ELECTORAL POLITICS (Extra notes)

Q1) What are the demerits of electoral competition? (Ref. pg. 59)
Ans.1) Electoral competition creates a sense of disunity and factionalism in every locality.
2) Different political parties and leaders often level allegations against one another.
3) Parties and candidates often use dirty tricks to win elections.
4) Pressure to win electoral fights does not allow sensible long-term policies to be formulated.
5) Some good people who may wish to serve the country do not enter this arena. They do not like unhealthy
competition.

Q2) What is the relationship between constituency, representatives and seats? (Ref. pg. 60-61)
Ans.1) The country is divided into different areas for purposes of elections. These areas are called electoral
constituencies. For e.g. For Lok Sabha elections, the country is divided into 543 constituencies. Similarly, each
state is divided into a specific number of Assembly constituencies.
2) The voters who live in an area elect one representative. For Lok Sabha elections, the representative elected
from each constituency is called a Member of Parliament or an MP. Similarly, the elected representative for
State Assembly elections is called the Member of Legislative Assembly or an MLA.
3) The constituencies are counted as ‘seats’. Each constituency represents one seat in the assembly. So there are
543 seats in the Lok Sabha.

Q3) What are reserved constituencies? Why have some constituencies been reserved? (Ref. pg. 62)
Ans.1) Reserved constituencies are those constituencies from which only the candidate belonging to the SC/ST
or weaker section can contest election.
2) In an open electoral competition, certain weaker sections may not stand a good chance to get elected to the
Lok Sabha and the state Legislative Assemblies.
3) They may not have the required resources, education and contacts to contest and win elections against those
who are influential and resourceful.
4) If that happens, our Parliament and Assemblies would be deprived of the voice of a significant section of our
population.
5) That would make our democracy less representative and less democratic. So, the makers of our Constitution
thought of a special system of reserved constituencies for the weaker sections.

Q4) Only graduates should be allowed to stand as candidates for elections. Are educational qualifications
necessary for a candidate standing for elections? Give your views. (Ref. pg. 64)
Ans.1) Educational qualifications are not relevant to all kinds of jobs.
2) Relevant qualification for being an MLA or an MP is the ability to understand people’s concerns, problems
and to represent their interests.
3) Putting an educational qualification would go against the spirit of democracy. It would mean depriving a
majority of the country’s citizens the right to contest elections.

Q5) Briefly explain the Election Procedure in India? (Ref. pg. 60-68)
Ans.1) First the whole country in the case of Lok Sabha elections and of that particular State in the case of
Legislative Assembly elections-is divided into as many constituencies as there are seats.
2) The voters' list of each constituency is prepared and published.
3) The dates of election, filing of nomination papers and withdrawals are fixed by the Election Commission.
The candidate has to fill a ‘nomination form’ and give some money as ‘security deposit’. The nomination
papers are then scrutinized.
4) Election campaign by various candidates and political parties is conducted through posters, meetings,
speeches, processions, radio and television. The election campaign normally ends 48 hours before the election.
5) On election day, all adult citizens cast their votes through EVM. After the polling is over the ballot boxes are
sealed and taken to the counting centres. After the votes are counted the result is declared. A candidate who gets
the highest number of votes is declared elected.

Q6) Explain the following Election related terms:

1) Photo Identity Card: The Election Photo Identity Card [EPIC] is given to every person on the voter’s list.
The voters are required to carry this card when they go out to vote, so that no one can vote for someone else.
2) Voter’s List: The list of those who are eligible to vote is prepared much before the election and given to
everyone. This list is officially called the Electoral Roll and is commonly known as the Voters’ List.
3) Election Day: The final stage of an election is the day when the voters cast or ‘poll’ their vote. That day is
usually called the election day.
4) Election Manifesto: An election manifesto is a document published by every political party before elections
containing the policies and programmes of the party.
5) Electronic Voting Machine: Electronic voting machines are used to record votes. The machine shows the
names of the candidates and the party symbols.
6) By-election: Sometimes election is held only for one constituency to fill the vacancy caused by death or
resignation of a member. This is called a by-election.

Q7) Describe some unfair practices that take place during elections. (Ref. pg. 69)
Ans. Some unfair practices that take place during elections are
1) Inclusion of false names and exclusion of genuine names in the voters’ list;
2) Misuse of government facilities and officials by the ruling party;
3) Excessive use of money by rich candidates and big parties; and
4) Intimidation of voters and rigging on the polling day.

Q8) How does the participation of the people indicate that elections are free and fair? (Ref. pg. 70-71)
Ans. The following participation of the people indicates that elections are free and fair.
1) People’s participation in election is usually measured by voter turnout, i.e. the percent of eligible voters who
actually cast their vote. In India the turnout has either remained stable or actually gone up.
2) In India the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger proportion as compared to the rich and
privileged sections. This is in contrast to western democracies like USA.
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. One out of every seven
voters is a member of a political party.

Q9) Explain the challenges to free and fair elections in India? (Ref. pg. 73)
Ans. 1) Candidates and parties with a lot of money may not be sure of their victory but they do enjoy a big and
unfair advantage over smaller parties and independents.
2) In some parts of the country, candidates with criminal connection have been able to push others out of the
electoral race and to secure a ‘ticket’ from major parties.
3) Some families tend to dominate political parties; tickets are distributed to relatives from these families.
4) Very often elections offer little choice to ordinary citizens, for both the major parties are quite similar to each
other both in policies and practice.
5) Smaller parties and independent candidates suffer a huge disadvantage compared to bigger parties.