in power, even ther it will be forced to serve the pecple. * Ikreveals the real metive of political parties. «+ It gives chowwes to voters to choose among the best. Syetem Of Elections Ir india In India, Lok Sabha ard Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) elections are held regularly every five years, After five years, the term of all the elected representatives comes to an end Electans are held in all constituencies at the same time, either on the same day or within a few days. This is known as General Election, Sometimes an election's held only for one constiuency to fill the vacancy caused by death or resignation of a member. Thisis known asa by-election. Electoral Constituencies in India, an area based system of representation 1s followed where the country is divided into different areas forpurpese uf elections. Thes* are called Electoral Constituencies, Every voter who lives in an area elect one representativeFor the Lak Sabha election, India is divided into $43 constituencies. The representative elected from each constituency is called Member of Pariiament or an MP Gne of the features of a democtatic election is that every vote has equa value. For Vidhan Sabha election, each state is divided into a specific number of assembly constituencies and the elected representative of eaph assembly constituency is called the Member af Legislative Assembly or an MLA, ‘By-election; fa representative from a constituency dies while in office or if the office-falis are vacant because of reasons ike resignation, fresh elections are | ‘eid in that particutar constituency Such an election is called.a by-election Constituency Voters in a geographical area who elect a representative to the Legislative Bodies. Each pariamentary constituency has within it severalassembiy constituencies. The same principle applies for Panchayat and Municipal elections. Each village OF own is divided into different wards that are tke Constituencies. Each ward elects one member of the village or the urban local body. Sometimes these constituencies are counted as ‘seats! and each Constituency represents one s€at in the assembly. For example, vshen we Say that ‘Lok Dal won 60 seats] in Haryana, it means that candidates of Lok Dal wen 1m 60 assembly constituencies in the state and thus Lok Dal had 60 MLAs in the State Assembly. Reserved Gonstituencies ‘The Constitution makers were worried that in an open electoral competion, certain weaker sections may wot stand a good chance to-get elected to the lok Sabha and the state Legislative Assemblies if that happens, cur Parliament and Assemblies: would be deprved of the woice of a significant section of ‘our population. That would make our ‘democracy less representative and jess democratic. Reservation for SC and ST ‘The makers of our Constitution thought of special system of reserved constituenties for the weaker sections. Some constituencies ate reserved for people who belong to the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). ‘tran SC reserved corstituency, only someone who telongs to the Scheduled Castes can stand for election Si rilarly, onts hose belonging to the Scheduled Tribes can contest an election from awonsttency reserved for ST. Reservation in Lok Sabba/ Districl/Local Levet ‘few stats in Lex Sabha ere reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STS). ‘his umber is in pronorion ta their share A the total pooutation. tn the year 2012,84 seats are reserved for the Schedules Castes and 47 for the Scheduled Tribes (in Lok Sebha). “huts. the reserved ceats for SC and ST do net take eviay the icaitiriate share af any otner social group ‘Ths system of reservation was extended later to other weaker Sections at the district and locat level. in many states. seals in Ture! (panchayat) and urban (mmanicipalties and corpot tions) jveal bodes are now reserved for Oinet Backward Classes (O8C) as weil However, the preDUrticn of seats reserved varies from state to state. Similany, one-third of the eeats are restrved in rural and urban loca! boaies for women Cantdates.Voters List When the constituencies ere decided, the nex! step is to decide who can and who cannot vote. Ina democratic olection, the Sst of those who are eliaible to vole & prepared much hefore the election and given to everrone. This list is officially called the Etestoral Roll and is commonly known as the Voters’ List. ‘This isan importantstep asit i inked to the first condition of a democratic election Le. everyone should get a2 equal opportunity to choose representatives. All he citizens are human beings with their own needs ‘and views. That is why all of them deserve to have a” equal say in decisions that affect them. Therefore everyone is giventhe right to vote “The nght to vote falls under Universal Aault Franchise. i means ail the citizens aged 18 years and above ccen vote in an election regardless of hig or her caste, religion or gender Maintaining of Voters’ ust {tis the responsibilty of the government to get the names of all the elighle voters put on the voters’ list, AS new pe°Sons attain voting age, names are added to the voters’ lst, names of those who move out of a place of those who are dead are deleted. A complete revision of the lst tokes place every five years, This is done to enstrethat it remains up to date: [Note Some criminals and persons with unsound mind can be denied the right to vote, but only in rare ettuatione] Etection Photo Identfy Card (EPIC) . anew system of Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) has been introduced, The voters are required to carry this card when they go out to vote so that no one can vote in their place. The card has inthe last few yea not been macte compulsory for voting, and. voters can show many other proofs of identity like the ration (62°, diving! cence or Adhar Card Nomination Of Candidates The system of our country praudes almost no restrictions on anyone tocontest the election. This only makes any 2lection a democratic election. [Anyone who can be a voter san also become a candidate in elections. The only difference to be 2 voter is that the minimum age is 18 years while to be a candidate in the election the minimum age is 25 years. ‘There ate also some other estriiions on crittinals but these apply in very extreme cases. Poltica parties narrinate their candidates who get the party support and symbot. Party's nomination is pften called Party Ticket, The candidate has tc fil a nomination form and give some money as a security depost Moreover, every candidate has to make a legal declaration giving full detalls of * Educational qualifications of the candidate + Details ofthe assets and liabilities of the candidate and his/her family, and + Serious eriminal cases pending against the candidate The information provided has to be made public in order to pravide an cpportunity to the voters to make their decision on the basis ofthe information provided by the candidates, Electoral oll It isthe voters list prepared by a door ta daor survey to include only bonafide voters and ‘minimise the role of bogus voters. Universal Adult Franchise Every Indian cttizen of 18 years ancl above have theright to vote irrespective of caste, creed and sex, Educational Qualificaions for Candidates Thereisno educational qualification for candidates for being an MP or an MLA, However, the relevant uaiifcation for randidates ie the ability to understand people's concerns, problems ant to represent People's interests. Pasting an educational qualification would go against the spirit of democracy because it would deprwve @ "majority of thecitizens right to contest elections. This is because stil, the majority of the Indian population is uneducateeElection Campaign Election campaign rans the promotion (or propaganda) of the policies, offers and promises thatthe candidates make to voters to full f they are elected n this way. voters can decide the candidate to vote for. They vote for the candidate whose policies they like. In our country, election campaigning takes place for @ two-week period between the anneuncement of the final listof candidates and the elate of poling, During this period, the candidates contact their electorate, political leaders, address, election meetings and political parties mobilise their supporters. This ip also the penod when Print Media and television news are {full of election-related stories and debates. ‘The election campaign is not limited to these two weeks only Political parties start preparing for elections months before they actually take piace ‘They prepare their election manestos. In election campaigns, political parties try to focus public attention basis, sosues. They want to attract the publec 1o that issue and get them to vote for their party on that ‘Slogans Given by Different Political Parties Some of the successful slogans given by different pattical parties in various elections are given below + The Congress party led by Indira Gahehi gave the slogan of ‘Garibi Hatac’ (Remove poverty) in the Lok ‘Sabha elections of 1971. The party promised to reorient all the policies of the government to remove poverty from the country. * "Save Democracy’ was the slogan given by Janata Party in the next Lok Sabha election held in 1977. Hie party promised to undo te. excesses committed during Emergency and restore civi lberties. » The Left Front used the slogan of ‘Lande the Teler in the West Bengal Assembly elections hetd in 1977, + Protect the Seif Respect of the Telugus’ wes the slogan used by NT. Rama Rao, the leader of the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections in 1983, Code of Conduct and Laws, ‘To regulate the election campaign, there are some election laws. According to these laws, no party or candidate can * brite or threaten voters, # appeaito them in the name of caste ar region, » use goverment resources for election campaign and. spend more than Rs. 25 lakh in a constituency for a Lok Sabha election or Re. 10 lakh ina constituency in an Assembly Election. any party of candidate is teund practising any of the above. their election can be rejected by the court even after they have won the election. In addition to the laws, athe poltical parties in our country have ‘ayreed to a Model cade of conduct for an election campaign. ‘According to this,no party or candidate can * use any place of worship for election propaganda * Use government vehicles, aircraft and offeials for elections + ones elections are announced, ministers shall not lay foundttion stones of any project, take any big policy decision or make any promise uf providing public facilities,Polling on the day when dying voters cast or ‘poll their vote is called an Election Day. Every person whose name is. on the voters list can go to.a nearby potting booth and cast his/her vote through a Secret ballot. once the voter goes inside the booth, the election official identify him her, put @ mark on the voter's finger and allow himny her to cast his/ her vote [An agent of each candidate is allowed to sit inside the poling booth and ensure that the voting takes place ina fair way. Earlier voting was done, by putting a stamp on the ballot paper. A ballot paper is a sheet of paper on which die names of the contesting candidates along with party name and symbols are listed. Now Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are used to record votes. The machine shows the names of the candidates and the party symbols. The voter has to press the button against the name of the candidate, he/she wants to cast his/her vote. Counting of Votes Once the polling is over, all the EVs are sealed and taken to 2 secure place. A few days later, oft a fixed date all the EVMs are opened and the votes secured by each candidate are counted. The candidate who secures the highest number of votes from a constituency is declared elected. Within a few hours of counting, all the results are declared. In general elections, the counting of votes in all constituencies takes place atthe same time, on the same day. Within a few hours of counting, all the resuits are declared and it becomes clear as who will form the next government This event is reported by television channels, radio and newspapers. ‘What Makes Elections In India Democracy? ‘There are many factors which ensure that elections held in India are democratic. An independent body ‘Election Commission’ responsible to conduct elections is formulated in the Constitution of india. Independent Election Commission: In our country, elec:ions are conducted by an independent and very powerful Election Commission (EC). tt enjoys the seme kind of independence that the judiciary enjoys. The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) is appointed by the President of India But once appointed, he is not answerable to even the President orthe government Powers of Election Commission Potters enjoyed by dying Election Commission ate. + Ittakes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections right 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, die Election Commission can order the governmentto fallow some guidelines to prevent theuse and misuse of governmental power te enhance its chances to win elections orto transfer some government officials. » When cn election duty, government officers work under the control of the Election Commission and not the government, When election officials cometo the opinion that polling was not fair in some booths or even an entire constituency, they order a repofi Popular Participation The participation and enthusiasm of people in an elections another criterion to check the quality of elections, If the election pracess is not free or fair, people will not continue to participate in the exercise. People's participation in election is usually measured by voter turnout figures. Turnout indicates the per cent of, clighble voters who actually cast their vote. In India, there is greater voter turn out of poor illiterate people as compared to western democraciesAcceptance of Election Outcome ‘The outcome of elections-the final test of the free and faimess of it. if elections are not free or fair, the outcome always favours the powerful. In such a situation, the ruling parties do not lose elections. Usually, losing party does not accept the outcome of a rigged election. ‘The outcome of India’s election speaks for itself The ruling parties routinely tose elections in India both at the national and state level. Inthe US, an incumbent or sitting elected representative rarely loses an election. But 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 connection often lose elections. Except for some disputed elections, the electoral outcomes are usually accepted by the defeated party as ‘people's verdict Challenges to Free and Falr Elections ‘The challenges to free and fair elections are listed as follows = Candidates and parties with a lot of money may not be sure of their victory but they do enjoy an unfair advantage over smaller parties and independents. * Some candidates with criminal records are able to secure party tickets from major parties due to their connections political + Some families tend to dominate political parties; a tendency for the dynastic rule is very common. = Elections offer only little choice to ordinary citizens. All the major parties are quite similar to each other both in policies and practice * Smaller parties and independent candidates suffer a huge disadvantage compared to bigger parties in terms of money power and organisational support, These challenges exist not only in India but also in many established democracies. This is a matter of concern for all who believe in democracy. This is the reason due to which there is the demand for reforms in our electoral system by citizens, social activists and organisations. Summary The most comn wn form of democracy in our times is for the people to govern through their representatives The mechanism by which people can choose their representatives at regular intervals is called Election.Inelections, the voters can choose who will form the government. Each vote has an equal value. As an alternative to elections, all the people can sit together every day and take all the decisions, but this is not possible in large communities, The procedure of elections favours political competition among different political parties. Electoral Competition creates a sense of disunity and factionalism in every locality Different political parties and candidates often use a ditty trick like booth capturing, allegations to win elections. In India, the General ElSfefione for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha is held regularly after every five years and elections are held m all constituencies at the same time. Sometimes an election is held for one constituency to fill the vacancy caused by death or resigning of a member. This is known gs By-election In India, an area based system of representation is followed where the country is divided into different areas for election purposes is called Electoral Constituencies. For Lok Sabha election, India is divided into 543 constituencies. The representatives elected from each constituency are called Members of Parliament or MPs. For Vidhan Sabha, each state is divided into the number of Assembly constituencies. The elected representative from each Assembly constituency is called Members of Legislative Assembly or MLAS. Each village or town is divided into several words and the same electoral procedure takes place for Panchayat and Municipal Elections. A special system of Reserved Constituencies for the weaker sections especially for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) is also followed in indiaReservation is alco followed for seats in rural and urban local bodies, for Other Backward Classes (BCs) and women. Indemocratic elections, the list of people eligible to voteis prepared much before the election andi officially called the Electoral Roll or the Voter's List. Which is updated from time to time incur country, all the citizens aged 18 years end above have the Right to Vote regardless of his or her caste, religion or gender. This is known as the Unwersal Adult Franchise ‘Anew system Of Election Photo identity Card (EPIC) has been introduced. The voters are required tocarry this card when they go out to vote so that /io ohe can vote in the place of someone else Politica! parties nominate their candidates who get the party support and symbol. Party's nomination is often called Party Ticket. The candidate has to fil a nornination form and give some money as a security deposit Candidate getting, the party ticket should be 25 or above and has to declare educatonel qualifications, assets, liabilities ard criminal cases pending if any. In our country, election campaign takes place for a two-week period between the announcement of the final list of candidates and the date of polling, Each political party has to agree 12 the Model Code of Conduct. Violation of the code can result in the ejection of the candidate On the day when the voters cast oF poll their vote is called an Election Day and such voting is done through Secret Ballot ‘Voting is done through ballot papers and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Counting is done on a fixed data arid the candidate cecuring the highest number of votes is declared a winner from that consttuency. Incur country, elections are conducted by an independent and very powerful body, tnown as Election Commission. ‘The Chief Election Commissioner. (CEC) is appointed by the President of India, and is, not answerable to the President or the government The election commission takes decisions on each and every aspect of the elections, People's turnout in the elections indicate a free and fair election procedure, “The pottical parties have to accep’ the outcome of the elections in aH circumstances. Due to some challenges to a free and ‘air election, there is the demand of reforms in our electoral systern by citzens, social actiists and organisations. We hope the given Electoral Politics Glass 9 Notes Social Science Civics Chapler 4 SST Pu free download wall nelp you. If zou have any query regarding Electoral Polilics Class 9 Civics Chapter 4 Noles, drop @ comment below and we will get back to you at the earliest.